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Frazer
A well loaded Landrover
The best time to go to France is the last week in June and the first week of July , after that the levels tend to drop and by mid-July things are getting pretty scrapey. The Austrian water tends to hold up longer, so most clubs travel out to the Rabioux, a famous play spot in Chateauxroux near Briancon to warm up before moving further east.
Here's a rough itinery for a 3 week `Grand Tour' of the Alps;
We spent a week warming up near Briancon in southern France before attempting the local
test pieces, Chateau Queyras, 150ft deep and less than a boat length wide, Guardian Angel
Gorge, the Fresquiere, the Durance Gorge and possibly France's most difficult gorge, the
Ubaye.
Guil Falls
Leaving France as the water level dropped, we spent
four days in northern Italy, shooting the upper reaches of the Dora Baltea, one of the
fastest and most powerful sections in Europe, before traversing Italy to try the Sesia and
the Sermenza.
The weir on the Dora Baltea
Hitting Switzerland we followed the popular river Inn, shooting Giarsun, Ardez, Scoul
and the infamous Finstermunster Gorge before reaching Austria and our base in Landeck,
mecca for alpine kayakers. Winding down on the easier sections of the Inn (Tosens, Fliess
and Imst) interest was kept high shooting the tributaries, with the Sanna, Pitzbach and
the Otz providing lots of entertainment. 
Devils Corner on the Sanna
Finally we broke the journey home by visiting the artificial slalom site at Augsburg, near Munich in Germany.
In a little over three weeks we travelled 3500 miles through 8 countries, paddling 40 sections for over 200km of white water.
France, 1 July - 8 July 1995
Team: Dave Bright, Mikey Shaw, Pete Cropper, Adrian Gale, Lee Rogers, Mike Bateson.
We left Brighton with Mike (B) looking like death, after a combination of Trent water and a severe hangover.
Having reached France we started with the Rabioux as usual. Finding the stopper washed out and the wave very messy, this was a brief visit, with the only notable event being Ady and Dave completing Rabioux to Embrum looking for Mikey, who had got bored and got off.
After a warm up on the Claree, we did the Guisane as a relatively easy section. We found the lower part to be very large, fast, continuous and much bigger than last year. The next day was superb with a run on the Onde, Gyr, and Gyronde. We discovered that half of the Gyr's banks had collapsed into the river. An interesting day on Chateau Queras Gorge, with a 50% swim rate. The Guil was up lots on last year and made all the sections much harder than normal. An evening dossing at the Lac de Ser Ponserre (or however you spell it, I can't even pronounce it), provided some notable events, with Dave trying to borrow some litre glasses and a pedillo.
My best day was the last one, when we ran the Lower Guisane again, and then got on the Gyr at 5 pm, when it was very high. COOL!!!
Having gone a week earlier than normal we found ALL the levels much higher than normal,and well worth the visit. Excellent trip.
Lee Rogers
...or even more recent....
Robbie, Marco, Gillian, Mike B, Lee, Gary, Mark Ressot, Pete Cropper, Roj, George, Fay, SJB, Mat, Frazer, Clive, Adrian, Helen, Mark Roworth.
Eighteen paddlers in 5 cars, a true Poly trip combining paddlers (both current and ex-) from Sussex, Brighton, Newcastle and Warwick Universities.
The weather was wet and cold, with only one sunny afternoon. Pretty much everything was up, with the wave at the Rabioux borderline to washed out all week.
After a warm up run down to Embrun from the Rabioux we ran the Onde which had medium levels of water. Then onto the Claree from Nevache, excellent water levels making for a very good run, particularly through the first steep kilometer. Persistant rain showers dampened enthusiasm but the diehards ran the Lower Guisane anyway, enjoying a fast paddle on this technical section.
Decamping to the Guil valley for a couple of days we first ran the section above Chateux Queyras, which was most excellent due to the high water levels. Eleven of us then cleaned the spectacular Chateaux Q. section which was pumping. Next morning 9 of us returned to run Chateux Queyras again, continuing into Gardian Angel which at this level is not to be trifeled with. After a quick lunch break at the Maison du Roy put on and being joined by the rest of the group we continued down the Guil past triple falls towards the keyhole. Roj put an end to the days festivities after snapping his blades just below the boulder garden, the resulting swim producing a bashed head and a quick trip to Briancon.
Staying in the Guillestre area we went for a very scenic trip through the Mont Dauphin gorge, visiting the sulphur springs before continuing down the Durance back to the Rabioux. A great bimble.
Moving again into the Ubaye valley we discovered that the spate reports were overblown with levels only medium (maybe plus but not much). A quick jaunt down the Fresquiere was followed by the Racecourse at quite a tricky level, resulting in several trashings and at least one holding pour-over. Binning the Ubaye Gorge due to the already excess of excitement and the Gendarmerie throwing their weight around we wound up the trip by storming the Mont Dauphin fort in the rain.
Logisitics:
We drove to Chateauxroux, between Gap and Briancon in the French alps from Calais in
around 10 hours. The tolls cost around 30 pounds a car. Via the 'route national' it took
around 12-14 hours and cost nothing. There is a lot of paddling in this area and several
campsites, ask the other boaters at the Rabioux (down the hill from Chateauxroux) for more
details.
Guidebook:
White Water Europe, Book 2 (South Alps).
Peter Knowles, 1st Edition 1996. ISBN: 0-9519413-2-1
A much better guidebook than (tall) Story with several additional sections. The grading is
more in line with current trends, maps are good and prose in true Peter Knowles style.
Frazer Pearce, F.R.Pearce@durham.ac.uk
7-Jul-97
