This whitewater kayak technique article originally appeared in Rapid magazine.
S-Turn is one of the most famous and celebrated rapids in Mexico. It is the crux rapid on the notorious Roadside section of the Rio Alseseca, dropping 20 fast and twisty feet before ending in an eight-foot-wide mini gorge.
As with any steep, tight drop the first requirement for hitting your line is staying upright. The real trick to nailing S-Turn, however, is to get river right during the first slide. Although it looks like a bad idea, starting left is the way to go. Then the water will take you back to the right at the correct time.
[1] Enter the rapid on the far left with your bow pointed slightly right. This will look intimidating since there is a menacing rock wall on the left that if feels like you are going to crash into. In reality, you will slide down four feet, hit the angled rock on the left and deflect back with right momentum.
[2] Take a hard left stroke to pull yourself as far right as possible onto the ridge of dry rocks that form the top bend of the “S”. Your bow should launch off the rock, sending your boat into the air. This move is key, as it sets you up for the next turn. If you don’t make it all the way right, your bow will drop and could piton the left wall, which will most likely result in a flip. Avoid this at all costs!
[3] Once you have launched off the rock and are aerial, lift your left knee. This prevents you from flipping when you land on the large boiling curler coming off of the left wall.
[4] Brace as required to stay upright and take a powerful right stroke to keep your bow pointed left as you enter the final kink of the S-turn. If you fail to keep your bow left here, you risk spinning out into a micro eddy on the right or spinning sideways and pinning in the narrow alleyway below.
[5] After you have snaked through the sliding S-turn, you drop into the super cool mini gorge. This alleyway is about 70 feet long with 15- to 20-foot-high walls. Make sure to stay pointed downstream because, at just eight feet wide, the gorge is the perfect size to pin sideways if you get careless. Enjoy the view as you drop out of the alley into a calm pool.
[6] When you realize that this is one of the coolest rapids EVER, you can eddy out on the left in the bottom pool and hike back up for another run.
– Nick Troutman was a member of the first team to make a full descent of the Rio Alseseca. He swam three times and considers himself lucky.
This article originally appeared in Rapid, Fall 2012. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.
