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Alpine
Paddling Holiday 2020 |
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News items or reports on club activities should be sent to website@liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk |
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This year’s trip had been affected by the Covid crisis but eventually we decided that we could not take the minibus and trailer and started to cancel these. Instead, some of us opted to drive out in cars as this followed government advice and was obviously much safer for all. In all, 8 vehicles made it out with 24 of us in total. These included Craig Ford, Aleksander Ford, Nadezda Ford, Stuart Toulson, Keith Steer, Neil Jones, Kayleigh Campbell, Oscar Kelly, Olesia Polivac, Chris Murphy, Oliver, Charlie, Claire, Steve Hitchen, Sara Gille, Richard Clews, Amy Newnham, Ella, Poppy, Clara, Maria Safar, Steve Gavin, Ellie Gavin, Gabrielle. The annual Alps Holiday has been running every year since 2008.
Day 1 The Durance from the campsite to St
Clement
After our eventful
23-hour journey on the cars we finally arrived at the camp site, everyone
exhausted we decided to have a nice chilled night. As this was my first-time
out to the Alps, my excitement and anxiety started to kick in said Kayleigh.
We started our two-week journey on the Durance which was
flowing very quickly. I was very
nervous as this was the fastest river I have ever done.
As we drifted down the flowing river the scenery surrounding
us was fantastic.
About halfway down we approached a rock cliff on a sweeping bend with a low overhang. Craig suggested that we all take the left-hand channel this year. Keith and Stuart decided to “get up and personal” with the gigantic overhang and checked out the right-hand route.
Soon we made it down to St Clement Slalom Course where we played on the waves and paddled the rapids. We then practiced throw lines rescues and defensive swimming, Kayleigh went first as Aleksander pulled off a perfect throw and rescue. Most managed to perfect their throws and pendulum the victims (casualties) into the eddy below.
Then back to the campsite where everyone relaxed and made food. Eager to get going for the next day.
Day 2 The Upper Durance
The Upper Durance is a good little warm-up river and
confidence builder for the less experienced at paddling white water. Lots of
easy bouncy rapids with more quieter stretches on which to take in the
spectacular scenery. Today, was particularly enjoyable as the sun was out and
the water blue.
The get out at the barrage by the tunnel
was “barred” but we still wanted to run the lower section which has
fantastic eddy sequences for about a 500m section. We scouted on foot through the
barriers and tunnel and noticed the tunnel was indeed blocked on both sides,
but we thought we would be clever and drive the cars to the other side of the
tunnel. However, the road was
also blocked about 1km away, so we had to leave 
the cars there and do a
double shuttle at the end of the trip.
We bounced down the rapids opposite the commercial centre, under a footbridge and then the road bridge to the commercial centre. We all took turns to lead and find breakouts. On one tricky section Kayleigh followed Craig over a large rock (boof) but this proved a little unbalancing and the inevitable happened and she took a short swim. Kayleigh managed to self-rescue dragging her boat to the bank. This was a great spot and we all surfed the little wave in the centre of the river while Kayleigh sorted her boat out.
After about 3 km we made it to a
railway bridge and the start of the main rapids. These all had a good level in them and
provided a great playground for us to play as we made our way down through. The stinky bridge at the bottom
(possible exit point) will have to be renamed as the authorities have now
mended the broken sewage pipe.
The remaining 3 km section has 50 or so expertly placed boulders left
and right that are a dream to break in an out of. It is easy grade two and would
make a fantastic natural slalom course.
All of us became too tired to utilise all of them.
Once at the barrage we carried out boats up to the top
and then through the tunnel (well-lit but void of all traffic) to the other
side of the barriers. We had a
short wait while the three cars navigated the temporary roadworks in Prelles.
After a short lunch Aleksander, Keith
and Stuart head off in search of the mighty Gryonde
but with the water at bankfull and not a boulder in
sight we decided to give it a miss as it was so late in the day.
Day 3a The Lower
Guil
We had a leisurely start and headed up the Guil Valley under Mont Dauphin Forte. The road was a rocky gravel track which is closed outside the summer because of rock fall from the hillside above. On crossing over the bridge and into the car park we checked out the “scenes of crime”. We spotted the line of oil from James earlier grounding of his Volvo. This is a sad story of wow with his car having hit a rock and holed the sump pan resulting in it having to be posted home and James booking a flight. (The French main Volvo dealership could not book it in for repairs for another two weeks!)
The shuttle was soon sorted. Olesia and Nadia were going to follow us down the valley on foot following the valley path and gravel track. This was Oscars first ever river and we spent a little time at the start explaining what an eddy was, how to edge and carve a turn. He was also shown the basics of a ferry glide, a few river signals and what to do if he encountered a rock midstream or a overhanging trees on a bend.
We headed off down the picturesque valley with crystal clear water flowing
from snowmelt higher up the valley.
