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  • North Wales White Water Weekend

North Wales White Water Weekend

  • 27 Jul 2018
  • 8:00 AM
  • 29 Jul 2018
  • 7:00 PM
  • Bala, North Wales

Registration


Registration is closed

Whilst this trip is open to all Club members who have passed ITP or 2 star, it is advisable to have had some previous grade 3 white water experience.

Bala and the Tryweryn
Afon Tryweryn is Dam fed, which means that the water is released by a time table at a regulated rate. This means that the river is predictable, and is a regular summer retreat for dehydrated paddlers! (Even if the water is a little bit cold!)


N.B. because the WW centre the river is fed by dam release, if it isn't releasing it can't be paddled. The centre has no control over releases and they are announced only about a week before. So no guarantees we will be able to paddle the top section see http://www.canoewales.com/water-level-info

The Upper section of the Tryweryn is  rated as continuous Grade 3+ and is similar to the large features on the Dart Loop or Middle Tavy. There is a short 'warm up' section just below the chipper and before the graveyard, which is perfect to hone your skills before tackling the main features. Calum's video will give you a taste www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB4QTzoFW_Y

The Lower Tryweryn is much more beginner friendly, generally considered grade 2 all the way down, with one Grade 4 feature at Mills Falls. This is easy to portage around for those not wanting to paddle it. Here is another video of the Lower section
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2_0Gz2WM58

The Plan

This could be a prime opportunity for people to hire some white water instructors.

Coaches and instructors can be hired either for a single day, or for a weekend to offer a range of courses. some options that I would suggest include
  • BCU 3 or 4 Star White Water Training (2 days)
  • BCU White water Safety and Rescue course (2 days)
  • Bomb Proof Roll Training (1 Day)
  • Beginners white water (1-2 days)
  • Personal Paddling development course (1-2 days)

Prices will vary on which course is undertaken, and how many participants are included. But typically you each course requires 4-6 people, and you should expect to pay £60-75 per person per day.


Bursary's from the Club and BCU are available for certain courses, so you may be able to recover some of the cost. Please contact the committee for more information.


For those who do not want instruction, and just want to join us for the weekend, we will also have peer lead groups running the river. Although all members of the group need to be comfortable paddling grade 3 rivers.


Accommodation

There is the Bala Backpackers Hostel that offers dorm room accomodation for around £39 (in 2014) per weekend per person (Friday & Saturday Night). Someone may need to set up a group booking.  I expect the organiser will require payment in advance, and anyone wishing to back out at short notice may loose their money (unless you can find someone else to take your space).

There are also many B&B's and campsites locally.

Provisional itinerary


All down to what people want to do, who signs up, how many 'leaders' we have (or not), releases and rainfall. But from previous years:


Leave the clubhouse on Friday morning to drive the 190 miles (takes about 3:45 if M5/6 isn't too slow) to Bala in North Wales. If we arrive early enough, we will aim to get an afternoon paddle on the Dee at llangollen or the Tryweryn before they shut off the water. Then back to the bustling Bala for food and drink

Transport

Depending on numbers, we will most likely take a convoy of cars. The trailer is available if anyone is happy to tow it. The cost of transport will need to be organised between each car load. Estimate about 500mile round trip, so it should cost £60-100 per car (potentially divided 4 ways).

Everyone will need to register for the weekend here.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Martin



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