adrenaline is additive!
Adrenaline rush == Addition == (almost) uncontrollable desire for more… whether it’s WW, mtn biking or downhill skiing. The venue may be different, the rush is the same!
I started out as whitewatering and thought it “lame” to paddle flat water. But to be truthful, I didn’t see much of the view along the way as I was too busy concentrating on the watery features around me. I simply didn’t care. I was having a good enough time already.
Eventually, it’s that desire to “smell the roses” that I started sea kayaking. I thought the cross over should be a no brainer. Not until I started to learn the finer points of doing 20 miles day in and day out (AND still enjoy it!) that I start to respect the flat water paddlers. So you can see where the “snob” attitude comes from.
A lot of sea kayakers thought the “adrenaline junkie” crowd of WW paddlers are just a bunch of un-refined youth having excess energy to burn. Most (sea kayakers) fail to realize it’s the desire to improve one skill to match the challenge, a process of self-improvement, that attracts the older half of the “adrenaline junkie” crowd. It’s the sea kayaker’s side of “snob”. Little did they know the average WW paddler have more boat control skill than many so-called “experienced” sea kakakers. When the “flat” water turns turbulent, a typical WW paddler, even in a sea kayak, has more control and confidence than their short “sea” kayaking hours might imply.
With the skill honed on the raging river, a WW turn seakayaker can enjoy the scenary AND enjoy the not-so-flat water sometimes the sea/lake becomes.
“Snobs” are the uninformed.