University of Birmingham Kayak Club
Summer 2013 The Alps The day after exam period finished we headed off for an epic two week holiday in the southern French Alps. We started off easy on the sunshine run although Rab wave did generate some amusing swims (Will and Kate!). Apologies to Sarah for taking Flip’s ‘mainline’ direction a bit too literally and leading her straight into the chunkiest bit of the hole… Next we ran the Gyronde which was low but fun and relatively carnage free! Full of confidence we sent our sights on the upper Guil (now known as carnage river). The guidebook said a pretty grade 3 gorge. Great, perfect for freshers right?! Things took a turn from the worse when Flip’s boat drifted off unmanned down the gorge. After Chris and I had retrieved his boat we had to wait for two and half hours on the bank. I’m not sure what happened up stream but it resulted in one folded boat, a broken paddle, countless swims and some very grumpy boaters. While all this was going on Chris and I got to know each other rather more intimately than I would have preferred…. Late that day I decided to take a swim down Chateau Q to cheer people up.
River highlights from the rest of the trip include the middle Claree, the Bachelard and the Soulouise. The Bachelard was amazing with tons of super fun continuous grade 3-4 finishing with a brilliant boulder garden rapid. And best of all, no carnage!
The Solouise was a bit of gamble, we wanted to do something new and had headed out the Severaise valley hoping for good levels. It turned out to be a gamble worth making and was definitely my favourite river of the trip. The Soluoise is a beautiful crystal clear river running through and stunning valley and finishing in a isolated lake. We did it high, and at these levels the river starts off at grade 3 but at the end of the run the river gorges in and became continuous grade 4 fun. There is a portage which translates as the ‘entrance to the hell’ but there are stop signs telling when to get out so its not too bad :). Will B took a nasty swim in the gorge after flaring sideways into a massive hole but regained his dignity by free climbing out and hitchhiking back in no time at all.
The Alps Awards
Fish of the Fornight: Sarah M for a double figure swim count
Most Socially Committed: Rosie for taking the interclub relations aspects of her social sec position a little too seriously...
Phallus of the Fornight: Louis for so many reasons ...
The Tryweryn Festival Highlights include a sneezing sheep, some very tasty looking lambs and faffy Flip. Although Andy was on the water from sunrise most of us had a chilled out weekend drinking and sharpening our paddling skills for the then upcoming alps trips.
The Surf Trip The annual June surf trip to the beautiful Pembrokeshire coastline has become one of our most popular trips. Sadly there was very little surf this year but there was plenty of sunshine, BBQs and beer!
Next Term A small taster, more details can be found on the forum (http://ubkc.org.uk/forum)
Symonds Yat. The first trip of the year, perfect if you’re a beginner and what to get involved
Freshers BBQ and the sports fair. Come introduce yourself if your new!
Pyrahna Festival, Teiffi tour, ULU polo, the film festival and much more!
Want to get involved? We are a friendly bunch catering for ALL abilities. Just contact us on our forum or facebook group. Everyone is welcome to come along to our pool sessions on Tuesdays at 8.30pm in the Munrow . http://ubkc.org.uk/ www.facebook.com/groups/brumunikayak/