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So this year i made my very first Alpine Kayaking trip, choosing what is the norm for so many groups over my usual Africa or US trips.
A tighter budget this year meant a trip closer to home, and i was majorly impressed with Italy. As a destination it is amazing. It has the laid back attitude of an African trip, the comforts of a US trip and something new for me with the stunning Alpine scenery.
On arrival we had a mishap with our motor rental, the requested car with a roof rail was no where to be found at the rental and thus ensued the sketchiest use of handirack i've been involved in, and also pats on the back for the chap who thought of bringing it.
After some interesting bombing down the autostrada with inflatable roof racks holding 4 creekboats and gear we eventually arrived in our Alpine home for the next two weeks. Welcome to the small town of Ireland, Camportongo, Val Sesia, Italy. It seems we always find each other on our adventures, we had the campsite over-run.Our first week was awesome, every river new to us, the cold ice melt waters providing the perfect wake up each morning, and the amazing drops, slides and chutes providing more than enough fun for us.
The area is amazing and i could write for days about our adventures on the rivers.
Three spots stick out in my mind tho, the Landwasser Waterfall, so straight forward, park and huck, amazing fun.
The Sorba Slides, again its short and sweet, park and huck, a great finish to any day on the river. And what a rush.
And finally, The Gronde, WOW, there is so much packed into the little fantastic run. After each drop you immediately see the next horizon line, looking back up its drop stacked on drop. Its a little heaven tucked away into the North of Italy.
Finally, after the paddling, the life, the general fantasticness, there is one more thing that has Italy up there with one of the great spots to paddle, the icing on the cake, or ice cream on the cake,
The ice cream there is amazing, we ended up running the Middle Sesia more regularly just for the ice cream at the get out. The ice cream in Varallo had us on the Mastallone quite often.
I say this about all the destinations i've been to, i'll definately return. :)
