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

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Bouldery going in Massaschluct (Route 1 in the Valais Alps)

As the summer wears on, water levels usually decrease. Days cool off a little and the crowds go home. Good weather can stretch into October, although tourist facilities start to close down. Without the heat, any rain that falls tends to augment the rivers for much longer, and on the higher slopes it may fall as snow. Although certain canyons may remain feasible into autumn, canyoning in winter conditions is an entirely different sport. Rivers freeze over and narrow passages become choked with snow. Different skills and equipment are needed, such as ice axes, crampons and specialist clothing. It is not within the scope of this guidebook to describe canyon descents at this time of year. Nevertheless, it is a sport gaining in popularity.

Spring is generally too wet for alpine canyoning. Long periods of rain can render all descents impossible, and the canyons draining the higher slopes become swollen with melt-water. Additionally, dangerous pockets of snow can persist in sun-deprived canyons until early summer.