Exploring Austria with Steve Brooks

By Steve Brooks
Web: www.gokayaking.at
FB: SteveBrooks
Insta: @kiste_wala

Bio

Steve Brooks

Steve has lived in Austria for over 25 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 14 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, leading courses, adventure trips and expeditions in the Soča Valley, Indian Himalayas, Peru and Chile in South America.

He speaks Austrian German like a local and has picked up a little bit of an Argentine dialect in Spanish. When Steve is not kayaking, he searches for that perfect powder run in the backcountry in his home mountains of St Anton am Arlberg or rides his Royal Enfield Bullet in search of undiscovered rivers in the Himalayas.

With their stunning newly built lodge in the Andes above Pucon, Steve, Josefa and Mati, who are two local Chileans, show guests some of the best rivers Chile has to offer, from Waterfalls to Big Water to Alpine Style. Steve loves taking his Canon 1DX and lenses out on the river, looking for that perfect shot that showcases not just a kayaker’s skill and technique but also some of the most spectacular scenery and rivers on the planet!

Exploring Austria

It was the first week of June at home in the Arlberg region of western Austria. Josefa had just arrived from Chile and was settling into our house. It was her first time out of South America, a big three-month adventure for her.

Madaubach Gorge
The previous winter’s snowpack was low, and with spring melt due to start in a week, we had a few days off, so I proposed we kayak the Madaubach. Situated in the stunning Lech Valley in the state of Tirol, the Madaubach Gorge is something special. I first kayaked it in 2020 during COVID-19, when tourists were still banned from visiting but allowed to explore our local area.

It is a deep, tight gorge that starts in the western part of Austria. The Alpine stream makes its way down to join the Lech River, one of the few free-flowing rivers in the eastern part of Austria. So, after explaining the action plan, we got ready for an early start the following morning.

Stunning drive
Because the river starts just over the other side of the mountains to the north of our village, we had a bit of a drive but a truly stunning one over the Arlberg Pass, into the next state of Vorarlberg and over the Flexenpass to the village of Zürs and Lech, we then followed the road that hugs the impressive Lech Gorges past Warth and then finally back into Tirol and following the River Lech to the village of Bach. Here, we turned south and drove the final part to the graveyard, and from now on, we would have to carry our kayaks five kilometres up the forest road to the put-in.

Our final kit checks were made, the kayaks heaved onto our backs, and we set off. My whole idea is very agricultural: bang it out as quickly as possible and get on with it and suffer! With every step I made while walking up, I kept saying there was a reason I kayaked in the Himalayas. It was so much easier employing a local porter or sherpa to haul my kit, and I never once felt guilty as I knew the money I spent on their wages goes a long way for their family. I left the girls and kept going and going, saying to myself I could get a rest at the next corner; I felt I was back in the British Army, knocking out some kilometres over the mountains of Wales!

The route we were taking up to the put-in of the Madaubach is part of the E5 trek that starts in Oberstdorf in Germany and finishes in Meran in Süd Tirol (Italy). It is one of the most popular treks in the German-speaking Alps, and in high season, you cannot find a bed or even space on the floor of a mountain hut, but as this was Spring, the passes were closed, and it was just day walkers making their way up the road. s I crossed over the wooden bridge, I got a stunning view of the Alperschonwasserfall.

The further you head up into the valley through the forest, the more you seem to go back in time; in the 18th century, a small mountain hamlet with a population of 60 lived at the top of the Madau Valley. However, over the centuries, the hamlet lost its inhabitants until finally, in 2023, only one person was registered as living there. His name is Klaus.

A little further upstream of the Alperschonwasserfall was a rocky outcrop by the side of the road where I could lean my kayak up against and finally take that couple of minutes break I had been promising myself the past ten corners! The forest road had great cover, but it was still hot, and sweat was pouring down me. As I was taking more gulps of water, I saw a 4×4 jeep in what we would call Hunters Green come up the road; as it got closer, I saw that the young girl sitting next to the driver looked remarkably like Josefa.

