Payette Ambassador, Hayden Voorhees, takes on the trophy at Oetz Valley
As a member of the Senses Heightened crew, Hayden is an Idaho native and professional whitewater kayaker. Over the years, Hayden has been a part of the USA Freestyle Kayak Team, three years in a row and has acted as an organizer of North Fork Championship. In between paddling off waterfalls, Hayden took the time to explain one of his many adventures.
Among the European Alps lies the breathtaking Oetz Valley. Within this region, the Oetz Trophy takes place. This grand extreme kayaking race lies on a technically difficult and steep section of the Wellerbruke rapids. In late September, raging summer flows dwindle down into the perfect low volume racing conditions. Both of my brothers, Alec and Connor, and I were so excited to get down to Oetz, Austria to begin two weeks of training for the race!
Once landing in Innsbruck, Austria my brothers and I were picked up by our friend, Adrian. Adrian is a Germany native who has been attending the Oetz Trophy for many years. Adrian took us straight to the river where we came up to a much higher flowing river than us Voorhees brothers had originally anticipated. Despite the stout flows, we geared up and packed our boats five minutes up from town. One by one Alec, Connor, and I slid down the race ramp and landed into the brisk water of the Wellerbruke river. I can say without a doubt, that first run washed away any jet lag we had!
I have watched many videos of the run the Oetz Trophy takes place on. As I was nearing the first move of the section, I realized no video did this run justice. Then, BAM, I dropped straight into a hole that I was barely able to surf out of. Along the river's edge, over 20 of my fellow competitors watched my nearly detrimental mistake. I knew that a mistake like that would not win me a place on the podium in a race with such advanced competitors, it was only up from here!
The course at Oetz Trophy contains tight and technical lines. The structure of the river makes it difficult for even the best kayakers in the world to navigate through both abrupt and hidden rocks that lie just beneath the water's surface. Though I was so excited to be on one of my dream rivers I knew I had to be on my A game in order to avoid flipping or even worse, becoming pinned against a rock. Even bumping a rock in a race this technique could cause a second or two to be added to my time. An additional second could make the difference of being on the podium to not even making the top 10.
While my family went to Oetz, Austria for the Oetz Trophy, we were still able to be tourists for a couple of days in between sessions. One of our favorite activities to do was to ride up the gondola to the top of the mountain range. From the top, we were able to view the entire Valley. There was a restaurant, multiple hiking tails, and surprisingly, quite a bit of snow on the mountain. A few days before the race, my family and I hopped on a bus to a nearby town where we went to a tourist location by the name of Aqua Dome. The Aqua Dome was a series of hot pools with a gorgeous view. Each pool has unique features like salt water, jets and even silent relaxation areas. Laying in the pool was the perfect way to recover our bodies from all our difficult training.
The Voorhees Family
