Austria – Stomping down the Pitzbach

Austria never seems to loose it’s attraction. As far as rivers go Austria has some of the best whitewater in Europe.  The water levels are high at the moment with lots of rain adding to the melt water – all making for perfect water levels. Today I took my new Stomper 90 for a blast down the upper section of the Pitzbach. I’ve been paddling the small 80 for some time and was keen to see if the 90 keeps the same design characteristics.  I needed to make a quick adjustment to raise my sitting position as the Stomper has a deep cockpit characteristic, and this is definitely more apparent on the larger 90 model. The upper section of the Pitzbach river is a local test piece which offers some great technical Class 4/5 volume paddling. With the boats extra length, it’s as you would naturally expect, a little slower in the turns. But the 90 maintained all of the other key characteristics with exceptional performance when boofing, tracking across flows and punching through holes (if and when required) with minimal loss of speed. I finished the run with a smug smile, thinking about the fun that lies ahead – happy days!