Spring Kayaking and Courses in Austria
Our Spring kayaking season here in the Arlberg region of Austria starts a little later than the southside of the Alps! There is usually still plenty of snow up on the higher reaches of the mountains and while the nights are still cold our rivers usually start to rise by the end of April.
It is quite a nice way to start the Austrian kayaking season, though the water temperature is cold this can only affect you with bad kayaking equipment! For instance if you are coming on one of our courses or trips we have equipment that will not only keep you warm and dry but you will also look good in it, be it a beginner taking the first paddle strokes on the lake to the seasoned kayaker who is coming to Austria but has to be careful just how much baggage they can either fly or take with them.
Of course it also depends on what the outside temperature will be and as we know it is not easy to predict mountain weather a week before let alone a month or more!
Kayaking on the Tösens Gorge of the River Inn.
So after a very successful start to the season in Slovenia which you can read about here. We were now back home and kayaking on our local rivers.
Kayak the Arlberg Austria
One of the best things about the Spring is that all the rivers situated higher up at are at their optimum so for us that means the Rosanna River that goes through the villages of St.Anton am Arlberg and Pettneu am Arlberg and of course the Lech River that flows through the middle of the village of Lech am Arlberg and further down through the Lech Gorges and out through the stunning Lech Valley.
Family Kayaking Courses in Austria
We had various kayaking courses and trips running, including a 4 day Family Kayak Course. Myriana and Julius were back with us again kayaking and working on their skills. For this season we had brought into the Kayak School equipment a Spade da Queen kayak. It is not only a small kayak that will fit teenagers and smaller/lighter paddlers, it is a great kayak to paddle and much more than your standard children’s kayak that gets offered. With a low coaming edge and the line line enables quick edge changes and with the possibility of implementing a positive forward stroke without banging your thumbs every time you place the paddle into the water. The balanced waterline and slight bow rocker ensure the optimal balance of speed, directional stability and manoeuverability. We have the lightweight version of da Queen with a carbon outfitting making it easy to adjust, comfortable and of course even the youngsters can lift the 17kg kayak! Julius was really enjoying the da Queen from Spade Kayaks and you could see how much the kayak helped him improve over the 4 days with us. Myriana was in the Waka Billy Goat and though this kayak can be a bit like marmite as we would say in English, if you love it you will not want to paddle anything else. As Waka are a core partner in our kayak school we have every model of Waka kayaks to choose from, they are our most requested kayaks for all of our Kayaking Courses and Kayaking Adventure Trips!
Classic Austria Class 3 to 4 Kayak Courses
As we live high up in the Austrian Alps our Spring starts and of course finishes later. At the end of May we got our first visit of the season from the girls from Ireland. Along with Laure we had a week of fantastic kayaking with great river levels to look forward to. Our Classic Austria Class 3-4 trip is by far the most popular kayak course and kayaking trip here around Base Arlberg. Working on their fundamental techniques for kayaking at the start of the week, it gave a solid base then to improve. We spent a couple of days on the River Lech where we were doing specific kayak clinics and kayaking coaching sessions for each individual kayaker. What we love so much about the Lech in the Spring is that there are some great rapids where we can work on Class 4 techniques and moves but all with the consequences with a Class 2 rapid! It is one of the best places for us, along with our home river the Rosanna in St.Anton am Arlberg, where we can really develop kayakers mental strength and confidence throughout our kayak courses in Austria. Of course, as we know that the mental side of kayaking has such a dramatic effect on how we kayak down the river, or running a section or rapid.
It was such a fun week with the girls, we all clicked and with this everyone really improved and this was seen not only with the rapids and rivers we kayaked here in Austria in the Spring but when the girls came back in the Autumn they were styling the steeper and longer rapids of the Ötz river. The girls are coming back again this Spring for another week and we cannot wait to kayak, coach and enjoy our time on our local rivers here with them all.
Another highlight of the Spring season in 2023 was another weeks kayaking course and trip. Our Classic Austria Class 3-4 was delivering the goods again with Kirsty, Ron and Rachel with us for the week. We were kayaking on the classic big water sections of the River Inn such as the Tösens Gorge and Imst Gorge while also heading over to kayak on the Sanna where we love to coach as you really get to see the improvements everyone makes extremely quickly. Not only is the Sanna a sweet little river and an absolute gem it is also one of the shortest rivers in the Alps at just under 7km in length. However, just because it is short we can spend hours kayaking, practicing, training and running the rapids of the River Sanna in Landeck. As it was the Spring we also headed over to the River Lech, the drive is amazing as we head up over the Arlberg Pass and then the Flexen pass to reach Zürs am Arlberg. We then head to the village of Lech and follow the stunning Lech Gorges all the way past Warth and down into the Lech Valley. Though the River Lech is a Class 2 (3) river, we have a few places where we can really put in some solid Class 4 moves but with Class 2 consequences, it is a perfect place to practice, train and improve all within your comfort zone!!
Kayaking in the Engadine of Switzerland
By the end of the week Sjaan arrived and we all headed to the Engadine Region of Switzerland to kayak on the Schuls Gorge of the River Inn. As it was still Spring, the high water and landslides had not arrived yet so the lower part of the river was still quite tricky. Josefa had also just arrived from Chile so she got involved in all the action as we kayaked our way downstream.
We had a fantastic time with everyone over the week and the final photo is now being used as our homepage header, full of joy, smiling faces and a great way to end a weeks kayaking with us here on our Classic Austria Class 3-4 Trip.
Sjaan kayaking on the Toesens Gorge of the River Inn.
Private Kayak Coaching in Austria
Sjaan stayed on for a few days of private coaching, she was really keen to improve her fundamental techniques and so we put a plan in and went into some intensive coaching. It proved to be a welcome addition for Sjaan as she was also heading out to Chile with us at the start of the year on a Pucon Mecca Class 4 Trip. Her technique and especially her forward paddling was helping her immensely when it came to the rivers in and around Pucon, Chile!!
Marie working on her technique on the River Lech.
Fundamentals of White Water Kayaking
Marie also came back to us this year to improve her kayaking. Again we were working hard on the fundamentals of white water kayaking and again the proof was on the river where she paddled the big water of the Imst Gorge a few times in her very small half slice. Yes, she was nervous at first but you could see the confidence she was gaining throughout the paddle down the Imster and by the second run she was looking for all the hits through the big crashing waves, punching holes, she really did have a feel for her tiny half slice kayak.
Beginner Kayaking Courses
However, it was not all full on! We were running beginner kayaking courses throughout the Spring. Starting up on Lake Verwall in St.Anton am Arlberg, a beautiful lake with amazing views of the surrounding mountains. After the lake it was some nice mellow white water as an introduction before the final day on the River Lech over in the Lech Valley.
Paddle UK Courses and Qualifications
Paddle UK Courses and Qualifications
As the Spring was coming to an end, the air temperature was getting warmer and the days longer we were about to welcome in the Summer and of course the high season. At the end of Spring, Bob came over from France to run some Paddle UK (formally British Canoeing) qualifications and provider courses for us. Josefa and Toby gained their Paddle UK Advanced White Water Leader qualifications, Ute became a Provider for the Paddle UK White Water Leader Award and Steve gained both Provider status with the Paddle UK White Water Leader and Advanced White Water Leader awards.
We will be providing various Paddle UK qualification, training and assessment courses throughout the season here in Austria. To find out more about our Paddle UK kayaking courses just follow the links below..