If you are a paddler and into your white water and associated trips then at some point you undoubtedly end up in the French Alps. It just kinda happens that way! This was my third time there and I had a couple of virgins with me (at this destination).
Sam who has just re-started paddling this last year and the “the old world famous Sedge.” A few weeks before Sam simply asked if I was off anywhere. Had nothing set in stone but knew of a couple of trips going that would suit him and provide me with ample entertainment. A few e-mails later and a couple of pints we were off with Bristol. Sedge was also keen and had surprisingly never been out paddling in France. Trip was set for 11th June and back on Sun 20th.
Sam being younger and of course less experienced was lumbered to his extreme dismay with the nickname “BOY” which of course lead to the name “POPS,” for mister Sedgebeer but we won’t go into this in depth!
After negotiating the traffic jams of the M25 and M20 we arrived in Dover, ferry to Dunkirk and then a 10.5 hour drive to St.Crepin through the night on the river Durance near Briancon. Slight problem with the drive down as we crossed into Italy for 20 miles because the thieving so and sos were stitching everyone and I mean everyone with speeding tickets when emerging from the Tunnel crossing the border. You see the speed limit dropped from the French side to the Italian side. Nothing can be done about it but I won’t be buying a silly Ferrari now, that’s for sure! But we did have one amusing moment when boy discovered a French toilet for the first time!!! Please use your imagination on this one!
RIVER TIME
We arrived at campsite mid afternoon and we decided to get “boy” into his learning curve, as there was plenty of light left. So after he put the tent up, made “pops” and I an afternoon snack, washed up and cleaned the car out, we took him down the slalom course up the road at a grade 3ish and then floated back down the Durance to the campsite. Grade 2. No mishaps and was a nice relaxing paddle and Boy rolled a couple of impressive times.
Day 2 and the “sunshine run” or “breakfast run” to others. The lower Guil and the Durance to Rabioux Wave. A grade 2-3 bimble of a float down but gets you dialled in OK. Surprisingly to some but not me Pops got caught out above the Wave, in the wrong spot, leaning the wrong way. Sorry mate had to put that one in as it made me chuckle. Only sour point of this day really was the horsemeat steaks and the other ones losing to the French at football in extra time. Gutted but the local French weren’t.
Day 3 of rivers and the start of the classics. A quick warm up on the Upper Guisane(3) , then a spot of lunch and for some of us onto the Lower Guisane(4). A good level but Boy started getting cocky.
Boy (Sam) trying to surf on Upper Guisane
Day 4 and the whole group wanted to get on the Lower Guisane. So we split into 2 groups. In sedge and my group we had 2 swimmers. Baldrick from Bristol whose boat I became accustomed to chasing down many rivers as the week went on and cocky boy wonder at last. Boy now learnt to respect rivers, pops and me. Best thing that could have happened and it wasn’t a bad swim, just funny! he he.
Day 5 and time to turn it up Middle Guil style. Grade 4 with a 5 and an optional 5 drop put in. A classic but a whole different calibre river from what the majority of the group has experienced. Running at a very good level, it was perfect day for swimmers. Matt and kiwi Nick from Bristol with Pops and myself shot the put in called Triple Steps. Pops doing his normal and messing up the second step as he forgot where he was going then ended up in entirely the wrong spot and was lucky not to receive a real beating for his efforts. But it was entertaining! The group split into the 2 groups again and we had a swimmer within 50 yards. Result! There were many more to come this day I can a sure you, some were multiple. Having crashed, elegantly paddled and for some swam our way down to the grade 5 called “The Guil Staircase” we scouted and shot it. Should have seen the looks and smelt the fear. I reckoned it was a 4+ like the get in but there was an argument for a 5-. Boy’s first 5 then accomplished. He thought we were trying to kill him but pointed out that we still had use for him as a general-purpose dogs body and someone to VIC! Don’t ask? In the evening we sat down around the fire as we did most nights watching Boy getting eaten by mosquitoes and having river tales by Pops.
Me in second step of Triple Steps
Pops (Sedge) finishing the Guil Staircase
Day 6 and the scenic Upper Ubaye(3) followed by the turbo charged volume Ubaye Racecourse(4) . Big wave train fun for those wanting to attempt it and Boy thought his number was up yet again. Later?
Day 7 and the final paddling day so we thought? ” Man Spurs” to be won and 3 rivers to score. First up another classic 4 called the Middle Claree. A Pulsating fast, most beautiful river but as far as this river compares to the others, fairly shallow. A roll or swim here could be painful as one Bristolian found out.
Next the Briancon Gorge which was a quirky enjoyable, eye-pleasing run at a grade 3. “Man Spurs” time on the Gyr was next. My description is a white, giggle of a blast of a run being only 2.5 miles long. Quick now quicker as it had filled with the snow melt by late afternoon. Some class it as 4-5 others 5 some 4 all-depending on the level. We scouted the last white mile as I remembered from previous encounters tree hazards, large rocks, holes and stoppers etc. On drive up to the get in something was bugging me besides Boy that I had forgotten something about the river. As we went round the first corner, there it was! Another white mile with even more tee hazards, holes, stoppers etc. This was run blind as commitment was already there.
Fun times to the get out. 4 of us paddled and I was point but had felt I didn’t get the right experience of this run as the other 3 had inspected the riverbed close up, quite a few times. My line I laid down must have been too technical for them I guess?
River day 8 was supposed to be a chilled out journey back to Dunkirk but when we did the Middle Guil we met the Irish couple Pops and I met last year in Austria and we had arranged to meet them for a cool beer before we went home. When speaking over our 5th so cold beer, it was mentioned that they were heading up to Chateau Queyras to do the oh so nice 1km grade 5 magical gorge at the river level it was. It really is that good especially if you manage to look up as paddling through it. Sounds easy but it’s not. Just over a boat length wide with a full river surging through and sheer side cliffs to funnel the water. From a few hundred feet up you can see pretty much everything down to what I call the dogleg but not the final drop. I knew it was there from previous years but it had changed somewhat! Anyway 7 entered the gorge. 3 Irish, 3 English and a Kiwi. All OK until the last drop where we all got zapped except the spawney Boy. 1 Irish swimmer with a whack to the head and a Kiwi swimmer, with a nasty case of concussion and a lump the size of an egg to go with it. . For me it was the Last drop on the last river of the last day that zapped me. Must be losing my touch!
Back to campsite to pack up and say our farewells, made sure kiwi Nick all right then headed back to Good Old Blighty.
14 sections of river paddled with 13 different. 1 Taunton swim (boy). Roll count: Boy 3-4 a day, Pops 1-2 a day. Me1 for the week
Sam will be Boy and now always will. Sedge is Pops. He should now grow a beard and join that brigade and publish a book of river stories round the campfire. And me? Well I’m King (spoon)
P.S. If no one else does the write up then I will!
Special thanks to: Dom, for arranging the trip. Teresa, the mother as someone had to be. Kiwi Nick for sheer guts and determination. Baldrick for being the best river entertainment I’ve had in years. Nobody swims that amount of panache!
Dave (Spooner)
