Alps White Water Holiday – France 2026 – Sunday Day 02 Vénéon

2026 08 01 Alps WW Day 02 Vénéon by John Cook

Today we said goodbye to the course at Isle de Serra, after a fantastic week of junior club development, and the first day of the Alps trip. We headed out on the drive with different agendas; some are staying late and having a final paddle, then going to Briancon.

Four of us headed for the Vénéon river. It’s been a couple of years since I last did the Vénéon, and the way the river and surrounding area have changed is unbelievable. We got on and paddled down; all that remains of the iron footbridge is the large concrete bases; the bridge itself was presumably washed away.

Then we stopped at the very impressive waterfall; some tried to swim in towards the fall, but the force of it is very impressive. The difference in water temperature from Isle de Serra to the cold alpine water is also very noticeable, especially for those who chose to go cag-less!

Back in the boats and back at the get-out, we decided to stop for a coffee at one of the cafés at the top of the Col de Lauteret. The scenery coming over the top is beautiful and breathtaking. A few miles later, we arrived at the campsite, tents up, showered, and dinner and a lot of tired people made for an early-ish night. The Clews even had time to go paddleboarding on the lake at the campsite, and Clara reported that it was “still icy cold”.

Overview

• Section: Base de Raft de St Christophe to Vénéon Eaux Vives (Plan du Lac)
• Conditions: Medium flow, cold glacier-melt water
• Grade: Grade II (Featuring a newly formed, bouldery riverbed and braided channels near the bottom). Possibly grade 3 if you carry upstream to the start of the via ferrata.
• Nature: A fast, continuous run along the valley floor with the road on the river right. Exit is before the bridge at Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans)

Pushing off from the Base de Raft de St Christophe into the icy, translucent turquoise flow, our team of four kayakers (Keith, Dom, Jacki and John) spaced out early to read the dynamic, ever-changing alpine current. The river sets off straight away with a lively, approachable character, flowing over a newly shaped, heavily bouldery bed packed with fresh gravel bars that demand active boat placement.

Paddling further down, we passed the historical footprints of Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans, noting the stark landscape changes where the old bridge and café were swept away in the devastating floods of 2024.

We pulled over into a secure riverbank eddy just upstream of the roaring mist of Cascade de la Pisse (Lanchâtra Falls). Spraydecks off, we jumped out of our boats. Many paths guided us to a bridge and the base of the cascade to reach the deep, mist-filled plunge pool fed directly by the mountain torrent. Taking the plunge into the freezing, crystal-clear water provided an exhilarating, teeth-chattering break before we returned to our kayaks.

We dropped back into the current as the river began to fan out into a newly formed, braided channel system across wide gravel beds. Navigating the shifting shallow forks with tight team communication, we threaded our way down to a smooth finish at the take-out by the Vénéon Eaux Vives base in Plan du Lac. Take-out options are before the bridge site—either up the track on the left bank to the bus stop and small car park or via the path on the right bank leading toward the rafting base. The shuttle only takes a few minutes, and although short, this is a fantastic starter run for an Alpine holiday.