Improve your paddling
Improve your paddling with classes and clinics.
We offer skill-building clinics and progression classes tailored to member needs. Oftentimes, our more experienced club members conduct the classes and clinics. Other times we partner with professional instructors.
How can I stay in the loop on upcoming classes?
The absolute best way to stay in the know about LCCC courses is to be a member! The second best way is to keep your eye on the LCCC calendar. We’ll post courses there as soon as they are scheduled.
Reduced cost courses
As a benefit of membership, the LCCC offers clinics at a reduced cost to members, often as much as 50% off standard rates. You must be an LCCC member to participate in the clinics listed below.
Instructor: Sage Donnelly
Date: Saturday, May 4
From the Lower White Salmon to the Middle White Salmon. Spend the morning on the Lower White Salmon working on skills, then after lunch, you’ll have the option to take those skills and apply them on the Middle White Salmon with Sage Donnelly. (Photo credit: John Webster)
The afternoon portion of the class is “challenge by choice.” It is entirely reasonable to only participate in the first half of the course, and/or to make your decision about participating in the afternoon session that day.
This course is a great fit for people who currently feel they have the skills to tackle Class III whitewater, but often don’t because they don’t know how to approach more complex rapids and /or don’t have the support network to feel comfortable pushing harder.
Generally you can expect to work on growing more confident in your ability to: maneuver your boat, catch eddies, and ferry across fast moving currents.
Max class size: 6
Instructor: Sage Donnelly
Date: Sunday, May 5th
Fine tune foundational skills on the Lower White Salmon with Sage Donnelly.
In general, what you can expect includes: a chance to identify and begin to fix bad habits; a focus on skills such as reading water, picking lines, posture, stroke timing, and boat angle; and encouragement to try lines you don’t normally take and catch eddies you usually pass right by.
Sage has been kayaking since the age of 2! She competed in her first kayak event at age 6 and continues to compete in – and WIN - freestyle, slalom, SUP and creek races around the world. Most recently Sage won the 2023 Freestyle World Championship, and holds many, many other titles (North Fork Championship, Green Race, Lord of the Fork, etc.). She is a natural teacher with a deep understanding of kayaking technique. (Photo credit above: John Webster)
To get the most out of this class, you should be generally proficient at paddling the Lower White Salmon, or equivalent runs such as Dodge to Oxbow on the Sandy, Packsaddle to Mill City on the Santiam, or the run on the Washougal below Big Eddy to MP3.
You might be running more challenging whitewater such as the Roaring River section of the Clackamas or Middle White Salmon or Lower Hood. You may tend to think of yourself as a Class III boater. Great! Think "hard moves on easy water." Expect to do Class III moves on Class II/II+ whitewater and to be offered the opportunity to challenge yourself in new ways on a familiar run.
Max Class Size: 6
Instructor: Sage Donnelly
Date: Saturday, May 18th
Fine tune foundational skills on the Lower White Salmon with Sage Donnelly.
In general, what you can expect includes: a chance to identify and begin to fix bad habits; a focus on skills such as reading water, picking lines, posture, stroke timing, and boat angle; and encouragement to try lines you don’t normally take and catch eddies you usually pass right by.
Sage has been kayaking since the age of 2! She competed in her first kayak event at age 6 and continues to compete in – and WIN - freestyle, slalom, SUP and creek races around the world. Most recently Sage won the 2023 Freestyle World Championship, and holds many, many other titles (North Fork Championship, Green Race, Lord of the Fork, etc.). She is a natural teacher with a deep understanding of kayaking technique. (Photo credit above: John Webster)
To get the most out of this class, you should be generally proficient at paddling the Lower White Salmon, or equivalent runs such as Dodge to Oxbow on the Sandy, Packsaddle to Mill City on the Santiam, or the run on the Washougal below Big Eddy to MP3.
You might be running more challenging whitewater such as the Roaring River section of the Clackamas or Middle White Salmon or Lower Hood. You may tend to think of yourself as a Class III boater. Great! Think "hard moves on easy water." Expect to do Class III moves on Class II/II+ whitewater and to be offered the opportunity to challenge yourself in new ways on a familiar run.
Max Class Size: 6
Instructor: Sage Donnelly
Date: Sunday, May 19
From the Lower White Salmon to the Middle White Salmon. Spend the morning on the Lower White Salmon working on skills, then after lunch, you’ll have the option to take those skills and apply them on the Middle White Salmon with Sage Donnelly. (Photo credit: John Webster)
The afternoon portion of the class is “challenge by choice.” It is entirely reasonable to only participate in the first half of the course, and/or to make your decision about running the MWS that day.
This course is a great fit for people who currently feel they have the skills to tackle Class III whitewater, but often don’t because they don’t know how to approach more complex rapids and /or don’t have the support network to feel comfortable pushing harder.
Generally you can expect to work on growing more confident in your ability to: maneuver your boat, catch eddies, and ferry across fast moving currents.
Max class size: 6
Instructor: This ACA Swift Water Rescue Level 4 course is offered in collaboration with Lee Baker of Gradient River Essentials LLC.
Dates: Saturday, July 13th - Sunday, July 14th
(Note that there is also an orientation at ~9 pm on Friday, July 12th. The orientation is not required, but it is highly recommended.)
In this course participants will learn the fundamentals of rescue. This course is highly interactive and is designed to challenge all levels of whitewater enthusiasts. It is appropriate for beginning to advanced canoeists, kayakers and IKers.
Maximum # of participants: 18
