Frozen at upper Säveån

Frozen at upper Säveån As the river narrowed towards the rapids my packraft gained speed. Soon I’d pass the point of no return and hit the short but intense 1.5-meter drop. I’d navigated through without troubles and catch an eddy out of the current. “It was fun” I’d said to Alexander who already sat tight inside the same eddy. One of the expedition kayaks passed us after successful running the rapids. A “plop” interrupted our conversation and we both the look downriver where the kayak had passed. When passing the low bridge the kayaker didn't pay attention at the powerful eddy line. A split second after he was swimming the freezing water only wearing a wetsuit. It was the beginning of January. Upper Säveån Säveån River flows from Vånga marshes and all out west to Gothenburg and its confluence with Göta Älv River. The upper part of Säveån River is located only 10 km from my house so Säveån is some kind of my local creek. However this was only my second visit to the rivers upper part. I had joined a group of paddlers from Gothenburg to paddled Upper Säveån: Arvid which I’d paddled Krokån together with a year and a half ago had taken the time to organize the trip. He and his friend Bjarne paddled the river in expedition kayak. Alexander, which I’d only meet brief on the Internet had also joined. Like me Alexander also paddled in a yellow packraft. Temperature in mid january was in the low end. Minus 3 degree celsius but we got compensated by good flow of 7,5 m3/sec. Anything above 5m3/sec (measured at Kärtared) is enough for paddling upper part of Säveån. The plan was to start at lake Säven but do to the high risk of ice we decided to start a bit downstream just after the first of the 4 power plants we had to walk by. The stretch we’d intent to paddle has a steep gradient of 33 meter over 11 km. Because of this the Swedes built a lot of small-scale hydroelectric power plant that we had to carry around. Besides giving us pladdlers a hard time such power plants also destroy the ecosystem and prevent fish to migrate. The output from hydroelectric power in a low volume creek like Säveån is low. This one at Langaräd has an effect at only 30kW - not even enough to power a household. In fact 90 percent of the 2100 hydroelectric power plants only produce 10 % of all hydroelectricity power in Sweden. Sadly 80 % of all watersheds in Sweden have hydroelectric power plants (for more information check älvraddarna). Rapids! Fortunately the power plants did leave some rapids for us to paddle. We encountered two major rapids (est. class II+ or III). The first one close to the Greva saw mill was where the kayaker had capsized. He got out of the water, into some warm cloth and moved around to get up body temperature. We took a lunch break to heat him up with hot drinks and food. He was chilled the rest of the trip but happily no serious hypothermia. Second major rapids were at Häradsvad Bridge close to a disputed historical site that might (or might not!) be the place of a famous battle of of Herrevadsbro in 1251 AD. A battle that might not even been fought. The rapid however was real. A 45 degree slide which drop 3 meters just after you exit under the stone arch of the bridge. Fairly technical with many rocks but the river broadens so the flow was not particular powerful. I’d paddled the rapids once before but with significant less water. The kayakers skipped it but me and the other packrafter run it. The landing was stony but more fun in the higher flow. Alexander did it twice and tried another line the second time. Beaver’s paradise Overall we encountered many easy rapids (class I) and general a fast flow. As the river holds a population of beavers we encountered many fallen trees and strainers. Combined with the fast current and lack of eddies the paddling where more challenging than the river grading might suggest. The long expedition kayaks got stock a couple of times and at one point Alexander capsized in his packraft in an effort to get his raft across a strained tree. Luckily he was dressed more probably for wintertime in dry suit and sufficient warm layers. Dressed for winter paddling Temperatures like them we experience call for proper paddling clothing. I’d padded in my dry suit with several layers merino and synthetic insulation underneath. My head was warm from a tick woolen balaclava and my whitewater helmet. Feet were a bit cold mostly from to little space inside the trail runners as too many layers of socks, latex and neoprene gave the blood a hard time circulate. Last part The last part was magical as the river bend away from the road and into a steep valley. Large pine trees and boulders surrounded us with silence for a couple of kilometers. Then the river meandered into a cultivated winter landscape. We ended our paddling soon after at Övratorp. Link to Arvid's video from the trip. Guide to Upper Säveån.