Just white water rafting in the Alps

Ready to dominate the mountain run-off...
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Since the day I first recieved my trip itinerary and saw that white water rafting in the Alps was an option- I knew I would be rafting in the Alps today. We get on a bus and head about thirty miles away from the hotel where on the bus we are briefed about the activity we are about to partake in. Apparently this trail is normally a harder 3 or easy 4, making it a harder than average run. However, because of the snow run-off they expected that today may have even more to offer. I may have been a little nervous... but I sure as hell wasn't going to let that show. I've rafted before, I'm a really good swimmer: I can do this.

Team Ya...
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We get the location and immediately suit up. We are wearing wet suits, wet boots, and helmets- way more than I ever wore before for rafting, let's see what's to come. We all take pictures in all of our gear, because let's face it, we look ridiculous and it's really funny. We took pictures until we got on the bus down to where we would start on the river, then we had to leave it behind.

Team Yaaaa...

We are all really pumped at this point and break off into boating groups. My group pretty quickly starts calling ourselves Team Ya, as we are probably the most competitive group of people there. Colleen and I were assigned as the two agile bows for our group. We were in the two front seats of the boat and were responsible, if anything were to happen, to jump out of the boat and stop it. I can handle the pressure...

We can DO it...
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We get down to the river and it looks pretty flat. So flat that in order to move we are rowing, not rowing in order to manage the currents like normal, but rowing to moveeeee... I was expecting much more. Team Ya continues down the river singing songs to pass the time- it's still really fun, it's just not the ultimate adventure as I had expected rafting through the Alps to be. In order to pass some time I use my position and jump out and stop the boat. We use this opportunity for a different kind of thrill- a mind over body jump into this river! I am the 2nd person to go- I step up to the rock and take the plunge and have NEVER been so cold in my life. I now know what it means to have your breathe taken away- it was like as soon as I hit the water my lungs decided to close up. We traveled a few hundred feet down the river to where we left our boats and then headed out- at this point I am hoping my body heat is actually enough to warm up the water in my suit.

The boys' turn...
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As we get about 3/4ths way done the run we finally hit one pretty great rapid. We go through an entire little rough patch and hit this approximately 10 foot, nearly straight down drop out of nowhere! Almost everyone in the boat came out of their seats and almost fell out- YES, a thrill!

Overall, not what I was expecting but an adventure and experience nonetheless.