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I like whitewater kayaking for the great landscape you get to see only from the river, particularly the sort of landscape people don't choose "landscape" format to photograph.
Being a bit on the lazy side, I like my rivers gently sloped so I don't have to work so much for propulsion.
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Needless to say, the average river I run looks much less spectacular. Since waterproof digital cameras are available, people photograph much more on the river, so I even have some photographs of calmer parts of my paddling trips:
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...and occasionally funny things happen, as here:
It doesn't really matter whether you leave your paddle behind by mistake, so long as you've got friends who carry things after you. |
The new boats! Don't let them get wet!
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Some people like sub-yaks.
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So when's that French guy, Godot, coming?
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Now is Uli diversifying into photography courses?
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Besides, ...
...you learn what to do when you're away from civilisation and your car won't start... |
...and you get to meet the most amazing people...
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...some of whom drink strange clear liquids from fruit juice bottles. |
Some even become devout, if only by accident...
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Here is a mini-dictionary of common terms from river guides in three languages:
| English | Français | Deutsch |
|---|---|---|
| eddy | contre | Kehrwasser |
| wave | vague | Welle |
| stopper | rouleau | Walze |
| hole | trou | Loch |
| recirculation | rappel | Rücklauf |
| being pinned | coincement | Verklemmung |
| chute | chute, toboggan | Rutsche |
| drop | seuil | Stufe |
| pool | vasque | Gumpen |
| tongue (of water) | langue | Stromzunge |
| jet | gicleé | Strahl |
| rock wall | fallaise | Felswand |
| barrage, weir | barrage, digue | Staudamm, Wehr |
| impassable | infran, infranchissable | unfahrbar |
| section | tronçon, parcour | Abschnitt |
| downstream | en aval | flussab |
| upstream | an amont | flussauf |
| run | descente | Befahrung |
| slope | pente | Gefälle |
| water supply | alimentation | Wasserversorgung |
| remoteness | isolement | Ausgesetztheit |
| scout | reperer, reconnaître | besichtigen |
| gauge | échelle | Pegel |
| water level | niveau | Wasserstand |
| discharge | débit | Durchfluss |
| flood | crue | Hochwasser |
| kayak, boat | kayak, bateau | Kajak, Boot |
| paddle | pagaïe | Paddel |
(Water levels in south-western Germany) und viele Wasserstände von Schweizer Flüssen (The Swiss Canoe Association and water levels in Switzerland) has French-language river guides and water levels of rivers in France and surrounding countries. and the
channel at Huningue,
France, near Basel
(most reliable),
and in German from benzinpreis.de