There 
were a number of
other groups on the river and we leapfrogged each other between the rapids and
eddies. We played for a while on a
good little surf wave and honed our skills ready for St Clements Slalom site
below.
As the Guil joins the Durance there is a wild and boily mixing of the two currents. We all took special care here but there
were no mishaps and we soon drifted down to the wave rock with the massive
undercut. (This was the scene of
the raft pinning last year which 
took ten of us
pulling on a throw line to pop the raft free). We kept to the centre until the
las minute before taking the right-hand channel. About 2km of gravel beds led to the top
of the slalom site.
We dropped over the first wave and started to surf it in turn. Aleksander stole the show with his very impressive forward loop and sky-rocket getting his kayak vertical and totally clear of the water. After a while and following repeated efforts we made our way down the rapids to the beach below. Here we returned for the car and picked up Nadia and Olesia to return for lunch in the sun. Just as we finished lunch a grey cloud drifted over us followed be a few spots of rain. This soon changed into a full-on thunderstorm and the car park soon flooded. Fortunately, we had the cars and vans to shelter in and just watched as the rain came down. It stopped as soon as it had started and within minutes the strong sunshine started to dry everything. Our boats were still on the beach and had to be drained of a few litres of water.
Day 3b The Lower Durance
After a leisurely lunch, and once the shuttle was completed, with the van
going down to the Rab wave, we set off down the
Durance. We encountered loads
of big bouncy wave trains, 
Choo Choo! and
many swirling eddies and boils.
This section of river is really wide and enjoyable. No need to take turns or go one at a time. We just paddled as one large group, swapping the lead as we pleased. The best rapids and wave trains were on the outside of bends and we all headed for the biggest waves. We pointed out the eddy that gave Craig and Martin so much trouble escaping its swirling grip. The largest rapid on the section is under some power lines but this just gave us plenty of air as we bounced over the massive waves.
Keith had been trying to wind others up with the famous “dead man`s eddy”. This is a massive (100m) eddy with many logs and trees trapped in its never-ending grasp. Well we all broke into it and were swirled around it but had no trouble ferry gliding back to the middle of the river and around the cliff to the raft get out. We exited here but not before looking at the famous Rab wave which we planned to run another day.
Day 4a Upper Guisane
We headed off to find a river… the
Upper “Insane” Guisane. It started from a precarious
launch spot and we were soon on our way, dodging rocks and following the swift
flowing water. There were very few eddies and it was a good job we split into
two 4s as any more than this and we would lose contact between paddlers. After 4 km of this grade 2-3
toboggan run, we entered the fantastic canalised section through “Les
Grand Bains”. Here the water
flows over boulders and twists and turns to give an excellent 1.5km section
though the town. A few sensible
people portaged while the less sensible people tackled the (quite long) rapid
in a small group. I 
t
was big and fast with lots of rocks to dodge and smiles all around at the
bottom.
We all met up in sight of the house on the left bank and were very quickly on our way again. We stopped at the raft get in and discussed the lines some of us had taken over the two small weirs in the next section. This year none of us had any trouble and Oscar didn’t even know we had gone over those pesky weirs.
The rest of the river was a relaxed and pretty paddle, with a few bits to keep us entertained. We are glad to report the student globe is still on the balcony where it has been for the last 20+ years. A great river and in total contrast to the mighty Durance.
Day 4b Lower Guisane
Following a shuttle to leave a
car at the raft lay-by just below Briancon, we
returned for lunch at the car park at Serre Chevalier. We made good use of the sunny stretch of
Grass and relaxed in preparation for the next section.
Myself, Keith Steer and James Lakey, who was joining us on loan from Stockton and
Thornaby club, kitted up and moved our boats to the water’s edge. We have paddled this piece of river in
past years, with varied results. The Alps guidebook calls it “A pinball
ball machines for the uninitiated”. It consists of constant grade 4
boulder rapids for a couple of hours.
We put on and steadied ourselves
as the tempo of the river started to rise.
The first major obstacle is an
old road bridge, it has a nasty exit at the far end which sometimes can be a
bit tricky. we all made it through and onto the next feature.
Before the start of the main section is a
large weir, this has recently been replaced with a raft shoot and barrage for
water abstraction. With this portaged, we put back on to the main event. Most
of the section runs in a wooded valley and is quiet and feels quite isolated.
Just as we set of a large lightning
storm erupted and followed us down the valley although we didn’t have any
rain the flashes of lightning lit up the water.
We raced around the boulders as
they grew in size, Keith and James taking turns to lead, it seemed never
ending.
Towards the end we had to dodge
around scaffolding that was being used to repair a bridge before a two-step
weir. With that negotiated it was only a short paddle to collect the
car........and breathe!!
Day 5 St Clements to Embrun (Lower Durance)
The morning was spent on the campsite, for some this was a chance to rest whilst others visited local shops for supplies. We had lunch on the side of the Slalom site at St Clements and then we ran the shuttle. On the return of the drivers we played in the two surf waves at the top of the rapid. This was at a good level and more and more of the team were starting to get more adventurous on the play waves.
