Читать книгу Canyoning in the Alps. Graded routes in Northern Italy and Ticino, Austria, Slovenia and the Valais Alps онлайн

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So formidable was this passage that, in fact, we can barely remember anything at all, too preoccupied with paddling the boats clear of rocks. The boulders create three crevasses of furious water, passed quickly and without injury. The boats are all but thrown ashore, where our assistants have just arrived, stunned by our audacity…and our luck. One boat is broken up somewhat.

We are at the bottom of a veritable well; our outstretched arms can almost touch the walls, which loom 400m overhead, shielding us from the sky. Up above the sun is shining; down here, in this aquatic dungeon, it is nearly night; an awesome, unimaginable spectacle.

…More than once the ropes are required to avoid slipping into a water hole, where we would certainly be crushed. At least the splendour of the canyon is unrivalled. But the more it widens, the more the boulders block our way. We must clamber out, boats on our back, to gain a sort of ‘track’ 100m above the river. The going is terrible, virtually a virgin forest, but it seems excellent in comparison to the rocks below.