Riverboard / Hydrospeed 1st Descent of Jacob's Ladder

1st Riverboard Descent of Jacob's Ladder on the North Fork of the Payette river. Run by Face Level Industries CORE team riders: Peter Lamka (aka Docta P), Alex Koutzoukis, and Kevin Yount (helmet cam POV). Yes, I really did break my nose, but thankfully it was a straight shot from my karabiner that cracked it instead of something that knocked it crooked, so I didn't have to go get it set or anything. I actually didn't know I had broken it until about a week later, when the continued soreness let me know that I had done a little more than simply hit it. Great rapid. Running this rapid is like riding a freight train down a hill.

This was one of the most intimidating rapids I've run to date. I've run rapids with bigger waves (see my New River Gorge Flood Stage Footage), taller drops, and more technical maneuvering, but this one takes the cake in terms of speed, turbulence, length, and relentlessness. Make sure that you have the proper experience, boards and gear, and safety measures in place before attempting a rapid of this magnitude. The three of us have all gotten a lot of experience in difficult class IV and V rivers of a variety of characters (steep/shallow, big/burly, etc.), and caught this one at ideal flows (get too much lower and rocks might be exposed, get a lot higher and it gets pushier with the holes getting stickier). A lot of good kayakers have died in this rapid or the one below due to swimming. A riverboarder may have it easier due to the padding and fins, but I still wouldn't want to do this without my board. Leashing to your board in rapids like this is highly recommended.

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[whitewatersuperman]

That was the last thing I needed: for my nose to swell any bigger than it already is : )