After the slalom course we set off down the main river towards the Rabioux Wave. There were several interesting features to play on and Aleksander was really trying to pull off a wave wheel in his inazone in every standing wave he could find.
On arrival at the “Rab wave” Keith and Stuart paddled to the bottom and
then signed the others to paddle over the crest and head for the red boat in
the eddy below. One by one we all
made it down safely and in some style.
The wave seemed to have changed again this year and was more of a tail
with huge standing waves below.
Once we left the “Rab” the lower river was entertaining with several large wave trains and bouncy rapids to keep us on our toes. A couple of people decide to practice their rolls, but this only shows that they were pushing their limits and trying moves and tight break ins. The tall crumbling cliff just above “point Neuf” was avoided by heading to river left and then we paddled down under the wooden road bridge. Here the river was concentrated into a 10m wide channel with resultant large and powerful waves.
We arrived at the final feature of the river, the Embrun Wave. Some of the group became adventurous with their playing but the wave just did not suit longer kayaks. We paddled down to the get out. An obligatory supermarket stop on the way back to the campsite and BBQ as the skies were crystal clear and it kept very warm well into the night.
Day 5 Mountain Walk - Glacier Noir
Oscar and Olesia’s trip up Glacier Noir started well, insofar as Oscar needed two extra cups of coffee and they left an hour late. The drive up through Ailefroide and Vallouise was truly spectacular encompassing alpine forests and plenty of mountain vistas. The walk began well with plenty of overtaking some of the slower groups. As they approached the Glacier Noir everything began to unravel, well Olesia was perfectly happy bounding up the treacherous ridge like a mountain goat (or as the locals call them chamois) but Oscar lost his bottle. In the end after a much more difficult scramble up a mountain stream they made it to the paths end halfway up the glacier.
The views were out of this world and a better picnic spot in
glorious sunshine would be very hard to find. They were both struck by the
perfect blue of the glacier ice in contrast with the black (noir) top of the
slow-moving ice monster. On the way back down Olesia
again proved her mountain goat credentials bounding down the mountain leaving
Oscar for dust. An excellent day was topped off with a quick trip up a rather
underused ski lift and some delicious crepes.
Day 06a Upper Guil
We headed up the Guil
Valley stopping briefly at Mont Barton Bridge and Triple Steps to view the
water levels. Passing Chateau Queyras we headed for the get in at Aiguilles and on the
way tried but failed to peer over the edge and into the gorge section. I am sure it will be ok said
Stuart. A quick car shuttle and we
were away, going with the flow over and around every boulder in sight. Soon reached the start of the gorge, the
river steepened and disappeared around a corner. Time to eddy hop. Signals were being passed along the line
and paddlers 
dropped into an eddy and then the next.
The river had very sharp rock strata and the step walls had collapsed in several places giving difficult routes around blind bends. On one tight sequence Craig had made all the difficult moves but was unsettled by a nasty boulder. He soon got himself and paddle to the edge, but the swift current sped his boat over the next few rapids before Keith managed to wedge it tight against some rocks. It took a few minutes to sort the boat and re-establish contact with the rest of the group. They had portaged around the tricky rapid under Stuarts guidance. Once on our way again we encountered several nasty bends, a few overhanging walls, and another long portage for most. This is where good soled trainers or river shoes are a must and make scouting and portaging on difficult ground that much safer.
A few more pour-overs and pour-throughs saw us the end of the gorge. The valley opened and after a few kms of boulder riverbed we saw our first sighting of the castle on the hill (Chateau Queyras). One difficult rocky weir saw a few of us temporarily pinned but we managed to free ourselves before arriving in the centre of the town. A quick shuttle to fetch Oscars car and we could all then enjoy a well-earned lunch and discuss our various bruises and bangs!
Day 06b Chateau Queyras
After the Upper Guil
and tricky gorge section, Stuart and Keith decided they wanted to run
“Chateau Q”. This is a narrow ravine with 50m high vertical cliffs
which sports the Via Ferrata along one side. There is only one way out and the river
channels down to about 2.5m wide in places and swirls and twists its way down
over several large boulders. It has
been described by many like being “flushed down the loo.”
The two paddlers dropped down to the bridge and then paddled off over the drop and around the corner. As Stuart followed, he spotted four rafts following down. Neither of us fancied being run over by a raft in the ravine so we had no time to stop and chat. We paddled on from the single eddy (a well-known collection point for swimmers / paddles / boats and paddled on over the final drop in the gorge, past the waterfall cascading down on our left. Here the valley opened up and has numerous large boulders in sight of the final exit bridge.
we were overtaken by the rafts who were carrying on down Guardian Angel Gorge. We carried the kayaks up to the bridge and Stuart return for the car which was a short 1km away. Joining the others, we enjoyed not one but two boules of Ice Cream and freshly pressed Orange Juice.
