THE FOURNEL CANYON

Words & Photos  Gautier Boudat

It’s early July in the Durance Valley of south west France. We’re in the middle of the huge kayak festival and spirits are high as we are about to embark on a sup mission with the great American paddler Dan Gavere and the hometown hero, Frenchie Nico Fayol to run down the Canyon du Fournel atop the Rapid Air 9’6 river board from Fanatic.

This canyon descends to the city l’Argentière la Béssée, close to the silver mine nestling in the valley far below. The source is in the Pic de la Cavale at a lofty 2983m, and you can paddle just on the upper part of the river, navigating the numerous drops between 1 and 7 metres. It’s the third time that Nico Fayol has had a crack at this spot, and it looks like he’s finally scored it properly! The heavy snow of the champagne 2017/18 winter has fathered some exceptional conditions; the melt coming at just the right moment to ride this Alpine river.  

On arrival, there were already a group of frothing kayakers preparing to throw themselves in. We were quite thankful for this as it was really helpful to see the exact lines, launch spots and how to cope with the landings, especially since the first section hits you with a salvo of six drops up to 4m high.  

Local boy Nico was the first stand up to get in there, and at first he looked a bit precarious – almost like another species – in the middle of all the kayaks. But Nico likes big water. He’s a mountain man, seasoned in the ways of white water sup, kayak, climbing and trail running. He’s soon in the zone, head down and paddling, and the drops go well and the landings are more or less clean, he’s making it happen. Dan soon follows and it’s ON! Dan’s prowess in white water is well known, but his sup talents spread further as he’s a good racer too, placing in the top 10 at the legendary Battle of the Paddle surf race at Dana Point, and more relevant to the situation before us first place overall in the Outdoor Mix Festival in Embrun, combining whitewater, downwind and a flatwater sprint. Back to the action – the guys are smashing it, hitting all the drops and having a great time. It’s not a perfect run, owing perhaps to the obvious increased challenge of their upright, evolved, bipedal approach but they finish without missing a drop, more or less in style. No sooner had the boys found their rhythm and it was time to go back to join the melee at the Durance Festival where Nico has a sup clinic to run. I’m sure they could have sessioned it for much longer, refining and finding the perfect line but at least they got to sample this sweet playground for sup. Dan and Nico will have to come back and push the limits once more. ^{SUP INTERNATIONAL}