Playboating on the Silz

Playboating on the Silz, where rapids become playgrounds for daring kayakers.

Since arriving in Austria we have seen water levels fluctuating quite a lot. The weather hasn’t been so good and we have had several rain storms bringing the rivers up. As the water levels on the Inn rise, the wave at Silz seems to get better and better. When I’ve been in the area previously this wave has been too flat to surf in a kayak, which local surfers have taken advantage of by towing onto from the bridge stanchions.

However at the moment the wave is in perfect condition for Playboating. With higher water levels the pile gets steeper creating a nice shoulder for big lefty blunts with a nice retentive pile to land back in. We have had many sessions here now during our week in Austria and it has been good training. I personally feel like I’m moving about much better on the wave and my moves are becoming much more dynamic. When the wave has been on good form I’ve been working on my left air blunts which have come along nicely too.

At the moment the water levels have dropped off a little meaning the wave is more difficult to catch. It has become much flatter and surgyer meaning rides are spent trying to retain on the wave.