Season 2020
Greetings from the Arlberg - Austria.
To say it has been a difficult year is a bit of an understatement!
At the beginning of March Steve headed out to India to kayak the Lohit river in the far north-east with Stanzin. However, a day before they were due to set off from Rishikesh the state of Arunachal Pradesh closed its borders.
At the same time the Arlberg was becoming one of the epicentres in Europe and with everything shutting down, Steve got told to fly back home by the Austrian Government. A 41 hour journey ensued from the Himalayas back to the Arlberg including Ute getting special permission to pick him up once he had walked over the German/Austrian border!
Stanzin was staying at Shivanandi as India was heading into lockdown and the passes to his native Ladakh were still closed because there was still a lot of snow up in the high passes of the Himalayas and the Border Roads Organisation had yet to start cutting through the metres of snow.
We were now in quarantine, followed by a further lockdown, it was the beginning of May and we were finally allowed out and we could go kayaking! The Austrian borders were still closed and so we were kayaking for ourselves and with a motivated bunch of local kayakers we were making the most of the situation.
It was a great start to the season for the local boaters and their techniques, river awareness and of course confidence rocketed skyward!
Steve managed to kayak a new river for him in June. The Madaubach feeds into the River Lech and requires a bit of a hike in before back-roping 60m down from the path to the riverside. It is a sweet little creek in a stunningly deep gorge sometimes just 2m wide.
Stanzin made his way back home to Leh in Ladakh. It took them 2 days to drive over some unbelievable scenery and terrain. He was driving to Manali, over the 4000m Rohtang Pass where they had finally been able to cut through the mass of snow and onto the Tibetan Buddhist region of Lahaul and after a couple of more passes but this time over 5300m he made it to the Indus valley and the final leg to Leh.
At the end of June Austria said it was to open up its borders to the rest of Europe and by the beginning of July we could finally start offering kayaking courses and the season started with a bang! It was great to be back on the rivers around Base Camp Arlberg, the levels were good and it was nice and sunny in the Austrian Alps.
Our days were spent kayaking, instructing and showing everyone just why this part of the Alps has so much to offer. Base Arlberg is not just a great place to base your kayaking from but also the culture, food and drink are something to enjoy off the river.
We caught up with Basti who designs and makes Striebel Designs kayak paddles on the Loisach River. He had some new paddles for our clients to try in the Kayak School. These paddles have proved a huge hit with everyone who has used them and of course the colours are cool!!!
We will be writing a blog more about our paddles from Striebel Designs later!
August was upon us and we were busy running courses and enjoying the sun, the long days and the river levels were still good. The River Inn still had plenty of volume with the Toesens and Imst Gorges giving us lots of whitewater action and big waves! The Sanna was also still at a good level and it was also great to venture up into the Engadine Region of Switzerland to kayak sections such as the Giarsun, Ardez and Schuls Gorges of the Swiss Inn.
Up in Ladakh there were no tourists and with no work Stanzin was trying to make the most of the situation kayaking on his home rivers. He kayaked the Upper Indus down to the Zanskar confluence and he also headed out to kayak one of the best multi-day whitewater kayaking trips in the Himalayas - the Tsarap Chu and Zanskar Gorge. The rivers were big as the glaciers were melting at a rapid rate.
September continued the warm, sunny weather with kayaking courses keeping us nice and busy. We also organised a days kayaking event on Lake Verwall in St.Anton am Arlberg. Alongside one of our core partners, Piltriquitron Lodging and Arcteryx St.Anton we had over 20 people from the local area come and kayak. With the help of our local kayakers we enjoyed spending time on the lake with so many people smiling and enjoying seeing the lake from a different perspective.
October the weather changed drastically with snow arriving a few times, however the colder temperatures meant the start the Oetz season! It is such a stunning drive getting the Venter Ache with the trees changing colour and the beautiful colour of the river. By mid-October corona had started to make a comeback and suddenly restrictions were being enforced on the European population and as quickly as it started the Kayak School was closed! The rivers were still running, including the Sanna and were keeping busy kayak for ourselves and also with the locals.
We also received fantastic news that Stanzin had become a father! Dawa his wife had given birth to a boy and they are all fit, healthy and happy. As they are Tibetan Buddhists their sons name will come from a monk, so we are eagerly awaiting news of his name!
November arrived and for the first couple of weeks the temperature was very mild for this time of year. It was only the third November Steve has spent in Austria so he was making the most of it trying to kayak as much as he could. The local kayakers were still highly motivated and though the rivers were low, the Imst and Toesens Gorges were still running and so was the Sanna!
However, on 17th November we were put back in lockdown!
It has been a difficult and challenging time for us here at Base Arlberg this year. We lost 4 months of the season but considering the situation we managed to make the most of the season kayaking with friends, coaching and instructing on courses plus a new river in the mix!
We would like to thank everyone who came on one of our courses and we hope that we also see everyone who was planning to come this year and of course of Stammgaeste who hopefully we will see next season.
With our eyes on a possible kayaking getaway to Chile we will keep you posted of our plans…
Stay healthy and enjoy the freedoms while and when you can!!
Steve, Ute and Stanzin