BY STEVE BROOKS

Steve has lived in Austria for over 23 years, from being a place to come and work seasonally on the river to a base camp and finally making Austria his home! Steve’s love for kayaking and adventure is infectious, and this can especially be seen in the kayak school he set up 11 years ago. Based out of the Arlberg region in western Austria, the school runs courses for beginners plus coaching and instructing kayakers through all the whitewater grades, including creeking and river running. Between the kayaking season in Austria, Steve can be found kayaking and leading adventure trips and expeditions in the Indian Himalayas, Peru and Chile in South America. He speaks German like a local and is trying to improve his Argentine Spanish. When he is not kayaking, he searches for that perfect powder run in the backcountry in his home mountain of St Anton am Arlberg or riding his Royal Enfield Bullet searching for undiscovered rivers in the Himalayas.

For more information check out: www.gokayaking.at and www.gokayaking.at/blog

Autumn in Austria

Deep blue skies, leaves in different shades of red, orange and yellow on the trees, snowcapped Alpine peaks and of course, water levels that still keep producing the goods. This is what kayaking during the autumn in the western part of Austria is all about.  

With the longest kayaking season in the Alps, there are various sections of rivers still running at that time of the year. The river levels will all be dictated by the temperatures at night and how much cloud cover comes in. Whereas in the spring and summer, many of the levels around our base come from the dams, the weather can work just like a tap/source for the rivers during the autumn.

If it is clear at night, it will be below freezing up in the mountains and on the glaciers, thus stopping the flow of water into the rivers. If it is an unusually warm autumn, we can have medium flows on the Inn and some of its bigger tributaries, such as the Oetz. With a few days of rain, some sections might even rise to the high side.

River Inn

Dams influence most sections on the River Inn in Austria, but they will still give you plenty of action. Only towards late autumn, rocks start to show themselves, making it a slightly more technical run than the usual big volume that the River Inn is renowned for. Even the Imst Gorge might turn into a new river for kayakers who only know it with massive waves.

During the autumn, the Oetz River becomes a lot more manageable for the majority of kayakers. In summer, the river is pumping from all the melting snow and ice coming from the glaciers high up in the valley. In the height of summer, the Upper Oetz is a full-on class V with no rocks showing, making rescues extremely difficult due to the gradient and lack of eddy’s.

However, the colder nights stop the melting ice in the autumn, and the Upper Oetz will have plenty of kayakers enjoying this section at a more comfortable level.

Wellerbrücke

It also means that the steeper sections of the Middle Oetz and Wellerbrücke come into play. But it is the lower part of the Wellerbrücke that probably gets run the most at that time of the year, with many kayakers trying to get as many training runs in as possible before the race is on. Formerly known as the ‘Sickline’, it got reborn as the ‘Oetz Trophy’ race section, an extreme whitewater kayaking race that became the World Championships in 2021.

With kayakers coming from all over the globe to participate in the race or watch who will be crowned male and female champions, the valley is buzzing with kayakers, and it is so nice to see so many of them enjoying our local rivers!

Plenty of options

Do not think that the autumn rivers are just for the Class V kayakers! There are plenty of options for every grade of whitewater kayaker. The Imst Gorge of the River Inn is a mellow Class 3; above and below this section, it is Class 2, and if your luck is in, then the Sanna is a nice Class 3 paddle (depending on the Plans rapid). This year we managed to kayak the Loisach in Bavaria in October, and the Engadine in Switzerland was also delivering the goods.

The Swiss part of the Inn is a fantastic day-out kayaking, and the views along the drive there and, of course, from the river are spectacular. Also not to be missed: a trip right up into the Oetz Valley to the foot of the mountains, which brings you to the fantastic little creek called the Venterache. The Lower is the most commonly run; the water temperature is cold, but the contrasting colours of the river and trees make the excellent whitewater a great day’s creeking.

Drop below freezing

It may not be short-sleeve paddle jacket season anymore, but when the sun is out, it is lovely, and the warmth you feel from the sunlight feels so good. I live up in the Arlberg Region, which is renowned for its snowfall. Already in the autumn, it can drop below freezing at night and in the morning, so planning your day is essential.

Autumn kayaking in this part of Austria starts a little later in the day. But with it not getting dark until after 17.00, you have plenty of time to enjoy those creeks and rivers. Of course, a relaxed breakfast watching a deep red sky before the sun comes up above the mountains is also a great way to start the day!