Day 06c Via Ferrata
– Chateau Queyras
After the
group had finished their morning paddle, Neil and Kayleigh, inspired by Keith
and Stuart kayaking the raging torrent within the gorge, decided we would scope
out the best lines from above, just in case we were ever silly enough to run
it. So, after Neil parted with 8
euros for the hire of equipment, off we went.
Due to
Neil’s knees shaking, Kayleigh starting to traverse through the gorge by
clipping and unclipping on the safety wires swiftly followed by Neil. Through the route there was a variety of
rock holds, metal fixings, eroded slippery rock, followed by two tight rope
walks over the gorge. Although
prior to the first tight rope, there was an escape option which Kayleigh was
pleasantly surprised that Neil didn’t take, due to the blinding white
colour of his knuckles, but he persevered.
We both proceeded to traverse the tightrope in turn and after this our
speed picked up. The next difficult
section was a curved route, followed by an additional ten-metre tight rope
walk, which was definitely a little shaky for us. The final stretch of the Via Ferrata was
an overhanging cliff face over the gorge, which was quite tough, but it felt
really exhilarating and we definitely gained a sense of achievement.
The
approximate time to complete the overall course is 1 hour 30, although we made
it through from start to finish within an hour!
Day 7a The Ubaye Racecourse
Racecourse – Martinet to Le Lauzet
The Ubaye Racecourse is the classic Ubaye run. A consistent stretch of class 3+ to 4 whitewater with fun big and bouncy rapids and surprisingly warm water. 15 rapids in quick succession, including named rapids like Dent de Requin (Shark’s Tooth) and Rouleau de Printemps (Spring Roll) make this section a must for your kayaking bucket list. The scenery is outstanding with views over the wooded valley, and at the end of the descent the river narrows through a sheer sided gorge. Put-in at the rafting base just past Le Martinet. Take out below Le Lauzet at La Source campsite.
Class: IV. Gradient: 15 m/km. Flow: 30 m³/s.
Paddling time: 2 hours. Distance: 8 km. Best months: May to July.
With everyone else deciding to take
a well-deserved rest day, Keith and I departed the campsite early and made the
1 1/4-hour journey over to the get out.
On the way we passed the massive lake Serre 
Poncon, it really
is a wonderful turquoise blue. As we approach the lakeside road it always
reminds me of the Mediterranean Sea.
The road winds around the lake for some time, giving amazing views of
yachts, wind and kite surfers.
Upon arriving at the get out we found a suitable location to secure Keith’s bike. The plan was when we had dropped of the car at the get in, and ran the river, Keith would cycle back to the start and collect the car. We put on the river with minimum faff, as we had arrived early, we virtually had the whole car park to choose from. The get in is very impressive, as you paddle under an old stone bridge and straight into a full-on boulder rapid. We occasionally stopped to play on a suitable wave. To spice things up a bit we decided that on every island we met we would pass it only on the left. We would run the river again then pass the all the islands on the right.
We made our way down the river at a
fairly fast pace, passing the occasional raft or other kayak group. 
One of the main sections “Shark Fin
Rapid” seemed different this year, some of the larger bolder had moved
position.
Almost at the end of the river we approached the spot we would usually take a group photo. It brought home how different this year’s trip has been, being just two of us. We made it to the get out and carried our boats up the steps to the road. Keith bravely set of find his bike and cycle to pick up the car.
Whilst he was gone, I was taking to a river leader and her two clients. The two young English girls were on a freestyle paddling tour of Europe. Their farther was driving them to whitewater courses in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and the Alps, wow.
Keith returned and we drove back to the top of the river and had lunch, we repeated the previous run, only this time passing islands on the left. We ran the various sections again without issue. Towards the end of the river this time we noticed that five cars had fallen from the road some time ago and were resting on the riverbank.
We returned to the campsite, looking forward to meeting the new arrivals here for the next week.
Day 7b The
Slalom Course
Neil went on the slalom course with Sarah, Steve, Olie, Charlie and Chris. They were strongly advised to warm up on easier sections first. After practising rolling on the lake, they spotted a sign saying slalom course closed. Blindly ignoring this they proceeded to give it a go anyway. The group safely made the first two eddies and then the water was going the wrong way “says Steve”. Three attempts at righting the mighty Machno were not entirely successful. Paddler went river right, the paddled went to river left while the mighty Machno proceeded downstream followed by the chasing paddlers. Sarah managed to usher it onto the stone beach below the campsite. The session ended with the paddlers walking back onto the campsite via the reception desk and front entrance!
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Day 08a The Lower Guil
Day one for many on the river today and an
ideal first river in the Guil Valley below Mont
Dauphin Fort. We all arrived at the
get in along the gravel track and carried our boats down to the water`s edge
where the newcomers got used to the wizardry of whitewater
kayaking.
