Rafting with French Broad River Expeditions from Virginia Balfour on Vimeo.

It was a great trip, with a great group of paddlers.

Rafting NC Asheville (Ashville).  White water Rafting, Asheville, North Carolina Go whitewater (white water) rafting near Asheville, North Carolina (NC) on the French Broad River
French Broad Rafting Expeditions is the closest whitewater rafting  to Asheville, NC (only 24 miles) to our Marshall Outpost.  North Carolina Family and Group Rafting
Make your whitewater rafting reservation today on Asheville, Hot Springs, North Carolina’s French Broad River, the closest whitewater rafting.

This year the staff came up with this one:

If you have any ideas, feel free to send them to me:     mitchhampton@frenchbroadrafting.com

Black Bear swimming across the French Broad River above Big Pillow Rapid

Book your trip now by calling 800-570-7238 or visiting us at www.frenchbroadrafting.com and enjoy the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina.

Rafting NC Asheville (Ashville).  White water Rafting, Asheville, North Carolina Go whitewater (white water) rafting near Asheville, North Carolina (NC) on the French Broad River
French Broad Rafting Expeditions is the closest whitewater rafting  to Asheville, NC (only 24 miles) to our Marshall Outpost.  North Carolina Family and Group Rafting
Make your whitewater rafting reservation today on Asheville, Hot Springs, North Carolina’s French Broad River, the closest whitewater rafting.

If you are looking camping or cabins to stay in the Hot Springs Campground is right across the street from the Spa.  The Campground has RV hook ups, tent camping, and camping cabins.  While you are at the campground make sure get a bite to eat at “Good Eats” located in the campground store. The owners, Martha and Sachie, make great burritos with only fresh ingredients.  My favorite is the breakfast burritio.  For lodging check out  http://www.nchotsprings.com/nc-hot-springs-resort-lodging.html

Check out the Hot Springs Resort and Spa Website:

Rafting NC Asheville (Ashville).  White water Rafting, Asheville, North Carolina Go whitewater (white water) rafting near Asheville, North Carolina (NC) on the French Broad River
French Broad Rafting Expeditions is the closest whitewater rafting  to Asheville, NC (only 24 miles) to our Marshall Outpost.  North Carolina Family and Group Rafting
Make your whitewater rafting reservation today on Asheville, Hot Springs, North Carolina’s French Broad River, the closest whitewater rafting.

If you live in the Piedmont area of North Carolina check out the tennis tournament and silent auction on May 21-23.  They are setting up a “Mountain Excursion Package” with a place to stay and a 5 Mile whitewater rafting trip for two donated by French Broad Rafting Expeditions.

Big Brothers Big Sisters works with vulnerable children in the greater High Point area and pairs them up with a positive role model who helps them see a world of opportunity outside of their home, their school and their neighborhood.   Children in our program do better than their peers in school and tend to avoid negative behavior.

A successful auction will allow us to continue to serve the 600 children we reach each year, and will allow us to increase our recruitment efforts so the 160 children on our waiting list can be matched with a Big Brother or Big Sister sooner.

Please call Ellen at 336-882-4167 or e-mail ellen@bbbscp.org if you have any questions.

Rafting NC Asheville (Ashville).  White water Rafting, Asheville, North Carolina Go whitewater (white water) rafting near Asheville, North Carolina (NC) on the French Broad River
French Broad Rafting Expeditions is the closest whitewater rafting  to Asheville, NC (only 24 miles) to our Marshall Outpost.  North Carolina Family and Group Rafting
Make your whitewater rafting reservation today on Asheville, Hot Springs, North Carolina’s French Broad River, the closest whitewater rafting.

At French Broad Rafting Expeditions we go rain or shine.  We offer complimentary splash gear if you choose to wear it.  Why not go rafting in the rain?  You get wet anyway.

Rafting NC Asheville (Ashville).  White water Rafting, Asheville, North Carolina Go whitewater (white water) rafting near Asheville, North Carolina (NC) on the French Broad River
French Broad Rafting Expeditions is the closest whitewater rafting  to Asheville, NC (only 24 miles) to our Marshall Outpost.  North Carolina Family and Group Rafting
Make your whitewater rafting reservation today on Asheville, Hot Springs, North Carolina’s French Broad River, the closest whitewater rafting.