By the time the vehicle stops, Josefa is waving, and with a big grin, I see her kayak in the back of the jeep. The driver was, in fact, Klaus. He was driving up to check to see if any wolves had taken sheep further up on the pastures when he saw Ute and Josefa walking along the track with the kayaks on their backs. He could not believe these two small girls were putting in so much effort to kayak through the gorge of his home river. So, with only space for one kayak, he put Josefa’s into the back of his jeep and promised Ute he would return to her.

The abseil point
So, with no further to do, I get my kayak onto my back and grab a quick photo of Josefa’s Waka Goat heading off up in the distance to the abseil point. Klaus comes flying back past me; the only positive I can bring out of this situation is that the abseil point cannot be too far away! When I reach the abseil point, Klaus arrives with Ute and her kayak. Josefa looks impatient, and I finally get the kayak off my back. We say goodbye to Klaus with the girls giving him a loving hug for driving them up, and we start to set up ready for the abseil.

It is not a full-on vertical abseil, but it is steep and high enough to warrant setting up a rope to backwalk down and lower the kayaks. It is just over three pitches with our 25-metre rope as I make my way down the first pitch, with three kayaks following me afterwards and then as Josefa starts to make her way down, a group of elderly German hikers peer over the lip and start talking to each in loud voices (they must be loud as even I can hear them with my helmet on), openly praying to God that nothing happens to us and to beg him to stop this crazy thing we are doing.

Ute has a huge smile on her face, and I laugh to myself all the while. Josefa has no idea what they are saying. At the top of the second pitch, we see a lot of wild orchids growing and flowering on the steep terrain; they are an endangered species, so while trying to avoid any damage, we continue down the second pitch, slowly but surely. It is a bit of an exposed ridge to get over with us, the kayaks and paddles before setting up another belay point for the final pitch down to the riverside. Finally, by the side of the river, we can rest, have something to drink, and start getting everything ready for the final and main part of this mini-adventure, which is the kayak down!

The Chimney
As we headed off, with me leading, followed by Ute and Josefa, we wound down through the tight and deep gorge walls until we reached the Chimney. The Chimney is where the river passes through this fantastic tight, canyon-walled piece of rock some 60 metres in length. As you look up, you can see a sliver of light where the canyon walls tighten up. When we first looked at this on a reconnaissance trip a few years back, you would not think it was possible to kayak, but down by the river, it was wide enough for us to flow through. As we exited the Chimney, the natural light was a welcome, including the rapids that followed.

The Madaubach makes its way down, twisting and turning with blind bends and all with the possibility of behind the next bend being chocked full with wood. This happened on my first trip, and I managed to kayak up the beach on the river right, jump out of my kayak and go around one mega wood chocked strainer! However, this time, there was nothing too much to mention. Yes, we can check out a few tight rapids, which landslides and the previous winter avalanches had made a few times, but nothing too stressful. It was absolutely amazing to be in such stunning surroundings and a very different environment from what Austria is usually known for, such as its large volume and steep alpine rivers, such as the Oetz and Rosanna.

We were progressing nicely, and it was not long before we got to a sweet little drop. We caught the eddy on river right, hopped out of our kayaks to check the line and then with the camera ready the girls dropped in. More read-and-run rapids followed with some more around the bigger rocks, boofing off anything we could find.

The final rapid appeared, and last time, I had to portage, and again, this time, it was a portage. It looked like a great rapid, but with huge alpine trees blocking any possible line, we shouldered our kayaks and made our way around it. Now, the river started to lose its gradient, and it was a fun paddle down to the bridge just above the village of Bach.

What an adventure!
Ute was gutted she could not do it the first time but was really happy that she managed to see another one of her local rivers that rarely gets run. For Josefa, it was something very unusual and different from her home rivers, such as the Palguin and Trancura in Pucon, Chile. She was certainly happy she met Klaus on the walk-up, and with that, we loaded up the truck (Big Mama, as Josefa has named it) and headed up to Steeg for homemade ice cream.

Though only Class 3, the Madaubach certainly requires some planning and preparation. The Gorge is deep and very narrow, making a rescue or extraction extremely tricky and complicated. However, it is a stunning place, and even if you do not like the idea of kayaking some relatively straightforward but extremely committing routes, it is certainly worth having a walk up the valley to check it out!

Huge thanks
Finally, a huge thanks goes to everyone who supports me in being able to keep kayaking, travelling, exploring and having fun: