The Paddler Magazine Issue 59 Late Spring 2021 | Page 144

5 . River Inn Tirol , Austria and Engadine , Switzerland
ThePADDLER 144
Class 3-4 kayaking courses on the Toesens Gorge section of the River Inn , Austria

5 . River Inn Tirol , Austria and Engadine , Switzerland

The Inn is the biggest volume of a river in the Alps and has been the training ground for many Himalayan kayaking pioneers , past and present ! What is excellent about the Inn is that there are sections of the river for everyone . From touring to whitewater for beginners , there is an abundance of class III for the intermediate kayaker and enough sections for the experienced river runner to stay entertained !
Its headwater is up at the Maloja Pass , Switzerland and on its way to the Danube , the Inn cuts a path of some 500km in length travelling through Austria and Germany .
SWISS INN
In Switzerland , the area is known as the Engadine . A beautiful valley in the South-Eastern Alps and of the four official languages in Switzerland , Romansch is the most widely spoken . Translated from Romansch , Engadine means ‘ The Garden of the Inn ’.
The Upper Engadine has wide open Alpine meadows and is renowned for its annual sunshine . St Moritz – the notorious ski resort for fur coats and luxury shops – is situated in the Upper Engadine Valley . Once the Inn reaches the village of S-chanf , the open meadows give way to deep gorges with steep walls , and the river starts to take on a wild look to the Austrian border !
The Engadine is geologically an unstable area . It is very similar to the Himalayas but not on such a grand scale . However , when rain and hailstones come down , you can expect some landslides or movement in the area . Over the past few years , there have been landslides , including pieces of the road falling into the river making new rapids on various sections of the River Inn in Switzerland .
Without a doubt , the Giarsun Gorge is my favourite section of the River Inn . It is stunning with great whitewater , and this section of the River Inn is what I use as a benchmark to any river I paddle in the world ! A couple of runs on the Giarsun Gorge is a fantastic day of fun alpine kayaking !
AUSTRIAN INN
As the Inn arrives in Austria , it goes through its final deep gorge . The Finstermünz is the border of Austria and Switzerland , and massive vertical walls squeeze the valley . Sunlight is short , and the area is notorious for landslides and avalanches . The Toesens Gorge , Inn Shoot and Landeck Gorge are BIG and bouncy sections .
From the city of Landeck , three major rivers are flowing into the Inn : the Sanna , Pitzbach and Oetz , which gives the Imst Gorge so much extra volume that cannot be matched anywhere else in the Alps !
Steve showing Mike from Colorado , the Landeck Gorge section of the River Inn on a sunny spring day
Kayaking some big water classics in the heart of the Austrian Alps in summer