Open Boating in the Pyrenees

The Pyrenees is probably not the first place that springs to mind when you mention the words Open Boating! But having just returned from a short paddling trip there, rest assured a good time was had by all. The aims of our trip was to allow people to work towards BCU star wards where possible and also to give people an Alpine experience. We based our selves at the Camping du Valentin campsite in Laruns at the head of the Ossau valley, which is in the Parc National des Pyrenees.

The Pyrenees itself is a mountain range in the South West of Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain and offers the perfect  environment for adventure and a challenge offered by the variety of good white water paddling. Anyone  and everyone will enjoy  paddling the rivers in the Pyrenees, as there are sections of rivers ranging from grade 2 to 5+.  The river levels vary according to the water releases from dams, rainfall and melting snow.  This year  the levels were low due to a lack of rain and little snowmelt, this however did not prove to be too much of an issue for our plans.

It was decided that a god starting point would be to spend the first day after traveling, refreshing peoples rescue skills at the Slalom course on the River Pau not far from Lourdes. This proved to be worthwhile and gave people the opportunity to practice their swimming, use of throwlines and good chance to explore the use of swim lines, all of which proved very useful as the week developed.

Despite the variety of river paddling opportunities available to us, day two found us searching for some flat water in the form of a lake in order to look at some fundamental canoe skills, paddling both tandem and solo prior to tackling some of the rivers. This proved somewhat of a challenge as most of the local lakes are in fact private and owned by the Hydro-electric scheme and paddling is not permitted.

Even after some careful research prior to the trip and after having spoken to some local paddlers our first location was a classic example of this and so we had to head further afield and travel across the border into Spain. This proved worth while and gave the group the opportunity to not only paddle in a stunning setting but also due to the wind an opportunity for a bit of sailing.

After having explored the local area and enjoying the scenery we headed back to the beach for a spot of lunch and an opportunity to take a look at the use of tarp shelters in conjunction with boats, poles and paddles etc

For the remainder of the week we focused on our white water paddling and visited a number of rivers including the Garve de Pau and Garve d’Ossau. The guide book states that theses rivers are grade 2 to 3, however due to the low water conditions they were  only of a good grade 2 with nothing too serious. Incidentally the guide book I refer to is White Water  Pyrenees by Patrick Santal.

During our river trips we came across a number of barrages that form part of the Hydro electric scheme and required portaging. Also a number of weirs were encountered, that after inspection were run, proving to be a real highlight for some.

Despite the low levels of water experienced the trip proved to be a great success, and I would certainly recommend it as a good paddling location for open boat. I am already planning to head back there again next year and explore more of the rivers. All those who took part benefitted greatly and felt the experience was worth while, plus a big improvement was noted in everyones skills.

Thanks to everyone that came along and made the trip possible.

See you on the water…

Jules

www.voyageur-coaching.co.uk