Rafting crew paddling through grey mountain-river rapids

Grade I to IV · April to September

Rafting and River Descents in the Mountains

Six rivers, four of them snow-fed, running from wide gravel braids that a family with young children can enjoy to continuous grade four water that demands a full briefing and a safety kayak on every corner. We run everything from a two-hour first descent to a four-day expedition with camps on the bank, using guides who are certified, retrained every spring and out on these sections several times a week. Equipment, transport, wetsuits and photographs are included; the only decision left to you is which river.

Trips & Grades Book a Descent

About us

Guides First, Company Second

The company was started by four river guides who had spent seasons working for operators that ran too many boats, briefed too little and put unqualified people at the back of a raft because the bookings had been taken. Their alternative was a small outfit where every guide holds current whitewater rescue and first-aid certification, every trip has a lead and a sweep, safety kayakers cover the harder sections, and the number of boats on the water is limited by how many can be watched properly rather than by how many are sitting in the shed.

River knowledge is rebuilt every spring. Snowmelt moves gravel, floods drop trees into the channel and a rapid that ran cleanly last August can hold a lethal strainer in May. Before the season each section is scouted and paddled by the senior guides, dangerous wood is removed where the authority allows it, portage points are marked, and the notes are shared across the whole team. Water levels are read daily and posted, and trips are moved to a different river rather than run at the wrong level.

Everything else follows from that. Boats and equipment are replaced on a schedule rather than when they fail, guests are graded honestly before being placed on a section, and no group is sold a trip that is beyond it because the alternative was a refund. We also train guides for other operators, run rescue courses for the local rescue service and take part in the annual clean-up of the gorge, which produces a startling amount of scrap every year.

Slalom kayaker driving through a gate in fast water

Steep river canyon with clear water running over rock

Advantages

Why Book With Us

Six things that separate a well-run descent from an anecdote about a bad day on a river.

Guides Certified and Retrained

Every guide holds a current whitewater rescue technician qualification and a full first-aid certificate, and every one of them repeats both every two years regardless of experience. Before the season opens the whole team spends four days on rescue drills, rope work, boat flips, unconscious swimmer recovery and river reading on the sections they will be guiding. Trainee guides work as sweeps for a full season before leading a boat. None of this is visible to guests on a good day, and all of it is the reason the bad days stay uneventful.

Safety Cover on the Water

Every trip runs with a lead boat and a sweep boat, and on grade three and above at least one safety kayaker travels with the group, positioned below the harder rapids before the rafts commit. Throw bags, knives, pin kits, spare paddles, a first-aid kit and a means of communication are carried on every boat. Head counts are taken after each rapid. A shore contact knows the planned take-out and the expected time, and there is a written procedure for every section rather than an improvised response.

Honest Grading of Guests

Booking asks about swimming ability, previous experience, medical conditions and confidence in water, and the answers decide which section a group is offered. We move people down a grade far more often than up, and we say clearly when a request is unrealistic. Children have minimum ages by section rather than a blanket rule, and anyone who arrives visibly frightened is offered the gentler run or a refund rather than being talked into the boat. Nobody paddles under the influence of alcohol.

Levels Read Every Day

Gauge readings are taken each morning and posted publicly, along with a plain assessment of what they mean for each section. In high snowmelt the upper runs are closed and trips move to wider, more forgiving water; in low summer flow the technical sections become scrapes and we say so instead of selling them. Guests booking a specific river are told in advance if the level is unlikely to cooperate that week, which regularly costs us bookings and has never cost us a customer.

Equipment That Fits and Works

Wetsuits, splash jackets, boots, helmets and buoyancy aids in every size from small child to triple extra large, all fitted individually on the bank rather than handed out in a pile. Aids are checked and adjusted by a guide before boarding. Rafts and self-bailing floors are replaced on a schedule, paddles are inspected weekly, and everything is washed and dried after use. Changing rooms, hot showers and a drying room are available at the base at no extra charge.

Everything Included in the Price

Transport to the put-in and back from the take-out, all technical and thermal equipment, guiding, safety cover, insurance and photographs taken from the bank are included in the quoted price. There is no charge for images, no upsell at the take-out and no fuel surcharge. If a trip is cancelled for level or weather the payment is refunded in full or moved without a fee, and we make that decision as early as possible rather than waiting for people to arrive.

Services

Trips We Run

Family descents, technical whitewater, kayak courses, canyoning, expeditions and group programmes.

Braided mountain river running through a forested valley

Family and First-Time Descents

Two-hour runs on wide grade one and two water with gravel bars, swimming stops and enough current to feel like an adventure without demanding technique. Minimum age is six on this section, families paddle together in one boat with a guide, and there is a shallow beach halfway where children can get out and float in the eddies. Wetsuits, helmets, aids, transport and photographs are included, and the whole outing including changing takes about three and a half hours.

Classic Grade Three Runs

The standard half-day trip: fifteen kilometres of continuous grade three with a full briefing, paddle practice in flat water, a safety kayaker on the harder sections and time to play in a friendly wave near the end. Suitable for anyone reasonably fit and confident in water, with no experience required. Groups run with six to eight per raft, and two rafts maximum on any departure so that the guides can watch each other's boats properly the whole way down.

Technical Whitewater Days

Full days on the steeper snow-fed sections at grade four, with scouting from the bank, portages where the level demands it, two safety kayakers and a limit of four guests per raft. Previous rafting experience and a swim test are required, and the trip runs only within a defined level window. Guests are taught to paddle actively rather than to sit and hold on, which is the difference between surviving a rapid and running it well.

Kayak School and Packrafting

Courses from a first day in flat water through eskimo roll clinics in the pool to river-running weeks on progressively harder sections, taught at four students per instructor. Packraft trips combine a walk into a gorge with a descent of the section below it, which reaches water no other craft can access. All boats, paddles, spray decks, helmets and thermal kit are provided, and students who complete a river week receive an honest written assessment of what they should and should not paddle alone.

Canyoning and Gorge Days

Descents of three tributary gorges combining abseils, natural slides, jumps and swims, with routes graded from a family-friendly canyon with no compulsory jump to a full technical day with a hundred-metre abseil. Wetsuits, harnesses, helmets and ropes are supplied, groups stay at six per guide, and every jump is optional with a walk-around alternative. Water quality and flow are checked the morning of each trip, and canyons close entirely after heavy rain.

Expeditions, Groups and Courses

Two- to four-day descents with camps on gravel bars, all equipment and food carried in support rafts and a cook travelling with the group. We also run programmes for schools, clubs and companies, guide training for other operators and swiftwater rescue courses for professionals. Group prices include transport from the nearest town, accommodation options at partner guesthouses, and a photographer on the bank for at least one rapid on every trip.

Contacts

Booking and River Levels

Tell us the dates, the number of people, their ages and their experience, and we will recommend the section that fits and tell you what the level is likely to be doing that week. Levels are posted every morning, and we will contact you if a booked trip needs to move.

Courses, expeditions, group programmes and professional training are arranged through the same office.

Office

Via Torino 94A, 00184 Roma, Italy

Phone

+39 06 4885 2074

whitewaterline@gmx.com

Season

April–September, base daily 07:30–19:00