Kayaking: spectacular worlds at the infamous Weller bridge

Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championship 2009

October 01st to 04th, 2009, Oetztal valley (Austria)

The tension mounts every day: for the third time consecutively, the best slalom riders in kayaking meet the world`s best extreme paddlers at the Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championship at the Oetztal valley, Austria, from October 01st to 04th 2009. And they all have only one goal: to snatch the coveted title of the world champion at the legendary Weller Bridge course.

At Sickline 2009, the best white-water kayakists in the world meet a challenge of a special kind. At the legendary Weller Bridge, the Oetztaler Ache river presents some of the most difficult white-water passages in the world - the perfect place to crown the planet`s best extreme kayakist. The course at the Weller Bridge is reckoned as the "Eiger North wall" of white-water sports. The degree of difficulty is between four and five with five being the highest point of the scale. The Ache river rises at the glacier and its degree of difficulty varies with the water level: it can suddenly change from a harmless stream to a raging torrent. In addition, the Ache is infamous for its siphons and whirlpools. For safety reasons, it is normally closed for kayakists and will only be open for the Sickline contest.