Soca (Slalom)
| Stretch: | West Trnovo ob Soci to Eastern |
| Difficulty: | Class III to IV (harder at higher flows) |
| Distance: | 0.4 miles |
| Flows: | ~15 cumecs to ~300 cumecs. Check "The River App" |
| Gradient: | 38 fpm average |
| Put-in: | Beach on the Western most road out of Trnovo ob Soci |
| Take-out: | Access on the Eastern most road out of Trnovo ob Soci |
| Shuttle: | 1 km |
| Season: | Spring to Fall (Consistently low in Summer, but can go high off rains) |
| Written: | © 2016 |
Austria & More 2016: Day 4 & 5 Morning
This short run is a great intro to class IV run full of long rapids, great water color, and classic scenery. We put in above it for each of our Cataracts laps because why not add some fun class III to IV and length the run a little. As it is, with this, the Cataracts and Otono below a lap only takes an 30-45 minutes. Even our first time I think it only took two hours to do the whole thing. This section only takes 10 minutes once you know it if you don't stop to enjoy the eddies and milk the moves out of it.
I do get why people break it apart separate. There is access on either side. It is the only section of class III to IV that we did on the river. Otona is a step harder. The Bunker section a step easier. But with that, you will be disappointed if this is your only run for the day. And to that point, you have to hike up the canyon a little to exit at the start of the cascades... so I honestly am not sure how often this section gets run by itself.
We had 35.6 cumecs when we ran it the first day. This was a fine flow and I would call it a medium for people wanting a class III to IV experience. I am sure it goes plenty high but then the class III to IV boater is likely not going to be joining.
Thanks to Harald and Reiner Glanz for sharing photos and for making the trip possible!
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Mi 0.0:
- Put-in (III to IV). The first rapid is one of the longer and harder ones. There are multiple moves that we made down the middle. Just be aware of the rocks on the right which are probably best to avoid.
Boogie (III-). Honestly, nothing really sticks out in my mind inbetween. There are nice little boofs, and great eddies to catch and ferry between to practice your moves, or warm up for the cataracts if that is your plan.
- Take-out (III to IV). The second biggest rapid is the last one. This one has a small hole at the top which then leads down to a cushion on a rock that you can boof. We boofed left. I can imagine at high flows this develops into a hole that you would want to go around. Cataracts starts just downstream.
Take-out: In the town of Trnovo ob Soci, take the turn towards the river on the western most side of town. Just past the first row of houses turn right and follow past the houses to the first larger left turn. This leads quickly to another parking area which is take-out
Put-in: Go back to the main road and go right, taking the turn towards the river on the western most side of town. Follow this, turning sharply left with the main road and dropping down to the parking area.
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