French Alps 2018 paddling trip Day 8 The Upper Gyronde by Stephen Hitchen Lunch over our intrepid LCC members put in just below the barrage at Vallouise. 16 this time, so four groups of four with a skilled leader in each. Group A-with Keith, B with Graham, C with John Cooke while the D’s had Kirk. This river is the opposite of the previous one. Not many eddies to hit and some tight rocky features. Hidden boulders meant the LCC paddlers needed Shakira hips to ride the boulder (singer who had great hip flicks while singing and sang about them Keith) Even at the put in there were casualties. Hidden rocks and low water flipping two onto their sides. One bailed while one was righted by an LCC member jumping from the bank to affect a rescue after direction from Keith. What a brave soul. 😜 Paddlers now all in boats proceed down the grade 3 river. Fun features with small, fast wave trains kept us all busy. Plus a few scrapey bottoms. A few swimmers along the way meant we had to find the sometimes hard to get eddy’s. But we all made it in one piece to the main feature on our part of the river. A technical feature at low water with a switch back entry followed by a fast shoot with a boulder at the bottom. Even a river leader came to grief, but he was the first to run it. With safety up and running the LCC paddlers made their way down, with a helping tug from Graham to point some in the right direction. The rock at the end of the shoot acted more like a brick wall for most. Some swimmers but on such a technical river that’s no surprise. A few more […]

French Alps 2018 paddling trip Day 8 The Upper Durance by Stephen Hitchen 9am start for day one, week 2 of LLC’s Alps Kayaking trip saw 19 of us enjoy the upper Durance, which is a grade 2 river and perfect for the newbies who arrived Saturday to stretch their legs and also the for those who need a bit more practice. Put in just outside Briançon saw two groups get in at either side of the ramp. Keith leading group one, Kirk looking after group two. The river is wide and bouncy and offers great opportunities for practicing hitting eddy’s, breaking in and out. Plus playing on a few waves. It’s kind of like a longer, cleaner Dee. Great to build up confidence. Both groups did this well. Hitting eddy after eddy, then breaking out into the fast-moving water before bouncing along in wave trains. On only a few occasions did she catch out LCC guys out. Due to a few unseen underwater boulders. But all swimmers were straight back in their boats with a smile on their face. The get out a Preller came all too soon for me, I would happily have gone around again I had that much fun. Kayaks loaded and off to river number two, the Gyronde. Before we started though a spot of lunch and some criticism of this authors Kayak fashion sense. Shin Pads and neoprene shorts, not a great look I will admit. More photographs……….  

French Alps 2018 paddling trip Day 7 The Durance by Helen Siertsema Sunshine was elusive for our run of the Sunshine run today despite promises of sunny weather by the Meteo. Previous rainfall had kept levels nice and bouncy as we had a lie down and snooze in our boats. Some of us were hitting the “Wall” and were glad of this relaxing run. Meanwhile, the skies were darkening and hopes of any sunshine appearing evaporated like droplets in a hot pan. As we approached St Clement the heavens opened and the mountains disappeared into a threatening cloak of blackness. Thunder and lightening ensued and we paddled like stink to avoid being turned into crispy bacon. The sun started to shine as we left our damp lunch spot at St Clement and we were soon bouncing around on wave trains. On arrival at the Rabioux wave, Keith decided to ring the changes and we took the right- hand channel which was a lot bouncier than the usual left one. Rather than peeling off one by one to run the wave, we ran it in convoy. Yet again it was a 100% success rate with no swimmers. Some folk practised ferrying across the huge waves in the rapid with differing rates of success. The final leg of the Sunshine Run saw the black, rainy clouds disappear as we enjoyed the wave trains in the blazing sun again. It had been a long day, but the paddle was finished off by a bit of rolling practise by the get out. However, Helen failed to partake in this as she was up those get out steps like a rat up a drainpipe and was threatened with all manner of consequences by Keith. More photographs……….

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……….  

French Alps 2018 paddling trip Day 2 The Lower Durance by John Cooke We were back on the water and set off in one large group, first stop was down to the slide rock were people got out and jumped in, only one idiot did it in a boat! Kirk showed off his gymnastic skills with a perfect 10 and earned the nickname Olga. A few small play waves and then the Rab wave was in sight. Everyone made it through making it 14 nil to LCC, may not happen next time as paddlers will be directed more towards the middle. After leaving the Rab we were on our way down river enjoying the wave trains that are great fun and put a smile on every paddlers face. The last main feature being Helens bridge and by now there was some tired paddlers, as I looked back Olga drifted over the wave and a little smile appeared on my face as he was slowly pulled back in. At the get out a bit off rolling practice and then up to get changed, it must have looked like a “wizard’s convention” as people stood round in a circle with towel robes getting undressed, small French children could be seen staring in amazement. A quick trip to the supermarket and then back to the campsite for a BBQ, does life get any better? More photographs……….  

French Alps 2018 paddling trip Day 2 The Lower Guil by Keith We were away by nine and headed down towards the lower Guil. Overnight rain had put a little volume in the rivers and it looked like a good choice. A short stop at a boulangerie for some more pain (bread) and breakfast pastries and we were off. The get in was over a small bridge at the end of a rough track. After nearly running over a breakfasting family (who had set up a table in the middle of the turning circle) we quickly unloaded the trailer and were on the river. Someone had created a small dam and model waterwheel near the start – quite a work of art. A delightful paddle down through the gorge and valley below took us to a hanging waterfall pouring from the cliff top. Some paddled into a small cave and overhand on river left and then under a Tyrolian Traverse setup by a school group who were abseiling down a cliff. The river then led down through a straight section with a number of “wing dikes” or walls which created great eddies for breaking in and out. We then met the river Durance and there was a distinct boundary between the two rivers (clear mixing with glacial grey meltwater). We passed under a limestone overhang and on down to St Clement Slalom course and rafting centre. We spent some time playing on the waves there before having lunch and fetching the minibus. More photographs……….  

“On Saturday 21st July 2018 a brave group of seven LCC sea kayakers made the pilgrimage to Bardsey Island led by Mark Pawley. Setting out from the beach at Aberdaron at 1000hrs on the dying ebb tide, we quickly covered the 2.5km to the headland at Pen y Cil  from where you can stare across Bardsey sound to the Island itself and also assess conditions for the crossing before committing to it. The wind was fresh (F4) Northerly so the sea was far from smooth, but the swell was reasonable. The dying ebb was still running and producing a few white tops, but everybody was eager to make the crossing and we set a ferry glide angle to land us directly under the steep cliffs on the East coast of the Island. Andy Garland led off and Mark took a shepherding position keeping an eye on our progress. We made good steady progress across the sound through the slightly choppy but predictable tide race. On the way across we had a very good and clear sighting of a Rissos dolphin with its distinctively large pointed dorsal fin and light colouring. The crossing was executed with no dramas, but there were a few sighs of relief when the island was reached, and some shelter was found from the sideways waves. After reaching Bardsey, the plan was to circumnavigate it anticlockwise during the final hour of the ebb and reach the safe harbour of Cafn Enlli  on the lower East side as the tide turned and the flood kicked in. We would then take time off the water to rest and explore the island during the flood tide and put back on again around the final hour or so of the flood to give a relatively simple ferry glide crossing back to […]