Zindane Is The Man!
Congratulations France for making it to the finals of the World Cup! I wish I could be there to party with you all.
Gotta Love Espresso, The Morning After
The second day of my trip in the Alps started a little late for some reason not really sure what happened. It had something to do with the Briancon Festeveal de Kayak. Thanks for that BFK, and Malique (Don't know how to spell his name). After a nice sleep and much needed coffee Raphael and I took off for the Guil river to paddle a classic. Its not very often in the U.S. that you get to put in in the shadow of a castle. Very cool.
Typical Normal Everyday Castle
Normal Castle Put In
The water was low because of the cool weather we were getting, but still a great time. The best part was the classic folks we ran into at some of the bigger sections. You have to love the playboat, kober paddle, motorcycle helmet combo. It was awesome. I will say one thing they were not afraid. The first part of the run passes through a tight gorge directly underneath the castle in the picture. The first canyon is tight enough that you do need to pay attention to not hit both sides of the river if you turn sideways.
Raph Boofing The Guil
Then the river opens up with a few bigger rapids, and then we dropped into a fun series of rapids right along the highway. There were a couple cool ones. I remember a triple drop and then this on that I think they called Anaconda. Not a super hard run but super fun, beautiful and crystal clear water.
Cool Anaconda Rapid
After the run we headed over to Raphael's house near the Ubaye river. Raph informed me that this was the ultimate shuttle vehicle in the Alps. Good gas mileage, 4 wheel drive, and stylish too. The only problem I had was the roof caving in from the boats being tied down only on a blanket.
The Ultimate French Shuttle Vehicle
The Village Where Raph Lives
Shane
