This is the French artificial slalom site. It's a bit different to Nottingham or Augsberg as it consists of a reworked bit of natural river. They occasionally turn to water off and shovel the rocks around with a bulldozer. The short stretch is quite fun, up to grade IV and can be very fast. Camping is available up by the top of the course, but will now cost you around 12FFr each a night (see the centre by the course). This includes free showers in the main building by the bridge, but only between 6 pm and 9pm.
One problem with this section is that it is often booked up with slaloms. To find out what is happening before you get there try telephoning 79 07 33 20 or 79 07 22 05. These are both numbers for the Centre de l'Eau Vive here and might even speak English if you're lucky.
The first stage down to Bellentre is nothing too difficult, except in very high water. From the bottom of the slalom site this is all quite big volume grade III down to just below the lake formed by the gravel works at Bellentre.
From Bellentre the Isère rapidly picks up to become quite heavy grade IV as it nears Aime. The river is high volume and extremely good fun to paddle. There are countless surfing waves to be found at all the levels we paddled this section. There is also a cycling track which runs from the slalom site down to Aime on the left bank - so if you have any spectators with cameras they can follow you down. The end of this section is by the road bridge in Aime where the rafters have a bunch of artificial breakouts.
The last stage of the Isère down to Centron goes through a impressive though easy gorge. The river below Aime is grade III for 3km until you reach the gorge. This begins with an enormous eddy that you must cut across to enter the gorge. The gorge itself is easy though very boily and is followed by more grade III water. In the final two kilometres there are four short grade IV- or IV rapids before the get out at the Centron bridge. We managed to get our beginners down here by having them follow someone fairly closely, but these last rapids should inspire caution.
The gorge above Moûtiers looks tempting. It is nearly dry, however, due to a barrage. The gorge is definitely spectacular and may be worth doing in plastic boats, for the views. The canoeing may be difficult due to drops and undercuts, but portaging looks easy. In high water, inspection would seem a wise move before any attempts. Below the town of Moûtier, the Isère is suitable for extended cruises, but has no worthwhile rapids.
There is another river running into the Isère at Moûtier, coming down from the "3 valleys" ski-ing area - presumably from the Val Thoron glacier. To judge from the flow of water there may be some interesting canoeing up here if it isn't HEP controlled.
Gordon's Guide: "This river is north of the Isère. Direct access is from Bourg St Maurice. We got in at the upstream end of Beaufort and paddled down the tiny stream which is the Doron. Just below Beaufort, the water level increases substantially, and is then a fast, pleasant grade III, and very continuous. We had a good water level which helped. There is a barrage below Villard. Driving down the river, the next section is dry, but looks as if it could be good with water in it."
Gordon's Guide: "We canoed the next section where the water is returned to the river. This becomes a small gorge, which the road crosses on its way to Albertville. There are a few portages necessary all of which are obvious. The first was around a tree and wood choked 10 foot drop, the second round a tricky narrow shoot - this could just possibly be shot. The portage we did was hard, we climbed out on the right up to the road, and then back down to the river. It would be better to throw the boats over the drop and jump in after them. This is on the river left side (it looks like an ace seal launch, but is too shallow). The third portage was over a massive drop - we portaged right, but getting back to the river was awkward and involved swinging out on a tree and dropping onto a boulder! After this comes an HEP station which takes all the water out of the river. Climb out of the valley here up to the road (there is a path). To continue would be an error. With no water it's not paddleable; and if it had flow it would be grade VI.
The gorge section of this river would be dangerous in high water because of the serious tree hazard and difficulty of escape above some drops. The portage out of the gorge is marked as an EDF on Michelin map 74; 4 km out of Albertville."
Gordon's Guide: "This is north of Albertville. The lowest section of the Arly, from Ugine to Albertville, is a large volume wide river, about grade II-III and would appear to be suitable for beginner trips.
The section from Flumet down to a lake and barrage is supposed to be grade IV-V. The lake and barrage are down in a deep valley, but can be seen, and there is an access road to the barrage. However, there is no obvious way to get to the river from Flumet, since this village is about 300 feet above the river and the river is in a deep gorge! The section above Flumet is rated grade V-VI. We were able to inspect this since the road and river run together in a gorge. At the upper end of the gorge is a very serious fall - this is a powerful shoot onto a rock face, but a tree trunk at water level in the stopper makes this impossible. Portaging around this could be quite awkward. Otherwise, the rest of the gorge looks paddleable, but it carried a lot of water and obviously would be a serious undertaking since it is not possible to inspect in advance and clearly difficult. This section is well worth a further look on a future visit."
During 1991-1992 a lot of work was done on the road by the Arly and there may now be a fair bit of concrete in the river. Also, I've been warned that there are supposed to be two siphons in the gorge section.
From the Arly gorge, it is quite easy to drive to the Borne. Coming to the Borne valley from the ski resort of La Clusaz, the river is canoeable immediately. Down to a little above Entremont, the river looks small and technical, with one bit which may need portaging. This section is visible from the road, and is in a slight gorge. The guide map we have suggests that there is also grade III canoeing above this area, around Le Grand-Bornay.
Starting at the free campsite just above Entremont, the river is a fairly easy paddle, about grade III, down to Esset. There are three weirs to shoot, all possible. The first is obvious from the road.At Esset is a grade VI rapid, immediately below a road bridge. Possibly in low water this will run but it looks hard and is rock choked. Portage on the left. After this the river develops into an excellent grade IV+ descent, going through small gorges away from any signs of civilisation. Eventually one comes to a barrage and lake. There is a road access to the left at this point, but where the road comes from is unknown. This would be a sensible place to finish. The road may come from the turn off to le Beffay.
To continue becomes a fine adventure! The river reduces in volume due to the barrage, and runs into a fabulous, deep vertical sided gorge. The canoeing is easy, the views excellent.
Right up near Switzerland this is a dam controlled river possibly grade IV-V. Rafting companies use the river so you should be able to find out about conditions from then. Supposedly it's possible to paddle from the Gorge du Pont du Diable (a dam) to Lac Leman
Put in below a dam and get out before weirs before the lake at N5 road bridge. Grade ??
This is another river near Lac Leman. Apparently it needs loads of rain to be paddleable. From le Buet the river is grade II-IV to le Chatelard, including one 15 foot fall that's supposed to be OK.
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