The Paddler ezine WW kayak collection 2013 | Page 126

SWITZERLAND

ThePaddler 126

Switzerland too was on our plan and again it
was just an hour’s drive to the Engadine
Valley, a Romansch speaking region of
Switzerland where the Inn starts its journey
on the way to the Danube. Engadine in
Romansch means Garden of the Inn and the
valley is stunning. The river also lives up to
that reputation, as the Giarsun Gorge is one
of the best Class IV rivers the Alps has to offer.
The warm up has classic Alpine views of
meadows, snow capped mountains and the
sound of cow bells ringing from high up
somewhere. Soon the river starts to tighten up
and the gorge approaches. What follows is
some 10Km of fantastic class IV (IV+) read
and run technical white water that is Alpine
river running at its best!

As a warm up we ran the Schuls Gorge first,
which is a great way to get used to the
temperature, gradient, grade and volume of
river you will expect in the Giarsun Gorge. To
enjoy the beauty of this valley even more we
camped in the Engadine and after dinner we
watched the final rays of sun trying to burn
through the clouds.

Ardez-Engadine, Switzerland
Giarsun-G