 |
| Mister Daniel Brasuell ready for some more boating pic.: Jürgen Maier |
 |
| Swizz way of shuttling ;) pic.: Jürgen Maier |
After beginning our stay in Ticino with running the rivergod Verzasca (if u haven`t already, read the last trip report...) it was time for the Ribo. For these next runs we were joined by Thomas Dimke, Sebastian Betz and Jonas Grünewald to add some german flavor to the group. The alps are not very famous for its higher waterfalls and slides but the Ribo Falls are the exception to the rule. It is a clean slide and pretty easy to run at every level but still kind of intimidating if you are not used to run drops that have this kind of size.
 |
| Emme having a sweet line pic.: Harald Glanz |
 |
| GlanzBros. doing the same, same pic.: Jürgen Maier & Harald Glanz |
Don`t forget that the Ribo doesn`t only consist of these falls but is a very good run as a whole. The little walled in gorge right at Vergletto is a place to take care and you shouldn't miss the takeout after the road bridge since the section down to the Isorno is more Lämmler style, so probably not that interesting for people that don`t like boat-supported canyoning tours ;)
The next day we made our way up into the Rovana valley. The Rovana river is famous for a short stretch called "California Section" but also the rest of the river is pretty nice. At put in you can carry your boats up to the top of the entry gorge which adds some nice whitewater to start the day.
 |
| Sebastian & Jonas enjoy the last gorge of Rovana pic.: Reiner Glanz |
After the normal put-in (right at the waterfall that plunges in from the right) you should take a little care, as there is a small whole which is sometimes overseen (and not so "small" at higher levels) and can be reason for some carnage ;)
 |
| Yoshi just before the California Section pic.: Harald Glanz |
 |
| Jonas charging hard through California pic.: Harald Glanz |
There are two take-outs possible. The first one is right after the first must-run at the first road bridge. If you keep going you will have to run a second must-run gorge (first Rovana picture with Sebastian and Jonas). It is possible to portage the entrance at some levels but this second gorge is classic class V so if you're not sure you can scout at an old roman bridge before putting on the river. Make sure to walk out on river right about 150m after this gorge. Don`t miss the takeout as you can see the reason from the road bridge below ;)
 |
| Emme just before the first road bridge over the Rovana pic.: Reiner Glanz |
Levels were dropping so we figured that the levels were too low for Bavona and Isorno. We ran a short class IV stretch on the Moesa and did some more laps on lower Verzasca, before starting to make our way south and finally home. While having two more days to spend, we went up the Melezza valley to run the upper Melezza gorge and do a little park and huck at the Loana waterfalls. The Melezza is a really beautiful Class IV to V stretch. Not sure if its true, but after taking out on the lake some fishermen said that it is not allowed to run it so I would be happy for any info...
 |
| Wallride in the beautiful upper Melezza gorge pics.: Yoshi Takahashi & Harald Glanz |
The Melezza is kinda special because she carves her way through limestone and then granite in one stretch. If you have higher levels and run the upper Waterfall at Re (walk down at the little cemetery at the eastern side of Re) you would actually add some conglomerate to the list. You should probably take care at the beginning of the granite gorge at high levels because portaging could get very difficult (possible to scout a little right at a road tunnel high above the river).
 |
| David and Reiner in the first drops of upper Melezza pics.: Jürgen Maier |
The Cascada de Loana marks the end of the Loana whitewater stretch that can be run at higher levels. Its a really nice 6m waterfall followed by an ugly slot and ended with the usually run high slide. Our level was really low but since we were there Daniel Yoshi and myself decided we might as well do something stupid and stone it...
 |
| Reiner, Daniel and Yoshi on a low water Loana experience pics.: Jürgen Maier |
The last river of our trip was the lower Cannobino. We had a very low level and three guys knew the gorge so it was a very fun and low stress experience. The big pool after you exit this walled-in gorge marked the end of our two week roadtrip through the southern Alps. Even though we were a very big group with different interests, paddling skills and mindsets I was really surprised how well this worked. Can`t wait to see ya guys again ;)
 |
| Americans eating pic.: Harald Glanz |
 |
| Yoshi and Kevin enjoying the last evening pic.: Jürgen Maier |
As allways I want to thank Liquidlogic Kayaks, Alpin Action and Hf Paddlesports for their support!!