Come out and join us. 800-570-7238  www.frenchbroadrafting.com

Rafting NC Asheville (Ashville).  White water Rafting, Asheville, North Carolina Go whitewater (white water) rafting near Asheville, North Carolina (NC) on the French Broad River
French Broad Rafting Expeditions is the closest whitewater rafting  to Asheville, NC (only 24 miles) to our Marshall Outpost.  North Carolina Family and Group Rafting
Make your whitewater rafting reservation today on Asheville, Hot Springs, North Carolina’s French Broad River, the closest whitewater rafting.

The French Broad is born in western North Carolina out of a temperate rain forest localized around Rosman, North Carolina. The warm moist air which consistently moves in a northeasternly direction from the Gulf of Mexico is pushed higher up into the cooler altitudes as it becomes trapped between mountain ranges and funnelled toward Rosman. When it nears Rosman, the air mass has cooled to the extent where it can no longer hold the moisture that it has carried and dumps it on the eastern slopes of the mountains soon after crossing into Transylvania county. The resulting rain begins the formation of the French Broad River. Flowing for 210 miles through western North Carolina northward into Tennessee, it joins the Holston River outside of Knoxville to create the famous Tennessee River. On the way, it boasts of two sizable tributaries: the Pigeon and Nolichucky Rivers.

Although at first glance it appears unprepossessing, the French Broad river has a score of fascinating distinctions. It is so old as to be practically devoid of fossils. Only the Nile and, ironically, the New river predate it. Interestingly, the New river crosses into North Carolina on the other side of the Eastern Continental divide. So North Carolina has the distinction of having both the second and third oldest rivers in the world within its borders. The French Broad is older than the mountains in which it now finds itself. It existed before a huge landmass crashed into the eastern shores of the main body of land that is now North America. When the collison took place, over thousands of years in duration and millions of years ago, the land slowly buckled and began the formation of the Appalachian Chain. As the mountains gained height, the river kept flowing, cutting into and through them as they rose. When the French Broad river was young, so was the world.

http://www.main.nc.us/buncombe/frenchbroad.html

Rafting NC Asheville (Ashville).  White water Rafting, Asheville, North Carolina Go whitewater (white water) rafting near Asheville, North Carolina (NC) on the French Broad River
French Broad Rafting Expeditions is the closest whitewater rafting  to Asheville, NC (only 24 miles) to our Marshall Outpost.  North Carolina Family and Group Rafting
Make your whitewater rafting reservation today on Asheville, Hot Springs, North Carolina’s French Broad River, the closest whitewater rafting.

Well one night while surfing the web I typed in “white water” on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page and learned a few things.  Check out some of the content.

Whitewater

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from White water)

Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river‘s gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white. The term is also used loosely to refer to less-turbulent but still agitated flows..^{[citation needed]}

The term “whitewater” also has a broader meaning, applying to any river or creek itself that has a significant number of rapids. The term is also used as an adjective describing boating on such rivers, such as whitewater canoeing or whitewater kayaking..^{[citation needed]} [edit]

Rapids

Four factors, separately or in combination, can create rapids: gradient, constriction, obstruction and flow rate. Gradient, constriction and obstruction are streambed topography factors and are relatively consistent. Flow rate is dependent upon both seasonal variation in precipitation and snowmelt and upon release rates of upstream dams.^{[citation needed]}

1. Streambed topography

Streambed topography is the primary factor in creating rapids, and is generally consistent over time. Increased flow, as during a flood or high rainfall season can make permanent changes to the streambed by displacing rocks and boulders, by deposition of alluvium or by creating new channels for flowing water.^{[citation needed]}

2. Gradient

The gradient of a river is the rate at which it loses elevation along its course. This loss determines the river’s slope, and to a large extent its rate of flow. Shallow gradients produce gentle, slow rivers while steep gradients are associated with raging torrents.^{[citation needed]}

3. Constriction

Constrictions can form a rapid when a river’s flow is forced into a narrower channel. This pressure causes the water to flow more rapidly (hence the name) and to react differently to riverbed events (rocks, drops, etc.).^{[citation needed]}

