So how does one take on the white-water rapids? you might wonder, especially since floating downstream is not an option.
“Most people think that you need to paddle less when the water is streaming faster, but it’s totally the opposite! The faster the water, the faster you need to paddle. You need to be faster than the water to stay in control. The level of difficulty in white-water kayaking and sup is graded across six levels. Level 1 stands for easy and 6 for very difficult, almost impossible to paddle even for the best riders in the world. Level 3 is normally the limit for boards. Trafficability also depends on the water level. Less water causes dry areas in the riverbed and a higher water level makes some passages impassable” Valentin explains.
At our first location it’s over for today. Valentin and his girlfriend Paulina Herpel deflate their boards and drive to Loisach river – a very popular spot in Bavaria for white-water kayaking and sup. The river gets wide, shallow, less drifty and the ground is covered in flint. A nice place to build up easy manoeuvres in eddies. For Paulina, the less radical conditions are advantageous. Even though she is an advanced rider and the current German Race and Surf sup Champion, this kind of riding is completely different to what she is used to. Downstream, there’s a more challenging section with several barrages between big rocks called “Dom”.
