As the river season is underway, we wanted to share a small glossary of river terms for those white water aficionados out there who want to understand “guidespeak”. Many are terms used in the whitewater community, along with some that are specific to LEAP and our sister company, Orange Torpedo Trips (OTT). This is the first in a series of four posts- we're starting with the basics.

Torpedo or torp: Our name for an inflatable kayak, also known as an IK.

Bow: The front of a boat.

Stern: The back of a boat.

PFD: Personal flotation device, also known as a life jacket or life vest.

Class: The difficulty of a rapid on a scale from I-VI, with I being the easiest and VI being the most difficult. The rapids on the Lower Salmon range from class II-IV. Read more about classifications here.

CFS: Cubic feet per second, how we measure the water flow. We can run the Lower Salmon below about 19,000 CFS, but it gets above 80,000 CFS at its peak.

Put-in: Where we put the boats in the water to start a program. Our put-in is typically at Hammer Creek.

Take-out: Not Chinese food, but where we take the boats out of the water to end a program. Our take-out is at the confluence of the Salmon and the Snake.

River right: The right side of the river when facing downstream.

River left: The left side of the river when facing downstream.