Saut du Doubs
Saut du Doubs | Author: Maike Möst, S2S Pro Team
In 2021, there was supposed to be a lot of rain instead of snow on New Year's Eve. This made it clear that the Saut du Doubs would most likely be running. A waterfall about 27 m high that had been on my list for some time. So the decision was clear that I would go to the Jura. Normally, it always has far too little water and only runs when there is a lot of rainfall.
But when we set off in the morning on December 31, 2021, it still had too much. (150 cubic meters, it is driven between 70 and 100 cubic meters).
That's why we first made our way to the Loue, one of my absolute
favorite streams. The Loue rises from a karst spring and you can get in and out of the mountain directly at the source
.
The Saut du Doubs is calling
In the afternoon of the first of January, the Saut du Doubs then had a navigable level. 100
cubic meters, still a lot of water, but navigable.
The Saut du Doubs is right on the border between France and Switzerland. You park
your car in France and then carry it over a bridge into Switzerland to get in and
get out again in France at the end. The only problem with this is that you
are not allowed to kayak in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. When I was there
last year, the security people from the waterfall came and we fled over to France as quickly as
possible to avoid having to pay a fine.
It was therefore clear that the whole thing had to happen relatively quickly. So we went straight
to the waterfall in boats. Scouting is pretty easy thanks to the viewing platforms from
both sides and from opposite the falls. As I found the approach very difficult due to the high
water level, I decided not to go after all. The other three went anyway and luckily everything went well.
In the evening, we spent the night in the parking lot above the waterfall. I was
pretty sad that I didn't go. Throughout the night, I kept checking the water level on my cell phone at
and calculated that it might just be enough the next
morning.
It's getting serious
The next morning it had 75 cubic meters. Perfect. We went down to
to scout while it was still dark. The line looked good and Niels also joined us. So back down to the waterfall by boat. We warmed up briefly and went over the line again in our heads. Niels was the first to go. When he was down I got a sign, everything seemed to have gone well.
Then it was my turn. Spray cover closed. I took another deep breath in the eddy, spoke briefly to
and then we were off. Once out of the eddy,
everything went very quickly. I'm already at the edge, wait a moment, the position is right. Then I put on
and I was already at the bottom.
The pool was pretty boily. The first roll attempt didn't work, but then I was up
. Quite happy and satisfied with my line, I drove to the shore. And then
even got the boat carried up to the car.
A perfect start to the day and the new paddling year. Afterwards we had breakfast in the sun.
