{"id":147490,"date":"2017-05-18T10:10:29","date_gmt":"2017-05-18T08:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salzburgerland.com\/en\/?p=147490"},"modified":"2017-05-18T10:10:32","modified_gmt":"2017-05-18T08:10:32","slug":"sup-first-calm-then-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salzburgerland.com\/en\/sup-first-calm-then-wild\/","title":{"rendered":"SUP \u2014 first calm, then wild"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the summer months, Toby H\u00fcther, German vice champion in wild water SUP and ACA instructor, provides courses in stand up paddleboarding in Salzburg\u2019s Saalachtal valley. What\u2019s special about the courses: the first paddle strokes on the voluminous board are practiced high up in Lofer\u2019s mountain pasture world, on a mountain lake amid the beautiful hiking region of Salzburg\u2019s Saalachtal valley. And more experienced paddlers can join Toby on a river tour on the upper Saalach river.<\/p>\n

SUP action on the mountain pasture<\/h3>\n

This unique combination between water sport and mountain experience has peaked my curiosity, and the summer temperatures are calling for some refreshing water fun anyway. So, time for some SUP action at the mountain lake I say. I meet Toby at the valley station of the mountain pasture world of Lofer, where he awaits the participants of the SUP course. I recognise him straight away, because he\u2019s surrounded by big bags and paddles. Until our group is complete, he tells me about his passion for wild waters: \u201cI actually started with the canoe sport and then discovered stand up paddleboarding on whitewater a couple of years later. And that\u2019s also how I got to know the Saalach river, the perfect location for this sport. The river can be extremely demanding \u2014 like in the Teufelsschlucht canyon. But then it can also be completely tame, like at its upper part, where we do the beginner\u2019s SUP course.\u201d The last participants have now joined us and together we\u2019re bringing the equipment to the gondolas. After a cosy ride up, we land in the middle of the mountain pasture world of Lofer. \u201cAnd now for some hiking!\u201d, announces Toby and we start marching away toward the Almsee lake, only a few minutes by foot from the mountain station.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 Salzburger Saalachtal Tourismus \u2013 Let\u2019s go<\/p><\/div>\n

Dry runs on land<\/h3>\n

Like a blue eye, the idyllic mountain lake lies amid the green mountain pastures and individual spruces surrounding the rocky shore look like eyelashes. The water surface is still as it reflects the gentle mountain slopes. \u201cWe\u2019re about to set this calm water into motion,\u201d laughs our guide as we begin to roll out our boards and inflate them with a hand pump. A small fleet of SUP boards is now positioned ready at the shore. But before we hit the lake, we have to master a couple of dry runs. We learn, for example, how to correctly hold the paddle and pull it through the water, how to stand on the board in a balanced way and we also receive some safety tips for our journey on the topic of wind and weather. And then it\u2019s finally time! We pull the boards into the Almsee lake and take up our basic starting positions. As we had previously learned, we start out standing \u2014 the knees slightly bent, the upper body straight \u2014 in a shoulder-wide position in the centre of the board. What was rather easy on land suddenly got quite a bit more difficult on water. The board wobbles and I have a bit of trouble finding my balance at first. But I quickly manage to stabilise the SUP, stick my paddle into the water just before the tip of the board and pull it past my body. Effortlessly, I glide through the smooth water, and after a couple of paddle strokes I switch sides to prevent moving in a circle.<\/p>\n

Everybody is fully engulfed in doing their forward motions, making the activity on the lake completely silent. Only the chirping of the birds and the light dips of the paddles can be heard. Slowly, we get more and more secure and agile with our paddles as we cruise over the water surface. Satisfied with our progress, Toby winks and gives us a new set of instructions. \u201cIn order to test your balance, we are now going to make some waves. Use your legs alternately to induce pressure on the sides of your board!\u201d And there the silence promptly came to a halt, because the rhythmic knee movements immediately add momentum to the water surface. The waves create disturbances in the water and throw us SUP beginners out of balance. With a loud splash, we fall into the water, one after another, and dive back up again laughing and puffing. \u201cThat\u2019s just a little taste of what\u2019s to come in the whitewater,\u201d Toby says with a grin, adding, \u201cany of you can partake in tomorrow\u2019s tour on the Saalach river, if you\u2019re interested.\u201d The entire group gets excited by the suggestion and so we practice a couple more important manoeuvres for the river tour.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t

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