Page 141 - AGC-Journal-2016

AGC JOURNAL 2016

terrain and managed to cross the 409
metre Highline 179 bridge (the longest
suspension bridge in the world) before the
downpour started.

Row Your Boat

The final day of the exercise took the
group back to Austria, to an outdoor
activity centre called Area 47. There we
were given wetsuits, helmets and buoyancy
aids, and ferried by bus several kilometres
up a turbulent river to where our rafts
awaited. What followed was some hard
paddling, getting splashed, thrown around
the boat and a little bit of swimming. A
combination of teamwork and expertise
from the raft coxswains brought us safely
to the other end of the stretch of river. The
afternoon was spent recovering in the
waterpark, with group members sliding,
climbing and bouldering their way to
exhaustion in anticipation of the long
drive home.

Very High Wires

On Friday and Sunday, the group split
into two and carried out separate full-day
activities, swapping over on the second
of the days. One group went to a nearby
high ropes course for a day of navigating
treetop obstacles. Anyone who has visited
a Go Ape centre will be familiar with the
concept, but not with the level of difficulty.
Whilst this half of the group developed
some seriously sore arms hanging from
trees, the others were doing the same on
cliff faces.

Klettersteig Group vertical ascent before some great cliff-side
traverses and a challenging overhang. A
long, vertical alternative route was offered
The Klettersteig group started theirs with to the group, and those brave enough
a route that began with a shimmy over to take it climbed up alongside a second
a river on a wobbly bridge consisting of waterfall, and finished with aching arms
three steel cables running between two and wide grins.
trees. The route then ascended steeply
up a cliff before climaxing with another
shimmy, this one suspended over the Rain Stops Play
thundering mouth of a vast waterfall. The
mist and spray tossed up by the tumbling On Saturday, the group crossed the border
water threw a rainbow across the gorge into Austria for a day of walking. Having
and made for a truly impressive setting initially chosen a challenging route that
for the climb. On Sunday, when the other would see us ascend the tallest summit in
group completed the same route, overnight the area, then creep along the ridge, we
rainfall had pushed the water level at were advised by locals to take a different
the top of the waterfall up to the point route due to incoming inclement weather
where it was breaking against the legs of and unsafe terrain. They were right about
the climbers as they crossed. The second the weather. We travelled through yet
Klettersteig route of the day started with a more idyllic scenery, over a variety of

141

*2016 J Layout.indd 141 10/01/2017 15:44