4. Obstruction

A boulder or ledge in the middle of a river or near the side can obstruct the flow of the river, and can also create a “cushion”; a “drop” (over the boulder); and “hydraulics” or “holes” where the river flows back on itself–perhaps back under the drop–often with fearful results for those caught in its grasp. (Holes, or hydraulics, are so-called because their foamy, aerated water provides less buoyancy and can feel like an actual hole in the river surface.) If the flow passes next to the obstruction, an eddy may form behind the obstruction; although eddies are typically sheltered areas where boaters can stop to rest, scout or leave the main current, they may be swirling and whirlpool-like. As with hydraulics (which pulldownward rather than to the side and are, essentially, eddies turned at a 90-degree angle), the power of eddies increases with the flow rate.^{[citation needed]}

In large rivers with high flow rates next to an obstruction, “eddy walls” can occur. An eddy wall is formed when the height of the river is substantially higher than the level of the water in the eddy behind the obstruction. This can make it difficult for a boater, who has stopped in that particular eddy, to reenter the river due to a wall of water that can be several feet high at the point at which the eddy meets the river flow.

Stream flow rate

A marked increase or decrease in flow can create a rapid (where previously wasn’t one), “wash out” a rapid (decreasing the hazard) or make safe passage through previously-navigable rapids more difficult or impossible. Flow rate is typically measured in cubic metres per second (cumecs), or in cubic feet per second (cfs), depending on the country..^{[citation needed]}

Classification of whitewater

Main article: International Scale of River Difficulty

The most widely used grading system is the International Grading System, where whitewater (either an individual rapid, or the entire river) is classed in six categories from class I (the easiest and safest) to class VI (the most difficult and most dangerous). The grade reflects both the technical difficulty and the danger associated with a rapid, with grade I referring to flat or slow moving water with few hazards, and grade VI referring to the hardest rapids which are very dangerous even for expert paddlers, and are rarely run. Grade-VI rapids are sometimes downgraded to grade-V or V+ if they have been run successfully. Harder rapids (for example a grade-V rapid on a mainly grade-III river) are often portaged, a French term for carrying. A portaged rapid is where the boater lands and carries the boat around the hazard.

A rapid’s grade is not fixed, since it may vary greatly depending on the water depth and speed of flow. Although some rapids may be easier at high flows because features are covered or “washed-out,” high water usually makes rapids more difficult and dangerous. At flood stage, even rapids which are usually easy can contain lethal and unpredictable hazards (briefly adapted from the American version^[1] of the International Scale of River Difficulty).

• Class 1: Very small rough areas, requires no maneuvering. (Skill Level: None)
• Class 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, small drops, might require maneuvering. (Skill Level: Basic Paddling Skill)
• Class 3: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe a 3-5 ft drop, but not much considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill Level: Experienced paddling skills)
• Class 4: Whitewater, large waves, long rapids, rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill Level: Whitewater Experience)
• Class 5: Whitewater, large waves, continuous rapids, large rocks and hazards, maybe a large drop, precise maneuvering (Skill Level: Advanced Whitewater Experience)
• Class 6: Whitewater, typically with huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, huge drops, but sometimes labeled this way due to largely invisible dangers (e.g. , a smooth slide that creates a near-perfect, almost inescapable hydraulic, as at Woodall Shoals/Chattooga). Class 6 rapids are considered hazardous even for expert paddlers using state-of-the-art equipment, and come with the warning “danger to life or limb.” (Skill Level: Expert)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_water

Section 9 of the French Broad River goes up to Class IV rapids and is a great river for beginners and experts.  If you want to go white water rafting in North Carolina (NC) then give us a call 800-570-7238 or visit www.frenchbroadrafting.com

Rafting NC Asheville (Ashville).  White water Rafting, Asheville, North Carolina Go whitewater (white water) rafting near Asheville, North Carolina (NC) on the French Broad River
French Broad Rafting Expeditions is the closest whitewater rafting  to Asheville, NC (only 24 miles) to our Marshall Outpost.  North Carolina Family and Group Rafting
Make your whitewater rafting reservation today on Asheville, Hot Springs, North Carolina’s French Broad River, the closest whitewater rafting.