Kayak Chile - Part 1....

It has been some 7 years since I made a flying trip to Chile and for Ute some 13 years!

So with more time on our hands we decided to head out at the end of October to get some Spring kayaking Chilean style!

We first made a quick stop to catch up with Nelson and Tami in the Cajon del Maipo near Santiago.

Nelson owns Isoterma, a rafting and adventure company based out of his amazing land on the banks of the Maipo River.  His "disco" as it is called is one of a kind and a great way to cook and share a meal with friends!

After a few hitches with the Gringo Loco van we finally got the hang of it and started our kayaking road trip down to Pucon.  We checked out the Rio Teno, Rio Claro of the Teno and the 7 teacups.  With the late snow that fell we were happy to be staying in wooden cabins!

Once we got to Pucon we caught up with the Gringo Loco himself - David Joos.

David has been living in Chile for years, speaks the Chilean slang and it was great to catch up with him and his family.

Though I must admit he has changed quite a bit since I last kayaked with him!!!

After a failed attempt to get into Argentina to kayak the Rio Alumine due to the kayaks not being de-contaminated we got stuck in "No Mans Land" for a few hours as the customs decided to call a strike.

Still the views of the Lanin Volcano were more than making up for hanging around waiting for the Chilean border to open!

It was then back to Pucon and an evening run down the Upper Palguin.

We left David and his family in peace for a while and headed south to the Rio Fuy.  The rains had come and the river was BIG.  We were running laps of the Lower, having fun and ending the day with  smiles on our faces.

Next was the San Pedro and again it was at a great level, some great play spots even for our creek boats and waves to rival something in the Himalayas!

The rains were still falling and with Ben running out of time we headed back to Pucon to run some rivers nearby!

With David getting a very rare free day from teaching kayaking and rafting at the local university we headed to one of his favourite rivers - the Rio Maichin.

Just over an hour away it is a sweet river that is steep in parts and has a very "jungle" feel to it.

David was in his element, showing just one of the reasons why he decided to call Pucon his home!

The views of the Villarica Volcano were also not too bad!

Another evening grilling some fantastic local meat and sausages, drinking red wine and beers after kayaking Pucon's classic rivers was a special end to Ben's trip!

Next we were heading back up to Santiago for another meat feast with Nelson, Tami and the Isoterma Team.

Life is good, real good here down south in Chile.....

Kayak School Arlberg

www.gokayaking.at

Autumn Kayaking in Austria....

The days were starting to get shorter but there was no let up in the weather!  The sun was still out and though the mornings were a little chilly the days on the river were still sunny and warm!

Our kayaking courses were keeping us nice and busy with everything from Beginners

Through to Class 2 Improver Courses

and our Class 3-4 courses on Rivers such as the Sanna and Inn.

However, we were given some shocking news early one September morning.  There had been some torrential downpours and with a lot of hail stones falling the mountain let loose and the Sanna received 2 huge landslides, one just above the Pians Rapid and another further downstream.  This left a trail of destruction and turned some of the Sanna into 2 big lakes!

We will now have to wait until next season to see just what the Sanna will look like...

We headed up to Germany to work on the Peak UK stand at the annual Paddle Expo.

It is always great to catch up with Pete and the team, plus we get to check out all the kit that is going to be on offer over the coming year.

By the time we got back home to Austria the weather had changed and the nights were getting colder.

The trees started to change and the Autumn colours really started to come into their own.

We had one final day of guiding on a very low Imst Gorge section of the River Inn.

It has been a long while since we have stayed in Austria so late.  

What this also meant was that Steve got to kayak on the Wellerbruecke Section of the Oetz River.

That time of year the worlds best kayakers come to train and compete at the Sickline event.  It is a very special event as it is open to any kayaker with the ability and nerve to kayak it!  With fantastic safety provided it gives kayakers the chance to run the lower part knowing that if they have a problem and exit their boat there is a helping hand waiting to pull them to safety!

While the majority of kayakers were training on the Lower part, Andy Mac, Pundy and Steve had the Upper to themselves!!

With the rivers starting to drop and a lack of rain, we headed up into our local mountains to make the most of the views and the clear skies

Summer had flown past and with some heavy snow forecasted it was time to pack our bags, kayaking kit and kayaks and head to Chile to extend our Summer....

Kayak School Arlberg

Austria

www.gokayaking.at

A Summer in Austria - part 2...

Here is the second part of our Summer in Austria....

It has been an extremely busy time with all sorts of courses running and of course in the height of the Austrian summer the Alps are just stunning!

Whether it is from our beginners courses up on a quiet mountain lake and the River Lech..

...through to our Improver Class II Courses on the Inn and also on the Lech we have certainly enjoyed some great days out!

We had a couple of days of rain and of course this helped to push up the levels 

The River Inn got BIG and just showed why it is a favourite of ours.

Kayaking some big and bouncy wave trains just keeps everyone smiling for days!!

After the rain came the sunshine and we managed to get a few more days out of our home river - the Rosanna.  Kayaking through the village of St Anton am Arlberg.

It is such a classic Austria high alpine river..

Ute was certainly enjoying the long Summer days of eat, sleep, kayak and repeat!!

The gem of the Sanna was also keeping everyone entertained, it is the shortest river in the Alps but within those 7km there is some sweet whitewater..

The Sanna is a firm favourite of anyone who has visited this part of Austria...

And of course the Oetz was pumping water down the valley.  The Lower Oetz was at its highest and was a great way to cool off on a hot summers day!

With our advanced kayakers getting to test not only their skills but nerves on the pushy water of the Oetz!!

It was our best Summer to date and we have really been making the most of just what this part of the Austrian Alps has to offer.

This was just one of the reasons I decided to stay here and make it my home!

For details of all our trips from the Spring, through the Summer, into Autumn in Austria and also our Adventure trips to the Himalayas, Peru and Chile just check out our website.

Our dates for 2017 are online....

Steve

Kayak School Arlberg

Austria

www.gokayaking.at