Everyone practiced edging their
boats while others rolled and surfed in the clear blue water. We split into groups
and set off downstream making sure to avoid the rocks and enjoy the
scenery. We arrived at a 
wave where some of us had a short play before
setting off again downstream practicing breaking in and out as we went.
Soon we passed a pretty waterfall on the left and turned around to see a rock formation in the shape of a hand. More eddy hopping and we soon arrived at the convergence with the Durance. The water here was a bit confused, so we had to concentrate and keep our balance and joined the main flow. Alexander made the mistake of dipping his paddle to check the water depth. And we all know it’s just the law to do a roll after making such a signal.
Before we knew it we arrived at St
Clement where we or I was a bit nervous in my new boat so we paddled straight
through the Slalom course to the get out on the beach. Here we all practiced swimming down the
rapids and then tried to safety people with our throwlines. Everyone’s throwline work
was really good this 
year so everyone must have been practicing!!
The non-paddlers met with us and enjoyed lunch on the riverside including a big cute dog that was eyeing up everyone’s sandwiches.
The kids played with their buckets and spades in the sand while we waited for cars to arrive.
A great start for everyone.
Day 08b St Clements to Rab Wave (Lower Durance)
After lunch on the beach at St Clements some
of the crew decided to paddle down to the Rab wave as
they had heard that it was “just a wave train” this year. We set off as one large group of
11. The river began to pick up
speed and waves 
and eddies grew in size. We all headed for the best waves playing and bobbing as we went. The largest set of waves were
below a set of powerlines on a large left-hand bend. The mood in the group was good with most
laughing and joking as we went.
We paddled around the large rock wall dividing the current with a large recirculating eddy on river left and headed off on river right. This signalled the run in to the Raboiux rapid. We passed through two sets of large boulders standing as gates to the left-hand channel. Most rafts and inflatables take the main flow to the right of the island.
We stopped about 50m about the Rabioux rapid. There is a large triangle shaped rock on the left just below the main wave. Keith and Stuart went first. Then one by one we paddled out into the centre of the current and lined ourselves up for the rapid. As we dropped in there were two waves which funnelled everyone into the main vee, fortunately we all managed to make it through in one piece. This was not the easy wave train produced by the higher flow of the week before. The river had dropped and had produced a steeper hole with a difficult double wave.
Grateful that we had survived with
three and half rolls and one swim, we loaded up our kayaks and headed back to
the campsite for the rest of the days sunshine.
Day 09a
St Clements to Rab Wave (Lower Durance)
Learning that we had
two parents who now wanted to paddle a river but with no river experience at
all we adapted our plans and decided to run the St Clements to the Rab section again.
The wide river with 
easy rapids that
slowly builds would provide some confidence and a chance to explain the basics
of a break in, ferry gliding and how to cope with the boils.
While the cars were shuttled to the bottom some of us practised edging and carving a turn while breaking in. It was great to see, Ellie, Ella and Poppy teaching their respective parents and demonstrating how to carve a turn while edging and looking downstream. After 20minutes of practise we were ready to head off in two large groups.
We were swept along in a beautiful valley with folded rock strata
above. At first the current was
slow and deep and some of us tried a roll or two to cool off. The first rapid was a large
right-hand bend but we took a shorter channel to the right. Soon after we found a pebble beach and
climbed the cliff to a jumping off place into deep water. Dangerous Ellie went first followed by
Ella and Poppy. Sarah was showing
us were to jump. As Poppy surfaced,
she cried “it`s Cold!”.
Soon all the others in the group wanted a go followed by three raft
crews. The trio went up 
again, on their own
this time and jumped in.
Poppy cried “it`s Cold” again!
Further on there were larger waves and we all bounced through laughing and joking as we went. Aimee and Steve followed and seemed to have no trouble. We then came around the corner to the largest rapid. Poppy could not be seen at times disappearing in the wave troughs. This was great paddling. We watched the other group come through and then Keith tried to wind us up with tails of “dead man’s eddy” and trees that had been stuck in it for 100s of years. Ellie picked the route and we all went to the right side. In another 200m we eddied out and carried the boats up to the cars. We all then went down to watch as some of the group ran the “Rabioux Wave”. This was a massive hole with large amounts of white water below. Most made it through or had to roll. One swimmer made it safely to the bank and his kayak was rescued by Stuart and Sarah.
This had been a great day
Day 09b
Upper Guisane
We set off for the
get in at Le Casset, a small sleepy town with a large
wooded picnic area which is popular with walkers and mountain bikers. We had lunch and parked up the
cars. Three rafts then arrived and
proceeded to get ready we waited a while and one raft departed. The other two were still briefing the
clients and unloading a raft. We
walked onto shingle bank and got ready to seal lunch in as a six and a
five. The river ran shallow
and swiftly here with few eddies or stopping places. Half of the first group set off and then
a second raft came down behind splitting the group – not ideal I
thought. After a few bends we eddied
out or at least got out of the main flow to let the raft through. Shortly after the raft guide did his
usual trick of ramming a large boulder which narrows the river and stopped dead
blocking the channel. The timing
was poor as we had then drifted down on top of the raft. Keith managed to squeeze through under
the overhanging boulder, Craig was not so lucky, he was swept through between
the raft and boulder upside down.
