Firstly....WOOT!!
Secondly, I'm just going to throw some stuff down, it's pretty incoherent and it's really just stuff from my experience. In no way do you have to take it for granted nor especially use it as a constraint. I just thought that people who were thinking about it might like a little info on the matter.
I've been to the Alps twice now and I really, really, RELLY love it. It's warm, almost all of the time. When you go to the rivers, there's usually water in them and you're just generally surrounded by mates and sunshine for weeks on end.
You learn LOADS, absolutely loads. You go paddling almost every day and get much more done in each day than you'd be used to here. I also think that all of the warmth, sunshine and good vibes really help here!
That being the case, I would like to formally declare that I could be interested in this.
I can drive, but don't have a car(unless Maryanne wants to go). for renting, I'm over 25 but don't have 2 years experience( I don't know whether the last bit makes any difference)
In terms of dates:
the places where I've been, and where most people go are France, Italy and Slovenia.
Usually Italy runs in late May, France in lateMay/June and Slovenia seems to be running all of the time.
FYI the rivers usually run at these times because this is when the snow melts. It can of course rain too, and this can have a huge effect. Often when it rains over there, it RAINS!
In terms of logistics...
When I've been over there, it's been driving (thank you Maryanne). You need lots of drivers and cars. three to a good-sized car seems to be about right and diesel. Definitely diesel. In the past, people have traded in their cars for the family car etc. to have something that's a bit bigger and more economical ( fuel costs are perhaps you biggest single outlay). Driving does add extra travel time, but if you've got the time, then it's actually quite fun. It's somewhere around 1350km from the ferry to Campertogno in Italy, we've done this in two days before, if you had two drivers to each car then you could possibly do this in one go.
You can fly in and rent a car either. I haven't done this though, perhaps Simon/Mark/Kyle/Peter could add some details?
I've seen other college clubs rent a van and drive that over with all of the gear, so that's something else.
Gear!
You really need your own full set of gear. Not just that ( depending on the nature of the trip) the club won't lend it, but
A: It's too much wear and tear to ask the club to absorb
B: You'll perform better and be happier having your own stuff. The difference between a set of club paddles and proper set and especially a club boat and your own is huge. The suitability of a boat to your needs and how well you outfit the boat really will make an enormous difference.
C: You can get the stuff in nice colours and shit. Just remember, there's going to be loads of photos.
I know that gear is really expensive, but you'll still have it when you come back (hopefully) and when you're over there you get so much better value from it anyway!
Level of the group.
Derv touched on this and it is really important. It determines where you're going to go, how much time you spend there etc. and this has a fair effect on the whole dynamic of the group.
You obviously need leaders for the group. But I think this seems to be a little chicken and egg. ie. more experienced people want to go paddling and are ususally more than happy to bring people down stuff, but dont want to be constrained in what they can do or where they can go either. It is unfortunately a tricky on to predict. A lot of the people who are thinking of going now are going to develop a lot between now and then (or alternatively, they won't, it's an active process). Also people will react differently when presented with the challenges you meet. It's a funny one.
Jeez that's long, sorry about that.
