The Alps with ULKC Part 4 - And back again!

After nearly two weeks in Slovenia, it was time to start heading west again. So we played the usual game of tetris to fit all the gear in the vans and started on the road back to Italy. We spent the journey researching the strength of different brands of condoms by holding them out the van window and seeing what speed they burst at, and since no Alps trip would be complete without spending some time in hospital we called into the one in Borgosesia for a visit while we were passing through. While we were there they were kind enough to have a look at Sinead's sprained/broken/ligament damaged ankle and tell her that although it wasn't broken she would be spending a few weeks on crutches.

The original plan we had before the trip was to spend a week in Slovenia and then another week in Italy stepping things up a bit. However we spent longer than planned in Slovenia due to the perfect water levels and that left us with just two days in Italy before it was time to keep moving on towards home. No-one should go to Italy and come home without going to the Sorba Slides so that's where we went first. We spent a solid day lapping it, trying different lines and rescuing anyone who's lines and rolls didn't quite work as planned. It was a huge step up for lots of people who started paddling less than a year ago so fair play to everyone for giving it a go!

 

Going for the flare line on the Sorba Slides. Photo by Mike Shaw.

 

Richard Daly styling the same flare line. Photo by Mike Shaw.

 

Mike got some great shots of the Slides, I particularly like this angle! Paddler is Eoin Howard, who got his level four on the trip and was styling everything for the full three weeks.

The next day we planned to do the Sermenza, and give the group a taste of Italian creeking. However when we got there the river was a bit low, there was a tree down just downstream and everyone was feeling shattered after the night before. So we had a chat, took a vote and headed to the top drop on the Egua instead. Levels there were perfect and since we had so many people who weren't used to carrying boats around river banks we set up pulley systems to hoist boats up to the road and drop them down to the get on to the river again. This meant that people got a stupid number of runs on the drop and we had a great day, lapping it and trying all sorts of silly stuff. I finally started getting back freewheels down so I was happy out, and I think everyone else had a great day too! 

 

A lot of the photos look broadly similar but Eoin Howard got this one of one of my back freewheels, delighted!

 

A last group photo before the group split up. Photo by Mike Shaw.

 After our day on the Egua there was just time for one more party before the group separated. The next day the hire van headed to the airport with some of the group while the rest of us started on the drive towards Mont Blanc and across France. While we were on the way we learned that there would be time for one more bit of excitement before we reached the ferry. Due to the days that flights and ferries happened to be on there was a spare day on our journey across France, which we would be spending at DISNEYLAND! I have never seen a group of people more excited than we were when we heard the news! 

 

The lads on one of many rollercoasters that day! Photo by Eoin Howard

 

The Disney castle before the light show and lightening storm. Photo by Eoin Farrel.

After a great day at Disneyland we hung around to watch the light show that they project onto the castle just before closing time. That was good enough but what was even more spectacular was the massive lightening storm that passed by as the light show was going on. Thankfully it stayed warm and dry and there was no thunder that we could hear. Massive bolts of fork and sheet lightening backlit the castle as the light show was going on and it continued into the night. After leaving Disneyland we cracked open a beer and sat in the carpark watching the lightening for a while. It was a great way to end an epic trip!

While looking for a place to spend the night one of the tyres on the minibus decided that then would be a great time to have a blowout. After fixing that and getting lost in the outskirts of Paris for a while we eventually managed to crash out in a truck stop for the night. We slept in the next morning and after dawdling in a supermarket for a while realised that we were on track to just miss the ferry. So we legged it, made it onto the ferry by the skin of our teeth and finally got the chance to properly relax for the first time in three weeks! We had a great time on the ferry, drinking a few beers and reflecting on what had been a brilliant trip.

 

The very end. Group photo taken by security on the ferry.

We got off the boat around mid-day and finished off the short drive back to Limerick. After unpacking the vehicles, washing out gear and finding all the belongings that had disappeared over the last three weeks we headed home only to be told that a person and a horse had gone into the river behind UL that day, the horse had drowned and the person was still missing. The search had finished for the day at that stage but we were wanted at 6 am the next morning to help out. After a morning of searching with a few members of a local diving club we heard that the divers had recovered a body. RIP. 

After that, feeling broken after all the weeks of activities we were able to go home, catch up on much needed sleep and generally work on recovering from what was definately the best paddling trip I've ever been on!