He managed to 
get out of his boat
in the rocky stream, but the raft was then swept down running him over, a large
screech of “ouch” was heard.
Meanwhile Richard was also swept into the overhanging boulder while he
was trying to avoid the carnage.
Fortunately, he managed to roll.
We recovered the kayak and let the raft go by with some perplexed stairs
and checked that Craig was ok. He
decided to run back for the van – only 200m back upstream and meet us at
the get out.
We continued on as two groups of five, being swept along by the fast afternoon flow. Through the town of Le Monetier-les-Bains where a long and bouncy grade 3 section always gives some fun and requires a paddler to concentrate. The gravel beds below the town led to the portage around “S-Bends”, a long and difficult rapid that pinned one of the rafts in front for 5 minutes or so. Most portaged joining the river just before the house some 400m below.
One back in our groups we proceeded past the raft get in on river right and over the two weirs (this time with no mishaps). The sections below have many small eddies and are ideal for practising breaking in and out. The picturesque town of La Salle-les-Alpes has many riverside cafes and restaurants with many colourful blooms on every balcony and bridge. Claire was here taking photos, but we suspect she had also stopped for refreshments in one of the beautiful cafés along this stretch.
A wooded valley section led to some interesting features, including Nadia’s famous 360-degree spin rock. The get out was opposite the swimming pool at Saint-Chaffrey.
Day 10a
Lower Gyronde
After a short drive
ten of the group readied themselves to take on the River Gyronde.
This is a fast river not unlike yesterday’s Guisane
but with a few more eddy opportunities and bigger rocks and small boulders to
navigate. We got on at the middle section in the centre of the campsite. Keith
gave us a brief demonstration of how to tackle the broken weir using a couple
of stones standing in for boulders and then we were off.
Keith led the first group which consisted of Stuart, Alexsander,
Oscar and Neil. The
“Murphy” group went next led by Chris with Oliver, Charlie, Steve
and Sarah. The second group started off well but there 
was to be an early
incident for Charlie not long into the paddle. Steve managed to get his large Machno sideways trying to avoid a couple of large boulders
and unfortunately Charlie was a little too close to avoid “Titanic
2” and he rolled in. It was at this point that we realised that Charlie
had not inflated his air bags (or is that his Dad’s job?). The boat chase
was on for Chris and Sarah whilst Ollie went after the paddle. After several
attempts we eventually managed to get the very full Mamba into an eddy, but
Charlie predictably ended up on the other bank. It took another couple of ferry
glides to get his kit back to him before we could set off again.
As we rounded the next bend, we saw the broken weir with Keith standing pointing the way to paddle. It didn’t look much like his scale model I have to say! We all shot the weir safely and carried on through the bottom of the wooded section and into l’Argentierre. Before we knew it, we had reached the top of the slalom section at our campsite. Sarah took an impromptu roll after losing an argument with an eddy line even before we had set off, but the rest of the slalom was attacked with style. Oscar was especially pleased to roll on the first wave as he had asked Olesia to take his picture! We headed back to the tents and chilled for the next couple of hours before this afternoons paddle.
Day 10b
Upper Durance
We set off from the
put in on the road to Briancon down the river
previously known as the smelly river. The 15 paddlers who set off were split
into 3 groups of 5. The first was led by Chris, the second by Keith and the
third by Stuart. On the first section one boat ended up pinned against a rock
mid-stream; Alexsander broke out behind the rock and
successfully managed to empty the boat. Stuart then threw a line with a
carabiner across the river to him. Alexsander was
able to attach the line to the boat which enabled Stuart to bring it to the
riverbank.
Near the end of the stretch of water (before the dam and get out) all the
paddlers grouped up before a 400m eddy hopping hot zone. Keith set everyone the
challenge of hopping in and out of 20 plus eddies on this section of the river.
There were lots of rocks mid-stream and along the riverbank which provided
plenty of eddying opportunities for the group to take full advantage of. Some
people even got 40+! We paddled to along the finial section of the river to the
get out by the
dam. After a day of paddling we were getting ready for the short drive back to
the campsite however some French workers had another idea.
The tunnel that led to the main road had been previously closed to cars but open to pedestrians which allowed the paddlers to get to the main road. Today however the tunnel was impassable due to some heavy machinery digging its way through the road inside. This proved a problem as the drill covered the whole passage and the only other exit was a 1 kilometre walk up a steep hill in full kayaking gear. After almost an hour of waiting, thankfully the workers finished for the day which cleared the way for us to pass through the dusty tunnel. The shuttle run was completed soon after all the boats were carried to the other side. We all escaped the incoming storm in the nick of time and to cap it all off some of us witnessed 3 gendarmes chasing and rugby tackling a criminal alongside the main road.
