The Place To Be

At at the end of April in Val Sesia the valley was just thawing from a long winter. In Alagna this year there have been record snowfall and even now towards the end of May there are still big snow fields waiting to melt. This makes this Piemonte the place to be this spring as there are great levels in all of the classic runs, and even some more obscure rarely paddled rivers have had water this year.

 

Fighting the temptation to put my ski’s back on, I warmed up on some of the classic runs of the Sermenza, Gronda and Egua, (where there was still snow at the put in!) before I put my guide hat on and waited for the first G17 clients to arrive for a road trip around the area.

 

 

 

We decided to make the most of the good levels and for most of the week we were based in Campertogno making day trips out to enjoy the fantastic white water here. Before making an excursion into Ticino.

 

Gradually the Danish boys stepped up, getting accustomed to the gradient, and firing some great lines down the Egua. 

 

This year although the lines stay the same, the rocks are well cushioned and the holes become more….entertaining

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the Danish boys waved good bye and started their long drive back up North, Simon and I received two more guests from the USA for a week of kayaking in Piemonte.  The rain brought the water levels up yet again, rendering some of the classics un-runnable, but with a bit of creative thinking we showed Tim and Kristen around and had some fantastic days on the water. 

 

Overall its been a terrific start to the spring season here in the Alps, if you like steep creeking and you’ve not visited Piemonte before make sure you do so, it never disappoints. 

So on with the next mission, a visit to Ticino!  Ciao