Summer Kayaking Season from Basecamp Arlberg - Austria 2022
Kayak Guiding through the Giarsun Gorge in the Engadine Region of Switzerland
The Summer continued how the Spring finished, hot and full on! It seemed as though everywhere in the Alps was seriously low in water levels, except for us here in this part of Austria.
Diego had also arrived! A 16 year old lad from Chile, who we met on one of our favourite rivers: the Rio Fuy, which is close to the kayaking mecca that is Pucon. After kayaking a few laps with Diego, his parents came over and asked if he could come to Austria!? It did not take us long to think about it and so at the beginning of July he arrived for his first kayaking trip outside of Chile. We will put a separate blog post in about Diego’s time with us here at the Kayak School in Austria.
Happy Days at the end of a great week of kayaking in Austria
As we now moved into high season we were running a lot of one week trips from Base Camp Arlberg in the West of Austria. Regents Canoe Club from London came for a visit. Steve had showed and guided their chief instructor around the rivers here a few years ago and now some of the club decided to come and see what kayaking in Austria was all about.
Aarsh and Niki from India arrived for their 3 month staycation in Flirsch, a village downstream from us on the Rosanna River. They had done a couple of courses in India but really wanted to improve their kayaking while also taking in the way of living in the Austrian Alps. By the end of their time here in Austria we were leading them down the Imst Gorge of the River Inn, with Niki in particular styling the rapids and keeping the line following us. Aarsh was blown away and could not contain his excitement after every punch through a big wave or at the end of each rapid.
Beginners Kayaking Courses on Lake Verwall in St Anton am Arlberg, Austria
The sun kept on shining and we were enjoying kayaking with our combi jackets (short sleeve) from Peak PS. The river levels were staying constant at medium and even the Sanna was still running which was quite surprising considering the lack of snow that fell the season before!
Kayaking Courses on the Schuls Gorge of the River Inn, Engadine Region of Switzerland
Throughout the Summer we were running our ever popular Zero to Hero Beginners Kayaking Course. It is a great course to gain a solid foundation into whitewater kayaking. Starting on the lake we progress throughout the week to make everyone a solid class 2 kayaker and of course a couple of sessions in the swimming pool learning and putting into the practice the eskimo roll is also included throughout the week.
From the end of June the Tourist Office starts its Summer program and though we spend the majority of time on the river, we take a half day off to relax, unwind and to re-charge ready for the final few days of kayaking. With the ski lifts running it is a great opportunity to use the tourist card and to head up into the mountains to check out the views, stretch the legs and of course enjoy a relaxing drink with stunning views from one of the restaurant terraces.
Our Classic Austria Class 3-4 Courses were going really strong with returning guests coming throughout the Summer. We also have quite a few Australian, Kiwi and South African kayakers coming to us. They tend to be on a Summer Road Trip throughout Europe and they love the idea of kayaking for a week in the Austrian mountains. As we provide all equipment with modern kayaks from Waka, Zet and Lettmann, paddles from Striebel Designs and of course kayaking apparel from Peak PS, it works out perfectly as they do not have to carry any kayaking kit around with them for the 4 months they are travelling.
Of course we cannot forget the Family Kayaking Courses we run throughout the Summer. Whether it is a Beginner Course, Improvers Class 2 or even a Class 3-4 Skills and Thrills course, it is great to spend time with a family kayaking on some of Austria’s Classic Rivers. Our equipment for the youngsters works really well. It is all designed specifically for the smaller paddler and so complements our ethos of looking good, dynamic kayaking and having a lot of fun while doing it!!
Class 4 whitewater kayak courses in Austria
As the days started to get shorter and the mornings crisper we were slowly heading into Autumn…