Day 11a Glacier
Blanc
An early start was
made to try and avoid the heat of the morning sun. We rolled out of the campsite at 7:00am
heading up the Vallouise Valley for the heart of the Ecrin Mountains.
We went for an amazing hike up Glacier Blanc on Wednesday
morning. After a wriggly drive up mountain roads we arrived at the car park
where Clara spotted a 'mole-badger' which Keith told her was a marmot,
thereafter, known as a Marmite! The kids investigated the snow which was near
where we parked.
The start of the path wound up through the trees and over a
fast-moving river. The scenery was beautiful. We quickly split into two groups,
with the Murphy's, Oscar and Alicia moving faster and aiming for the refuge.
Alexander was amazing and walked with the youngest, Clara who chattered, continuously
without a breath the whole way up! Gabrielle and Clara played a bizarre duck
game, and everyone was included in their duck family. We enjoyed incredible
views and spotted many little flowers and succulents tucked into little 
gaps in the rocks.
After our hard work
we arrived at the bridge for a well-earned packed lunch with the glacier in
view and some geography lessons from Keith!
The older kids led off back down the path and were soon well out of view. Clara bounded down the path with Keith to help her. It was hot-hot with the sun on us. Gabrielle found some mountain streams and waterfalls to dunk caps and water bottles into. We finally caught up with the teenagers on a large erratic rock at the bottom, with some rather suspiciously wet trainers...
The biggest surprise was the snowball fight by the car park, where we all finally saw a marmite. An amazing morning out. Thank you everyone! From Amy
Glacier Blanc (like 90% of the worlds glaciers) has been
retreating (Shrinking) over the last 100 years due mainly to global warming.
Glacier Blanc is on the east side of Barre Des Ecrins the southernmost of the 4000 m peaks in the Alps. It is the largest glacier on the peak. The glacier began a sustained retreat after 1870, that ceased in 1895-1900 , 1915-1920, 1935-1940 and 1980-1990 (Cossart et al, 2006). The glacier has shrunk by 5-10% of the total glacier volume during 1981-2005 (Rabatel et al, 2008). The series of images below are used to examine the retreat over the last 12 years of Glacier Blanc. The first image is a 2008
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Day 11b
Other activities around the campsite
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Day 11c Middle
Durance to Airfield
While some when to Le Lac and
the inflatables adventure others decided to paddle down from the campsite to
the airfield where the gliders land. The paddle started with a really
fast set of standing waves alongside the campsite. The river was a little high with all the
meltwater from the day and hardly any rocks could be seen. The turbulent water was handled well by
all as we paddle down to 
grade 2 section
after the first road bridge. The
waves were really big, and you could paddle any route with all the rocks
covered.
We paddled on past the Usine (factory get out) as this was little hard to spot
amongst all the piles of gravel and workings. The river now opened up below La
Roche-de-Rame with large sweeping bends. The old weir gave a little more white
water and then on down negotiating some tree roots mid-stream. With a final few rapids, we
followed the gliders in on their flight paths to the bridge at the
airfield. We quickly loaded
the two pre-placed vans and headed back just in time to meet the returning
inflatable slides group. A
perfect end to a very busy day.
Day 12a Upper Ubaye
An early start for today (8:30am) as we had a bit of a drive via Col de Vars (ski resort) into the top of the Ubaye valley. Last time I drove this route it was very early in the morning and freezing cold at the top. Today could not be different, 100% deep blue sky, bright sunshine, and no wind. We stopped at the top to take photos and explore. The kids wanted to go to the top of a small hill. As we drove off, we nearly left Oscar who unknown to us had purchased a coffee and sat with the locals in the Col top bar as we drove off!
At the get in we met
a group of German paddlers who were paddling the same section. We chatted a little. They had paddled this section earlier in
the year with 10 times the amount of water – it was huge they exclaimed,
and it surely would have been with massive wave trains. They paddled off as we got ourselves
ready. As the three groups started
their journey the water picked up and we could paddle down the river for a
pleasant Grade 3- trip. There was
more water than last year, probably from more snowfall over the winter months
which had kept river levels high all week.
Halfway along we met up under the old bridge and some played in the
small play wave there.
The second half of the journey provided more fun but was relatively straight forward. The water quality is high, and this section is well deserved of its 3 stars. We all waited in the sun at the end for the shuttles, had a quick bite to eat before heading for the lake and bit of SUPing or for those brave enough for the Racecourse section.
