an exploration on the Germanasca di Massello

Already on the wish list since last Spring holiday, we decided to check water levels on the Germanasca on our transit from Guillestre to Valsesia. While this is normally more a river for May/June, I read something about a tight gorge section that is best in low water and given the relatively high water on the Guil that drains the other side of Monte Viso, hopes of finding something paddeable seemed justified.

However, upon first inspection, level really seemed very low and the Brit paddlers that we had talked into this little adventure decided to bottle out (sorry for the drive guys).

Luckily, Thomas was still up for what seemed to become a quite tough rock scraping experience and the 2 of us put in for the lower gorge on the Germanasca di Massello, one of the two tributaries of the Germanasca.

We soon found out that very similar to Egua, even at low water, this river meant a load of fun with lots of slides and small drops, not as straightforward as Egua though.


little water but still powerfull


slice of Egua in the upper gorge

Towards the end of the gorge, things steepened up considerably and wood started to become more of an issue resulting in quite some portages and premature take-out.


some wood in the upper gorge

While putting tents at the confluence, we saw that water level on the main river was much better and that the last part of the Masello still featured a nice 4m drop, fixing next days program.

Mr Guide

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Germanasca Di Massello, tot samenvloeiing met Germanasca

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