Canyoning in Passeiertal

Picture was taken from here

This was the most recent adventure I did :). The activity was organized by the Sports Club University Bolzano, but non-members or even non-students were also allowed to take part. With 30€ fee, transportation, barbecue and equipment are all included, which is quite a great deal. Furthermore, the activity was guided by professionals from Acquaterra, so it’s completely safe even for a beginner.

To give you an idea of what canyoning is about, just watch this video.

We did it at the exact same place as in the video, although… with less sunshine and more water. Actually, it was raining when we did it, and somehow the current was too strong (or there was too much water) that the guides decided to cancel the last sliding/jumping/swimming.

There are several activities included in canyoning. The hiking or climbing part was very similar with via ferrata, just more slippery. Sliding on stones was fun, just like a natural water slide. Swimming was more like floating on the back following the current, but on small waterfalls we would definitely be under the water for a while. Crossing the river with a strong current was difficult especially for me, because as one guide said, I am come stringa—like string—, so light :D. Rappelling was also difficult because the stone was so slippery, in the end I was just hanging on the rope while they put me down slowly.

The best part was probably jumping on a waterfall :D. However, I chickened out because the girl jumping before me swam to the wrong direction following the current instead of to the direction of calmer water. Good that the guide quickly grabbed her before she went too far. But yeah, seeing that accident made me decided not to jump. First, I was afraid I would lose my eye lenses in the water, made me almost blind. Second, I think I would be too panic to decide on where to swim, then I would end up just like the girl before me. Third, I wasn’t confident that I would be strong enough to swim free from the current. Conclusion, I’m really getting old :D.

We did this at the end of May, which is probably the best time to do activities such as rafting or canyoning. There is enough water from the melting snow, plus during these weeks it’s raining at least once a week. So yeah, more water, more fun. The problem was, we were quite many people—sixteen—, with only two guides. Every time we did an activity there was a pretty long waiting time, because the guides needed to make sure that one person was secured and safe before letting the next person went on. While waiting for our turn, just standing or sitting with our wet suits and shoes, without any sunshine it was freaking cold.

The day was concluded with having a barbecue lunch under a storm! 😀 Not exactly a summer day we imagined, but… it was fun though.

Verdict:

To be honest, I’m not that confident yet swimming in a current, so maybe that’s why I enjoy it less. Moreover, I was quite worried about my eye lenses, I don’t know what could be the best solution for short-sighted people to do such activities comfortably :(. Anyway, for the next time there should be more sunshine and less water!

One thought on “Canyoning in Passeiertal

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *