Nepal Sun Koshi Expedition – Day 4 (4th April) by Darren Bohanna It was easily the trickiest day of the expedition. The Harkabur rapids awaited. The day started out much like the others with a generally pleasant bob down the river up until the river bent sharply round to the left with the volume of the river being compressed through a small (small for Nepal) channel. Approaching Harkabur 2 you could hear the rumble of the river intensify as the guides raced ahead to make sure that we all got out way before this beast. We left our boats while heading over to inspect. We did that thing, where you look at the death muncher far river right, the half river sized boulder centre river, the big hole near the boulder, and the route which tight ropes between all of the hazards. We all get together pointing out where you would go if you were ever to run it, pointing out that if you ended up far right that there was nothing anyone could do for you. Straight away I decided that I wasn’t going to run it, telling myself that you’ve got no insurance and it’s in the middle of nowhere. I hear that Keith had said that he wasn’t running it and that he hoped that I wasn’t either. We then spent the next hour or so unloading all of the rafts and portaging the kit around the beast. Like a team of worker ants, we moved back and forth. The guides put us to shame carrying really heavy items, strapped to their heads, while bounding nimbly from boulder to boulder. We’re about to start putting on beneath the beast when Naresh (sounded Norris) says ‘are you running it? I’ve seen you skills, you are good enough’. The […]

French Alps 2018 paddling trip Day 6 Middle Guil by Ron Wood 9am sharp off to the Middle Guil, an Alpine classic 3-4 run, the merry band of 13 were excited but also maybe a little nervous that this was going to be a more challenging day. The easier “warm up” initial section proved interesting, with the combination of fast flowing water (a little higher than usual) and a more technical rocky run than previous days sharpening everyone’s concentration. All of the group made it down to the first get out before it started to get a bit more big and bouncy, thankfully no real mishaps and then rounded off with a tantalising re-gathering of the teams in the eddy above (for those new to the river) “surprise drop”. After a bit talking up the size of the drop/tow back, the need to keep the boat straight, and of course, the need to “paddle, paddle, paddle”, everyone disappeared over the horizon happily to be seen again. The section after this became a bit more challenging and some of the group had already taken the decision to call it a day and the remainder split into more manageable teams of 4 and 5, with Keith leading one group and the rest in the safe hands of John C. Everything was working wonderfully until we decided to portage a rapid with a boulder choke and some confused water. After some careful positioning of boats by our most experienced river leader, the blue Mamba decided to get back on the water with no one on board and, crucially, no one ready to execute the easy catch before it got going in earnest. With Helen’s deck showing appalling timing in refusing to fit her boat, the intrepid Silver Fox set of chasing it like […]

French Alps 2018 paddling trip Day 6 Via ferrata at Château-Queyras by Michael O’Rourke and Trevor Strain We turned up after our mornings paddle and had a walk to do a recce of Chateau-Queyras gorge at Via ferrata. After seeing the raging running torrent through the gorge five of us decided we really wanted to do some climbing for instead. Mike, Hannah, Dom, Ciaran and Trevor parted with 5 euros to hire some Via Ferrata harnesses and headed up to the gorge. Lead by Dom we slowly traversed through the gorge, clipping and unclipping on the safety wire. There was a variety of rock holds, metal fixings and a tight rope to navigate. Two thirds of the way through, Mike, Hannah and Trevor decided it was time for a refreshing drink while hardened climbers Dom and Ciaran saw the traverse through to the end. Hannah and Trevor made up for not finishing the traverse by running up a really steep hill to a medieval hut, Hannah impressed us all by running all the way without stopping. After kayaking a section of the Guil with the Liverpool canoe club five intrepid kayakers went to explore the via ferrata at Château Queyras. First of all we went to the rafting Centre to hire our safety harnesses. Each included two lanyards each with a carabiner to ensure that when traversing the via ferrata each person is always connected to the safety line with at least one lanyard when moving past the anchor punts on the safety line. Dom led the way on to the via ferrata with more than one of the group thinking whose idea was this ? After the first 50 metres working along the cliff face the group started to relax a little. Our white knuckles started to change colour, […]

