The Best Rivers for Creeking around Base Arlberg in Austria
Creeking has become absolutely huge in the whitewater kayaking scene. Steep rivers with features that require a kayaking technique of their own to make a safe and fun descent. There are some well known areas around Europe to go creeking and sometimes Austria does not get the attention its steep rivers deserve! The areas of Salzkammergut and over to the east of the country are well known in the German speaking community for their Spring creeking but sometimes the west of the country gets overlooked and to be quite honest once we mention some of our favourite rivers for creeking I am sure you may have heard of a couple!?
So here are our Best Rivers for Creeking around Base Arlberg in Austria….
River Rosanna
Our home river and where our Kayak School is based.
The Rosanna River springs from the lakes below the Fädnerspitze which is around 2600m. As it starts its descent, it cuts a path through the Verwall mountains which contain peaks of over 3000m in altitude before finally joining the Trisanna River and forming the shortest river in the whole of the Alps - the Sanna.
There are 5 distinct sections of the Rosanna ranging from Class 2 up to (and sometimes over) Class 5, with 2 of the sections ideal for creeking.
The Class IV-V Upper Rosanna is the first section. It starts above Lake Verwall and is steep in nature. This section has some fantastic drops and slides that can be compared to the classic rivers in Corsica.
You will have to earn your drops by carrying your kayaks to the put-in.
Below Lake Verwall is the Class V Rosanna Gorge. A small and sometimes very steep creek set in a deep little gorge with difficult access. It is a serious undertaking and has had just a couple of descents. We completed the first descent of the Rosanna Gorge a few years ago.
River Ötz
The River Ötz is impressive! It starts high up in the valley at Zwieselstein at the confluence of the Venter Ache and the Gurgler Ache. It has made its mark on not only the landscape but also a lot kayakers! It separates the Stubai mountains and the Oetztal mountains both of which are spectacular with glaciers and high alpine peaks. It is these glaciers that feed the River Ötz. Never does it drop below class 3 and is one of the best places to put your skills to test, improve your technique and of course train for harder expeditions around the world. Of course the Ötz is also famous for hosting the Sickline World Champions of extreme kayaking.
There are 6 distinct sections on the river Ötz: Kühtrain Gorge, Upper Ötz, Middle Ötz, Köfels, Wellebrücke and the Lower Ötz. Sometime throughout the season they will all be suited to creeking.
What I mean by that is you cannot call the Upper Ötz in the afternoon or during an evening run on a hot Summers day a creek - it is full on river running. The same can be said of the easiest of the sections, the Lower Ötz, the river is pumping in the height of Summer but when lower of course the rocks start to come out!
The Tourism Office does have more information on its website that you can read. You can find it through this link.
River Inn
The Inn is the biggest volume of river in the Alps and has been the training ground for many Himalayan kayaking pioneers, past and present! It is renowned for being just a BIG volume river but there are also sections for creeking.
Its headwaters are up at the Maloja Pass in Switzerland and on its way to the Danube River the Inn cuts a path of some 500 Km in length travelling through Austria and Germany. It is the Swiss Inn that has 3 sections for creeking close to our Base Arlberg in Austria.
Swiss Inn
In Switzerland the area is known as the Engadine. A beautiful valley in the South-Eastern Alps and of the 4 official languages in Switzerland, Romansch is the most widely spoken. Translated from Romansch, Engadin means “The Garden of the Inn”.
Once the Inn reaches the village of S-chanf the open meadows give way to deep gorges with steep walls and the river starts to take on a rather wild look and path all the way to the Austrian border! Throughout Autumn there are 3 sections of the River Inn in Switzerland where you can go creeking.
The Giarsun Gorge can provide some great places to work on your creeking skills when the river is at low water. It is by far the best section of the Swiss Inn and we never seem to have a bad run! A Class 3(4) it loses a lot of its power in the Autumn but the scenery is absolutely stunning and of course with less power you can really concentrate on making those moves you learnt previously.
The Ardez Gorge is a big step up from the Giarsun Gorge. It can be called a committing canyon run with some big scouts and even bigger portages. The Ardez is a great test of nerve, teamwork and skill. In-fact it can have a feeling of a mini-expedition and it is a place we like to paddle with our clients if we are heading to Peru for instance! The Ardez Gorge is Class 4 in Autumn with one 5 minus that leads directly into the “Bockschlitz”, a Class 6 nasty syphon that you portage on River Left! If you are at that level of technique and have styled the Giarsun Gorge a few times then the Ardez is a great paddle, just a pain with one portage but I suppose the reason I say that is that we are so spoilt around Base Arlberg here in the Austrian Alps - there are so many sections to enjoy!
There Schuls Gorge has a short but very sweet section at the start of its path. In early Autumn the rocks make a prominent statement and seeing, kayaking and maintaining the line requires good concentration for the intermediate Class 3 kayaker. Building up to laps of this short but sweet mini-section is a great way to improve your creeking skills!
River Lech
The River Lech is our second home river of the Arlberg and is stunning. Originating from over 2000m above the village of Lech am Arlberg with stunning mountains such as the famous Rote Wand surround the rivers source. The Lech itself has many distinct sections and is some 264km in length flowing through Austria and then into Germany before finishing in the River Danube.
There are 5 distinct sections of the Lech ranging from Class 2 up to (and sometimes over) Class 5, with 2 sections ideal for creeking. The most paddled section makes its way through a beautiful Nature Park but it is the Lech Gorges that are its real gems. Carving their way through a stunning, deep and committing gorge, they are absolutely world class!!
The Class V Upper Lech Gorge starts in the village of Lech am Arlberg and after a short paddle you enter the first box canyon and the gradient gets steeper and harder. On the Upper Lech Gorge you can always scout, set up safety or portage rapids. The take-out is at the bottom of the village of Warth.
The Lower Lech Gorge is again a Class V river and very different in character to the Upper! There are 2 rapids that you cannot scout or portage and are must runs! The lines are cleaner than its Upper section and there are plenty of opportunities to catch some air miles, boofing rocks, ledges and holes. Without doubt this is one of the best sections of whitewater and creeking rivers in Austria! It is committing and you have to be very careful with regards to water levels.
If you have not kayaked the Lower Lech before, take a local guide who knows the river and lines.
The Lech Gorges are committing and you should be aware of the weather, water levels and of course your group abilities as a rescue is not very easy. Do not underestimate the Lech Gorges!!
However, the rewards are certainly worth it if it all the pieces of the cogs fit into place.
Venter Ache
Vent is situated high up in the Ötztal Valley. Towering over the small mountain village, the Wildspitze at 3774m is Tirol’s highest mountain and down in the valley is the impressive Venterache River. It is worth remembering that Vent lays at 1900m so it will feel a lot colder than down by the Lower Ötz and when a cold snap comes in, you can usually expect snow, no matter what time of the year!
The Venterache is a tributary of the Ötztaler Ache and there are 3 creeking sections of the Venterache. The top 2 sections of the Upper Venterache and the Heiligkreuz Gorge are for very experienced kayakers and only at certain water levels!
The Lower Venterache in the height of Summer is a HIGH water Class V, however in the Autumn it becomes more manageable for most kayakers. It is a great section to put all the skills and techniques you need for creeking to the test and the Autumn colours are simply stunning. Over those crisp sunny Autumn weekends you will find plenty of kayakers up in the valley enjoying a day on the Venterache.
We hope this gives you an insight into the Best Rivers for Creeking around Basecamp Arlberg in the west of Austria and that the photos inspire you for a kayaking trip here.