The last day of paddling so we made it a long one at 39km-ish. The shuttle left the camp early (thanks Keith & Mark) and we walked our kayaks over to the Durance to get on just below Les Ecrins Campsite slalom course to set off for Embrun. We paddled as 1 large group led… Read More »Alpine paddling – Middle & Lower Durance, 04/08/2017

3 clubs (Liverpool, St Helen’s and Colwyn) joined forces for the day. Forming 2 groups of 7 we set off for our second run of the Ubaye race course. There were a lot less swims this time round even though the water levels were a little lower making the run a slightly more technical. Our… Read More »Alpine paddling – Ubaye Racecourse, 03/08/2017

The second river of Ciaron’s last day! As tonight is the night we’re going out into Briancon for a meal, we planned for an early finsh and this afternoon paddled a short section of river; the Upper Durance. Apart from the sewage outfall which has given this run the nickname ‘stinky poo river…’ this is… Read More »Alpine Paddling -Upper Durance 02/08/2017 by Hannah Bellamy

1st river of Ciaron’s last day. The water levels were a little higher than last week with the warmer weather providing some extra melt water. Team bra (Ian + his team of girls – Helen, Hannah, Wendy & Jenny) set off in the fast ferocious flow. Today there seemed to be less eddies and the… Read More »Alpine paddling – Upper & Middle Guisane, 02/08/2017

Today we took a rest from paddling and journeyed to the Ecrins National Park. Established in 1973, the park covers nearly 200 000 hectares and is home to 1800 plant, 75 mammals, 235 bird, 16 reptile, 10 amphibian and 21 fish species. It also encompasses more than 10 glaciers, and Glacier Blanc was to be… Read More »Alpine paddling rest day – Ecrins National Park & Glacier Blanc, 01/08/2017 by Hannah Bellamy

Once we were changed from the paddle of the Chateau-Queyras Gorge, 5 of the team decided to take opportunity to via ferrata back into the gorge to take a close inspection of the u-bend. This meant that the rest had the onerous task of siting in the cafe while they waited for us. We started… Read More »Alpine Apres Paddling – Chateau-Queyras 31/07/2017 by Ian Bell

After the big fast flowing waters of the Durance on Sunday, Monday saw a change of pace as we headed to the shallow, rocky and technical river Guil.  Described in the guide book as “Probably the best class 4 paddle in the Southern Alps” we knew we were in for some fun.  The Guil is… Read More »Alpine Paddling – Middle Guil – 31/07/2017 by Chris Thompson

We arrived at Chateau-loo and headed over to look at the gorge. It looked a little different to Helen’s description: quite a fast flow around some rocks, over in 5 mins, easier than the challenging lines of the Middle Guil we’d just conquered. If was actually a torrent of bubbling blue through a gap just wide… Read More »Alpine paddling – Chateau-Queyras 31/07/2017 by Jenny Brown

All, there is a Welsh government review into access to water in Wales. It is VITAL that as many paddlers or water users respond to this. For those new to the sport, some context: 1930’s onwards people believed you needed permission to paddle on rivers. Fishermen didn’t like sharing and even managed to persuade some… Read More »Access Needs YOU!