French Alps 2018 paddling trip Day 6 Château-Queyras by Ron Wood Once we had picked up everyone from various lay-bys along the side of the road we made our way up to Château-Queyras. People quickly found their needs for the afternoon, ice-cream for some, a classic gorge Via Farrata for others, and a small team unable to resist the frothy charms of the Château-Queyras gorge. A brief isnpection confirmed there was more water than usual from previous years at this time of year, but our hardy team weren’t going to back out now. Well, what a blast! The guide book “toilet flush”, or the Cresta Run, really do convey the feeling as you pick up speed through the increasingly narrow channel between sheer rock walls. The trick (apparently) is to follow the water and stay straight while avoiding bouncing off too many walls. Easier said than done with plenty of fast approaching boulder drops and, the crux of the run, a narrow corkscrew halfway down that requires you to trying to keep left before sliding right and holding your balance to ride it through. On this occasion, the river gods decided it was John’s turn to take one to feed the team’s banter, but most of us know it’s only a matter of another run or two for our lesson to arrive. Even at these approaching medium levels there is a useable eddy ½ way down for reuniting the seperated and a quick breather before taking on the calmer final section. Below the eddy is not without its challenges, starting with another small drop with some awkward boulders in the middle to navigate around. We wound down paddling past a couple of small gorge-side waterfalls and down to the get out by the road bridge high above us. It was […]

French Alps 2018 paddling trip Day 5 Upper Durance by Kirk Williams We decided to return to an afternoon stalwart, the Upper Durance, with only a few of the team deciding to give it a miss for different reasons (done it, no boat & tired). We set off without our intrepid shuttle cyclist who was going to catch us up, so plenty of opportunity for taking our time and enjoying playing the many friendly water features along the way. With the rain booster, the levels were higher than our previous run and this perhaps explained why Helen & Roy soon disappeared into the distance. We did manage to encourage the team to get closer together and work on making small mid-river eddies, surfing small waves and venturing into some small holes/pour overs. All good practice for the bigger stuff we will be encountering on other days. As we paddled past the smelly bridge towards the jaws of the barrage John reminded me of our daily rolling programme, so a murky water flip had to be executed (successfully) but when we looked for Helen she was already heading up the bank faster than we’ve ever seen her go to the bar. There’s always tomorrow. More photographs……….  

French Alps 2018 paddling trip Day 5 Upper Guisane by Kirk Williams The 9am departure was a bit of a shock after yesterday’s leisurely departure, but we managed to get everyone loaded and up to the get in, after a quick stop for a view of the S Bends rapid, highlight of the Upper Guisane. The drive in past slightly murky water suggested that runoff from last night’s storms had brought the rivers up a touch and this proved to be the case. This made it even more important on a relatively narrow river with limited/small eddies to split into smaller groups to manage our run safely. The top of the river is an introduction warm-up and all the groups made it to the eddy above S Bends safely, with only one or two mishaps along the way. For those who didn’t know the river from previous years, we had the added safety of some excellent traffic direction/instruction from Keith. The safety of the bank gave everyone a chance to have a look at the rapid from the top down perspective before making their go-no go choice. With the limited feasible bank & on river safety organized, the group set off in buddy pairs. Most made it the bottom without any mishaps and everyone seemed to be smiling or grimacing nicely for the photos. Our slick organization was interrupted by the appearance of a solo raft that managed to get itself quite seriously pinned at the top end of the rapid but the only casualty was a raft paddle so all good. Our fool proof river signal of John running most of the way down to the bottom eventually managed to get Kirk to come back up to the top of the river for the final pair descent. Luckily the […]

