Water trails

We owe it to the American natives that we are able to travel with canoes and kayaks in our free time today. Indians and Inuit built light boats out of birch bark and animal skins, with which they navigated rivers and lakes for hunting and fishing.

In the course of time, numerous changes were made at the material. Temporarily, canoes were made of wood and aluminium. Today, mainly the light and nevertheless extremely durable plastic GFK is used.

In contrast to canoeing and kayaking, canyoning is a rather new sport. It was not until the 1990s that the sport established in the alpine region – and to this day it is still more of a niche sport.

For adventurous sportsmen, the so-called whitewater exerts a very special fascination. It occurs wherever either a high gradient or a narrowing of the riverbank increase the flow velocity of the water.

Whitewater is characterised by an above average fast current and other elements such as whirlpools, waterfalls or rapids. For whitewater sports – such as whitewater paddling, rafting or canoe slalom – artificial whitewater canals are sometimes used.