| |
Difficulty Ratings
TO MAXIMIZE your enjoyment in any outdoor activity, it is very important that your fitness and skill levels correspond with the challenges of the activity. In order to appeal more efficiently to a wider range of abilities, while still maintaining an important level of excitement and challenge for our customers, we have designed our adventure packages to require minimal skill levels, but a wider range of fitness levels. On our adventure packages you will not be required to know any technical skills, simply the basics, such as walking or riding a bike (no paddling experience is ever required to join us on the rivers). As a result, our guests are not only challenged on a physical level, but also mentally and emotionally.
Our cultural awareness activities during various packages do not require any particular physical fitness level or experience. However, they can often be quite a workout mentally and emotionally, and guests are encouraged and helped to challenge themselves in these areas as well. There is often just as much, if not more, fear present during some of these activities, but our guides and Elders are experienced, and the reward is also often far greater than you can imagine. We will be continually active in the outdoors, however, so appropriate fitness levels are recommended for all packages. Our package difficulty ratings are as follows, predominantly reflected in our hiking and backpacking activities only:
CLASS 1 (easy, family oriented): Only basic skills are required, and a minimal fitness level. No mountain biking or paddling experience is required, but some experience with carrying a light backpack for an extended period of time will be useful. We will be walking on some uneven terrain, with some steep slopes, but not for extended periods of time. Hikes could be up to 4-6km (3-4mi), with up to 200-400m (600-1200’) in elevation gain.
CLASS 2 (moderate): Only basic skills are required, and a “naturally fit and healthy” or sporadic exerciser, with no health complications, should be able to handle this fitness level. No paddling or mountain biking experience is required. Overnight hiking experience with a backpack will be helpful, but we will not be tackling anything technical. There may be very little flat terrain and some longer steep slopes. Our walks may be up to 6-8km (4-5mi), with up to 500-760m (1500-2200’) in elevation gain.
CLASS 3 (advanced): More strenuous activity on some days, but nothing highly technical. You must have at least a semi-regular exercise routine or sport to be able handle this fitness level. No paddling experience is required. No mountain biking experience is required, but it is recommended that you are in good condition, with no health complications, to handle these rides. We will not be doing any highly technical walks, but backpacking experience over more difficult terrain is strongly recommended. There may be some more constant inclines with some more steep and rugged ascents, and possibly some sections with little to no marked trail; good conditioning and a strong mental attitude will be important. Hikes may be up to 8-10km (5-6mi), with up to 800-1000m (2400-3300’) in elevation gain.
EACH ADVENTURE package contains many activities and these ratings are just guidelines. It is of course possible that you will have no paddling experience but a lot of biking and backpacking experience, or any other combination of experience levels. We will do our best to group like experience and fitness levels together on any given package to plan accordingly and maximize your enjoyment. Moreover, as long as an average fitness level is maintained, our outings all require first and foremost an open and positive state of mind, a desire to discover new things, an ability to be flexible and spontaneous, and a strong mental attitude, which will often raise the quality of your experience more than just physical aptitude alone can. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
|
