Never kayaked before? Wanting to get out on the Colorado river and glide through the white water? Well, there are safety techniques to consider before rushing the water. What happens when the kayak flips? If you’re stuck upside down, connected to a kayak, what should you do? Situations like this are what the Outdoor Program (OP) prepares students for.
One of the many activities that the OP at Colorado Mesa University offers is kayak rolling. Every Monday night from 7:30-9 p.m., the OP takes over the CMU pool.
“The goal is to help kids, students, or the general public learn how to roll a kayak and prepare them to be able to eventually get on the river and be able to go places and kayak,” Taylor Ries, an OP worker, said.
The program brings in several kayaks of different sizes, and is open to everyone. Safety is important when it comes to being out on the flowing rivers, which is why they teach rolling every Monday in a swimming pool. Not only do they host roll sessions in the swimming pool throughout the school year, they also host outings.
“During beginning of the fall and end of spring semesters, when it is warmer out, we will do outings,” Ries said.
The outings are free, and they bring kayaks and other river crafts with them for the students to adventure on.
“We go to the Colorado River and teach people the basics over a weekend of kayaking,” Mark Rentfro, OP worker said. “We teach everything from how to pull and get out of a boat to the basics of rolling and different river terrain.” This scheduled outing will take place in the upcoming weeks.
This scheduled outing will take place in the upcoming weeks.
Sept. 15, the OP program is heading up to Montrose Play Park.
“We will teach basics on the river and how to surf waves,” Mark Rentfro, OP worker said.
