Hydrospeed: A real white-water sports

Hydrospeed is a white-water activity where the participant is using a floating device to swim down the river.  Additional equipment consists in a (usally reinforced) wetsuit, fins, and a helmet. Hydrospeed is also known as river boogie, riverboarding and in french-speaking countries as nage en eau vive ("white-water swimming").

I've tried hydrospeed, and I've got hooked. The contact with the water is much more intent than with rafting. And it's significantly easier to advance to difficult white-water stretches with a hydrospeed than with kajaking.

The number of commercial operators in the German-speaking countries is rather limited. There are much more in France and Italy. In France, Italy and Switzerland, there are hydrospeed enthusiasts who are practicing their sport as a private hobby. In France, there are even sports clubs that offer hydrospeed. Thus, hydrospeed can be much more than just an adrenaline-pushing event booked with a rafting operator.

The aim of this web-site is to raise interest in hydrospeed in order to turn hydrospeed into a more normal sight on Austrian rivers. I've created a selection of the most impressive YouTube videos to get you interested (of course, it's a very subjective selection). If you want to try out hydrospeed, you'll find a list of operators on this site, and if you're interested in joint trips, just contact me!