Day 12b Ubaye Racecourse
The Racecourse is a grade 4 white water
wonderland. For those with the inclination to take on this river, they were all
in for a treat. 10 
LCC paddlers with
our river leaders Keith and Stuart set off at 2 pm. There is no easy start on the river its
straight to work. The features start straight away. I was in the second B team
at the helm of my Large Machno (HMS Titanic 2) I
radioed the engine room for more coal and off we went.
River feature after feature in 30-degree heat proved to be a fantastic run
of this excellent white-water section. High water levels and outstanding
scenery. A swim on Alpha team and an unheard-of Steer high brace were the only
problems.
This river is worth a drive to the Alps just to paddle the last 300 meters.
This is where it disappears down into a gorge with Roman bridges overhead and
vertical smooth rock walls towering above on either side. Vines and plants
break up the hard rock with bursts of green. 10 out of 10. The best day on a
river I have ever had.
Stephen Hitchen
Day 13 St
Clements to Embrun
At 10:30 the cars finally left for the river with all the paddlers,
families, parents and white-water gurus. We finally got started paddling around
12 Midday. This was at a good level and more and more of 
the team were
starting to get more adventurous on the play waves. We set off down the main
river towards the Rabioux Wave with many practising
their rolls. We were paddling as one large group of 17 on this large
river. There is plenty of room and
you can paddle 3 or 4 abreast on most of the rapids. We enjoyed the giant wave trains as we
had all paddle this section before.
The youngsters including Sarah had to do the jumping in from the overhanging
cliff again. Ollie and Ella drew on
points with two “5.9`s” for their forward flips into the water.
On arrival at the “Rab wave” we met
Maria and proceeded to swap parents and boats. Spectators moved to the beach below the Rab wave to watch and take photos. The remaining paddlers set off down the
traditional left-hand route between the island. Following the previous paddle, we
had all decided to take a line either in the middle or slightly right of main
tongue this time. This should make
for good photographs as the wave had changed again with higher water
levels. One by one we set off.
After two weeks paddling and 
numerous rivers, we
were all feeling more confident.
However, with the roar of the water and anticipation of waiting your
turn, the run always induces much more concentration and stress than it
probably deserves. One
by one we all made it down safely, now we could all enjoy our lunch in the sun
watching the many rafts and kayakers attempt the same rapid.
After lunch Sarah took a team of daredevils to swim through the Rab Wave. Ella and Ellie wanted to paddle the grade 3+ rapid so we carried the boats up to about 100m upstream and set off following each other through the wave. We all made it safely and the juniors paddling, and confidence had come enormously over the time in the Alps. All are now very competent on large, fast flowing grade 2-3 Alpine rivers.
Steve and Maria had
swapped duties and the group of 17 continued down the Sunshine Run. Large and frequent grade 3 rapids
were tackled as one group with the juniors often taking the lead. Large wave trains, boulders and swirling
bubbling eddies followed for the 14 km run down to Embrun. We kept well clear of the
collapsing loose cliff just above “Pont Neuf” and paddled the rapid
with style. The group were
laughing and joking as we went and before long, we came across the new bridge
at Embrun that marked the last play wave. The lake was rather high this year
and consequently covered most of the rapids for the last 200m.
We packed up the kayaks into the waiting cars and vans, some visited the supermarket for last minute items for the BBQ later and headed back to the campsite.
Day 14 Gyronde
It was the last day and only 3 paddlers were up for the early morning challenge of a quick trip down the Gyronde onto the Durance and down to the slalom site. We were to be a team of 4, but the “Ford Custom” next door still had a sleepy spell. We drove out of the campsite at 8:30am leaving the others to start to pack away the camp.
We
put on under the campsite bridge (the lower one!) and paddled off being pushed
quickly along by the fast-flowing water. They were still working on the dam and
HEP Scheme above so all the Gyr`s water flowed
directly into the Gyronde making it a great level for
paddling. It was even higher than earlier in the
week.
It was an exhilarating paddle into the gorge with the water flowing over all of the normally exposed boulders. Richard was paddling well until he misjudged a corner trying to avoid a car sized boulder and got swept into overhanging branches. He tried valiantly to roll but after one attempt the fast-flowing stream and many boulders meant for a fast exit. He managed to rescue himself and the boat when about 75 metres downstream before Keith and Stuart managed to lodge it on some boulders near the bank. Richard soon collected his paddle and reunited with his kayak we headed on down the gorge to the weir. This is now well signed, and the potentially boat pinning boulders have all been swept well to river right by high floods. Without stopping we followed the flow over the middle of the weir and on down below. Keith did talk a line slightly over to the right and glanced one of the boulders, but all ended well.
Richard lead the last section though the mini gorge. No sign of the old embedded bicycle wheel and we were soon swept on towards the confluence with Durance. Plenty of water sped us down through the town and under the old Hydro Electric pipe that used to feed the power plant for the old Aluminium works. Without so much of a single breakout we then charged on down through the slalom course. A quick glance at my watch indicated that it taken us exactly 55 minutes from campsite to campsite, a great last day’s paddle.