Meet our team
We are extremely proud of our Team here at Kayak School Arlberg. Our Coaches, Instructors and Guides have a huge amount of experience around the world. They have made completed First Descents, exploring rivers where no-one has been before, opening up rivers that were hardly ever kayaked. Their coaching, instructing and guiding abilities are second to none be it through British Canoeing, the American Canoe Association or teaching in the prestigious UFRO University in Pucon Chile. Some have represented their countries in Slalom and extreme kayaking but what makes them all stand out is their love of whitewater kayaking! So whether you are a Beginner, a Class 2 kayaker or a seasoned veteran our team will not only help you improve but develop your understanding of white water and have some great times on the river!
Steve Brooks
Steve lives, sleeps and eats kayaking!
When you get to kayak with Steve, you would never believe, that it wasn’t already his childhood dream to learn to kayak. Instead he was more or less forced to become a kayak instructor while serving in the British Army. What may have felt as a punishment for some, for Steve it opened a whole new world and within a few years he had said goodbye to his military career and headed off looking for adventure in the worlds best rivers!!
He has explored some of the most remote rivers in the world. From the deepest gorges in the Peruvian Andes, into the dense amazon jungle rivers of Ecuador, the big volume rivers of the Zambezi and Nile in Africa to the stunning rivers of the Himalayas in Nepal and India, Steve has been privileged to witness and share some amazing locations. His love for adventure combined with his drive and passion has made his expeditions hugely successful.
In 2013 Steve was awarded Canoe and Kayak UK magazines Adventurer of the Year and in 2014 he and Ute were followed by a film producer to cover their adventures which included a first descent in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh in India. The film was shown throughout Germany, at the film festival in St.Anton am Arlberg, Austria and also at the prestigious Kendal Film Festival in the UK.
Steve has been instructing and coaching for over 2 decades and throughout this time he has continually strived to develop and update his coaching style and qualifications through British Canoeing. Steve has a great understanding of the needs of different levels and characters of kayakers and has an immense amount of patience!
Being able to instruct and teach at such a high level will only help you develop as a whitewater kayaking and can open a new chapter in your kayaking career!
Steve can teach in English, German and Spanish.
Ute Heppke
You may recognise Ute on many of Peak UK’s posters, photos and webpages!
She comes from one of Europe’s top kayaking destinations - and is still one of only few locals who kayak. One of the reasons, why not more people here have started kayaking is probably, that they have been warned by their grandparents and parents that the river is dangerous. Of course it was dangerous for them, since some of them used to spend their Summers up in the mountains and never learned how to swim.
But Ute has always been fascinated by whitewater and when she met Steve, she realised that this is her chance to learn how to paddle. The path to being able to paddle stress free and not having to worry about exiting her boat was long and sometimes the lessons learned were hard, but she kept on persevering and slowly but surely the swims became fewer and fewer and the smiles bigger and wider!!
Kayaking has transformed Ute’s life, from growing up in the mountains of St.Christoph am Arlberg where she just loved Winter, snow and skiing, she has progressed to be one of the leading female kayakers and coaches that Austria has.
Ute has spent the past 2 decades exploring some of the deepest, remotest rivers on the planet such as the Cola Canyon and Cotahuasi Canyon in Peru or the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. She has kayaked the big water of the White Nile in Uganda, plus 3 seasons of kayaking in the jungle of Ecuador to name but a few. However, it is in the Indian Himalayas kayaking the Zanskar Gorge in Ladakh, known as the Grand Canyon of the Himalayas, the Ganges and its tributaries in Uttarakhand, the Beas Gorge in the Kullu Valley and River Chandra in the tribal region of Lahaul that have made her kayaking resume so impressive. Together with Steve, Ute has also completed a First Descent down the River Uhl in Himachal Pradesh that has become one of her greatest personal achievements - so far!!
As a kayak instructor and coach you will be in safe hands. The knowledge she has personally gained through her adventures, travels and working around the world has made her a fantastic teacher. Her laid back style, charm, endless patience, knowledge and various methods of instructing, coaching and teaching are complemented perfectly by her modern, dynamic style of kayaking.
In the Winter, Ute spends her time in the mountains teaching skiing and off-piste guiding in the Arlberg region of Austria. She not only holds the ISIA ski and snowboard instructor awards but she has also gained her Ski Guide qualification from the Austrian Mountain Guide Association.
Ute can teach in German and English.
Josefa Sepulveda
We first met Josefa at the Rio Fuy in southern Chile in 2022 where she was working guiding rafts and safety kayaking. She was in the same team as Diego who visited us in 2022 for 6 weeks and Christian her boss highly recommended her.
Josefa first started kayaking in the mecca that is Pucon, Chile and she studied outdoor education at the prestigious UFRO University in Pucon where she specialised in whitewater. She passed her degree with flying colours and was awarded best student, which is a huge achievement in such a male dominated course and environment!
Her smile and love for life is endless, she loves being on the river and more importantly she really likes to see kayakers improve their technique and awareness in a whitewater environment. Of course being from Chile she has a certain amount of Latina style and brings this into her coaching and guiding, what else would you expect from someone who learnt to kayak in Chile!
She has represented Chile in kayak slalom in Brasil during the South American games but with a lack of funding from her country or the International Canoe Federation she was forced to leave behind her competition dreams and instead focus on bringing joy to the people she paddles on the river with. Her technique is smooth and dynamic as you would expect from a slalom kayaker.
In 2021 and 2023 she was the top female kayaker at the Pucon River Festival with podium places in Time Trial, Down River, Extreme Slalom and Boater Cross! Also in 2023 Josefa gained her British Canoeing Advanced Whitewater Leader Award.
An extremely talented person, a strong female kayaker and her drawings are unbelievably good!
Josefa is a core member of our coaching and guiding team here in Austria and Chile!
Toby Saxton
Toby is a monster of a man, especially when you see him and Josefa next to each other! His strength is unbelievable, however, what is so good to see is that he reads the water in such a way that when he shows you a line or demonstrates a move it is pure technique. Toby has been based in Austria for over 25 years and knows the area like the back of his hand, so he knows what river has the perfect conditions and levels for the kayakers he will be coaching or guiding that day or week.
His laid back charm will make you feel at ease, whether it is your first time on the river or as an experienced kayaker sitting above a tricky rapid. He will talk you through it, in a way that just makes sense. It will help calm your nerves and after you have styled the rapid you will see his huge smile beaming back at you!
As well as kayaking and guiding throughout Europe, Toby has kayaked and led expeditions in the Indian Himalayas and Morocco.
A qualified British Canoeing Advanced Whitewater Leader he has also represented Great Britain in Freestyle!
Toby coaches and leads in English and German.
Stanzin Tanfan
On the 11th of August 2023 we received the tragic news that our beloved Stanzin Tanfan died while kayaking on the Tsarap Chu River in his home in Ladakh, northern India. Stanzin was an amazing and humble human being. As a practicing Tibetan Buddhist he lived by those ancient values. One of them - refrain from taking life - was noticed by everyone who met him, since he didn’t kill any mosquitoes or horse flies but rescued bugs and insects that where in the river or in our water butts.
Stanzin had a huge impact on everyone he met and his legacy will live on and long.
He leaves behind a devastated wife and his young son of 3 years old, family both in Ladakh and Austria.
We made a Go Fund Me page so that everyone who wishes can donate to help his young family and for Norgyal to get the best education possible. We would like to thank everyone who has donated and sent their recollections and stories about Stanzin.
If you would like to donate then please follow the Go Fund Me link.
If you would prefer to donate another way then please get in touch with us.