Tuesday saw a flotilla of 32 juniors and parents paddle around the docks. It was great to see paddlers sat waiting patiently on the beach the full length, and more, of the compound despite the hot sun, though the more enterprising worked out how to keep cool. A little delay before paddling off as a number of first timers had joined, so it was a quick introduction to buoyancy aids, paddles and boats, for both juniors and paddling parents. Everybody ready to go, assisting adults in the water, and then go juniors! Dave led everyone off with a reminder to keep away from the boats, which everyone including the first timers managed. It was great to see, with a little encouragement, Ellie and Ella helping teach how to hold the paddle and keep the kayak in a straight line. Others helping to solve that question of “Why does my boat just go around?” At the far end of Coburg Dock it was time to practice paddling in a straight line, paddling with a glide and general paddling skills. For those that needed a bit more time getting used to paddling a more one on one help was provided. A paddle down Queens Dock keeping to the right out of the way of the yachts. Dave in his open soon became a transfer point as we moved juniors between kayaks trying to pair the more inexperienced with better fitting, easier to paddle, kayaks. At the end of the Dock it was time to practice getting out of boats, with the inevitable splash as junior met water, followed by practicing getting back in with varying degrees of success. And for the more experienced juniors a little bit of T-rescuing (hopefully more next week!). With a number of wet juniors and the sun […]

  French Alps 2018 paddling trip Day 4 The Ubaye Race Course by Stuart Conway Today’s river was one of the best white water race courses in Europe, a variety of large rapids separated by calm pools, well that  what the guide book says. We reached the get in at Le Martinet after a 1.5 hrs journey from the campsite. We all set off in one group lead initially by Keith. The first section was full of boulders, quite a challenging introduction to the river. We all made it, and then Helen took the lead and we sped through the next couple of section till she was sent back to bring up the rear. 4 more major rapids were paddled before the first of many rafts caught us up. Having been down the river in previous years the “Shark Tooth” rapid was the one that bothered me the most, but we all managed to get through with no mishaps. The lead in to final rapid before the Roman Bridge and fabulous gorge proved no problem with all making the best line through. Only one more surprize lower down was when we came out of a right-hand bend there was a under cut that we all managed to avoid (except Nick but he did roll up).         Brilliant day on the river, then on to Lac Luazet for a swim and a well-deserved beer. The only casualty today was a crayfish, stunned when Hannah threw it back into the lake after it was dropped by a family of fishers. She will now research how to reintroduce crayfish to their natural environment, or how to cook them! More photographs……….

French Alps 2018 paddling trip Day 3 The Upper Durance by Michael O’Rourke We dropped in from a layby and ran the first half of the Upper Durance at brake neck speed lead by John or Helen, no one could quite see who, but every eddie and wave was missed. After a pause and quick word from Keith we slowed the pace a bit and did some actual kayaking eddie hopping, breaking in and out. We were spoilt for choice with the number of eddies to choose from. Entering the stinky river part of the Upper Durance Dom decided this would be a great place to go for a swim, while I decided to demonstrate breaking in to Hannah and ended up upside down in the eddie, but I think that still counts. We continued down the river to the weir passing not 1 but 2 stop signs. Kirk assured us this was fine, and we finally reached the slack waters before the weir and hauled our boats up a steep slope which was probably the hardest part of the day. While Keith cycled to collect the van Dom dished out the hand sanitiser to counteract the effects of the stinky river, and as of yet no one has been sick. More photographs……….  

French Alps 2018 paddling trip Day 3 The Upper Gyronde by Hannah Bellamy We had a leisurely start this morning, and after a good breakfast of fresh baguette and a few loads of washing we headed off to the Upper Gyronde about 10am. We stopped at the bridge at Les Vigneaux to have a look at the level and confirm our plan for the day and decided that rather than do a 500m portage to continue down to the campsite we would paddle the Upper Gyronde on the morning, get out at the bridge and the Upper Durance in the afternoon. The river is quite fast moving and technical with lots of rock ‘gardens’, a perfect warm up for the Ubaye planned for tomorrow. We split into smaller groups of 3s and 4s to give each other lots of space and off we went. We paddled our own lines around the rocks, watching out for each other and eddy hopping to keep the groups either side in sight. A few sneaky rocks caught a few of us out but all in all it was a great section of river, very different to the bouncy wave trains of yesterday, and enjoyed by everyone. More photographs……….