'Creek-bugging' in Austria
by Don Allardice
photos by riverBUG.me
1st riverbug descent of the Rothbach, Austria 04/06/2010
Living in Wildalpen, Austria I’d had my eye on the local creeks for some time, so when the chance came to check out the Rothbach I jumped at it. The fact that pretty much everyone I’d spoken to couldn’t imagine a riverbug doing steep and rocky class 4-5 was extra motivation.
At the carpark my paddling buddies Flo and Georg rigged a cam-strap harness to carry their kayaks and I packed my 7kg of riverbug into a dry pack for the hour or so walk to the put-in. A week of rain had the Rothbach flowing nicely and we were soon floating down to the first drops. The interesting thing about riverbugs is that they do some things easier than kayaks (like maneuvering in super tight situations), while other things (like boofing) are not so easy and require different techniques. It’s great having your hands and feet free. Running the Rothbach’s bedrock drops and slides illustrated the main differences between kayaking and riverbugging; the kayaks took more direct lines gliding over things with speed, while the riverbug took it slower and moved more laterally. The many slides were all good, and I took the unorthodox method of running a 6m waterfall backwards so I didn't go deep - a weird sensation, but effective!
The entire top section was absolutely awesome paddling, especially the 3er-combi slides. Flo was great pointing out the lines, keeping the scouting to a minimum and moving efficiently through the difficult sections, which included two portages around a big slide drop and waterfall (both had ugly landings…). At one stage both Georg and myself got caught off-guard by a snotty little drop with a rock in it – the riverbug managed to bounce off around, but Georg ended up flipping sideways on it, coming up with half a paddle and skinned knuckles making me glad for my 3mm of neoprene paddle glove protection!
The Rothbach is well worth the walk in if you strike the right flow- it's definitely 'buggable' I'm looking forward to more 'Creek-bugging' this summer. Enjoy the photos...
Cheers Don
Don Allardice is a pioneer of riverbugging and the owner of Europe based company riverBUG.me
Check out their website: www.riverbug.me
Or drop an email: info@riverbug.me
by Don Allardice
photos by riverBUG.me
1st riverbug descent of the Rothbach, Austria 04/06/2010
Living in Wildalpen, Austria I’d had my eye on the local creeks for some time, so when the chance came to check out the Rothbach I jumped at it. The fact that pretty much everyone I’d spoken to couldn’t imagine a riverbug doing steep and rocky class 4-5 was extra motivation.
At the carpark my paddling buddies Flo and Georg rigged a cam-strap harness to carry their kayaks and I packed my 7kg of riverbug into a dry pack for the hour or so walk to the put-in. A week of rain had the Rothbach flowing nicely and we were soon floating down to the first drops. The interesting thing about riverbugs is that they do some things easier than kayaks (like maneuvering in super tight situations), while other things (like boofing) are not so easy and require different techniques. It’s great having your hands and feet free. Running the Rothbach’s bedrock drops and slides illustrated the main differences between kayaking and riverbugging; the kayaks took more direct lines gliding over things with speed, while the riverbug took it slower and moved more laterally. The many slides were all good, and I took the unorthodox method of running a 6m waterfall backwards so I didn't go deep - a weird sensation, but effective!
The entire top section was absolutely awesome paddling, especially the 3er-combi slides. Flo was great pointing out the lines, keeping the scouting to a minimum and moving efficiently through the difficult sections, which included two portages around a big slide drop and waterfall (both had ugly landings…). At one stage both Georg and myself got caught off-guard by a snotty little drop with a rock in it – the riverbug managed to bounce off around, but Georg ended up flipping sideways on it, coming up with half a paddle and skinned knuckles making me glad for my 3mm of neoprene paddle glove protection!
The Rothbach is well worth the walk in if you strike the right flow- it's definitely 'buggable' I'm looking forward to more 'Creek-bugging' this summer. Enjoy the photos...
Cheers Don
Don Allardice is a pioneer of riverbugging and the owner of Europe based company riverBUG.me
Check out their website: www.riverbug.me
Or drop an email: info@riverbug.me
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