Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2023 i Cross Country

“It’s an eagle!” shouted Simone as a red kite soared low across the garden, its tail moving almost imperceptibly as it balanced in the wind. We were in the Spanish Pyrenees, just about avoiding the heatwave that was smothering the lower parts of the country. “I think that might not be an eagle,” I said diplomatically. A discussion ensued which (obviously) involved me describing thermals, explaining how soaring birds fly, and the lifecycle of clouds from first puff to cu-nim. “Is it going to rain today then?” Simone asked, looking at the bright blue sky. “Best pack a rain jacket” I said, hedging my bet. Later that day we studied a vulture colony from below, peering several hundred metres up the limestone cliffs as griffon vultures, each with a two-metre…

Jeremy Paxson from Germany headed north to Norway at midsummer to have a crack at the unofficial world record for hike-and-fly. On 19 June he ran up and flew down a mountain above Norangerfjord in central Norway 13 times in less 24 hours. The passionate ultra-runner and paraglider pilot covered a cumulative 14,690 metres of altitude within 21 hours. There is no FAI or Guinness world record for this, or even rulebook, but in the unofficial records we know Tanguy Renaud-Goud covered 13,390m on 15 June 2021, and before that Lukas Hofer had set a record at 13,040m. Both pilots observed VFR rules – ie didn’t fly at night. However, last year British professional trail runner Andy Symonds got special permission to fly by the light of a full moon…

I learnt to fly in 2017 at Maitencillo, a soaring site in Chile. I flew there and nowhere else for five years! My first instrument I bought that I still have is the Flymaster SD. Then in April 2022 I went to Brazil and started XC flying… I haven’t stopped since. I love the mountains, because they are so new to me. This year has been quite intense and incredible. In the Chilean summer I was in the south, flying the south, some hike and fly, and some XC competitions in Iquique and Talca. I also went to Roldanillo to fly the Copa Las Americas. In May I arrived in Europe, went straight to North Macedonia to fly in the first SRS, then France, Spain, Switzerland and Italy. I now…

As I lean against a gum tree behind launch, relaxing and letting out the last few drips, the foliage begins to rustle on the ridge over the back. Firm northwest gusts coming up from the wrong side. Above, the first pilot to launch scratches at treetop height. The windsock on launch hangs limp and then flicks up showing a southeast flutter. This take-off is sub-optimal, a second-best option to use as we are still fighting for the Beechmont take-off. I’m grumpy – “The view isn’t as beautiful, the shape isn’t as good, the sky is the wrong colour…” The voice in my head drones on. This is not the pre-launch self talk recommended in all the para-books I’ve purchased. Just to shut the voice up, I take off. My still…

Kicking around ideas for this column this issue it was suggested I write about the magic of fall flying. Which is what I planned to do. But right now as I write this column it’s the middle of summer. And it’s hot. Really hot. The world is experiencing the hottest days in modern recorded history. June was the hottest month on average across the globe ever. July is already worse. Phoenix, Arizona just clocked 21 straight days over 110 degrees F (43C) and is projected to go over 30. Wildfires (and heat records) are raging in Greece, Spain, the Western US, north Africa … and Switzerland! Activists are spray-painting billionaires’ superyachts in Ibiza with slogans like “You consume, we suffer!” The Atlantic Ocean is hotter than it has ever been,…

When it comes to via ferratas, there are few as iconic as the De Luca Innerkofler route up Paternkofel in the Sexten Dolomites. The mandatory via ferrata that was part of this year’s Red Bull X-Alps route, it makes for an amazing day out for experienced hike-and-fly pilots – September is a good month to do it. It’s not just its location, which is spectacular. The Paternkofel (2,744m) is next to the three limestone pillars of Tre Cime di Laverado (2,999m), also known by the German name Drei Zinnen. (Both mean three towers.) They are to the Dolomites what the Matterhorn is to Switzerland – and their beauty is astounding. Then there’s the history. The peak stood directly on the frontline during the bitter Alpine theatre of WWI in which…

What’s it like flying tandem with your dad now compared with five years ago? I’d say that now I am much more involved with decision-making. Five years ago I was a passenger and now I feel more like a co-pilot. Do you ever get to fly the glider? Yes, whenever my dad wants to take photos. Sometimes he lets me thermal. When we are away from stuff, he just lets me fly the glider. None of the complicated things like launches or landings. Does your dad listen to all your decisions? I act as the co-pilot. I have the GPS, so I give him information on request. We work together to come to a consensus on what we are going to do. Can you give me an example of a…

IN BRIEF Guide to Saint-André Karlis Jaunpetrovics has released a guide to Saint-André-les-Alpes, France. It covers 10 routes of increasing distance and difficulty, from 30km to 150km+, with hints, tips and potential hazards. Available in print or as a download.  flyingkarlis.com Advance Flatbag DLS The Flatbag DLS is a concertina-packing bag that compresses, protecting your wing and also saving space. It is now available in three sizes, and is at least 200 grams lighter than its predecessor. advance.swiss AirDesign’s anniversary bob Created to celebrate their tenth anniversary, AirDesign’s sun hat has had a facelift. Now in grey with new motifs, it is made from an 80% cotton/20% polyester fabric mix. It’s adjustable so one size fits all. RRP €16 ad-gliders.com NESTRA LIGHT Apco describe the EN-B Nestra Light as a…

Who is the Urubu King aimed at? XC pilots, EN-C level with a focus on enjoyment. After the Urubu was released I kept making prototypes to keep learning new things. I played with the aspect ratio to see where the limit was while keeping the wing compact, relatively accessible, and fun. Eventually, after a bunch of new ideas one proto stood out. It offered more performance than the original Urubu but was still very accessible. I flew a few iterations of this for over a year (two seasons in France and one in Brazil). I was so happy with this glider that I decided even though we already had the Urubu to release this version with more aspect ratio. What were the main design challenges? To get better performance/efficiency without…

We first got to see and try the Hike&Cruise when it was released at this year’s Stubai Cup in March (see XC239). The glider brings a new design innovation to paragliding by using more cells on the top surface than the bottom. This saves weight but retains (most) performance. As Dudek co-owner Wojtek Domanski explained: “We know that 70% of the performance of the glider comes from the top surface.” On our quick test flight we found a wing that is “very fun to fly. Easy to launch and immediately comfortable, there was no obvious difference in feel to a standard glider.” Design and build Taking a closer look, unrolling the wing you will instantly spot the design innovation. Viewed from below it looks like a very basic wing with…

Jorge Atramiz learnt to fly in Venezuela in 1999 and has been writing about and photographing paragliding ever since. Now living in Hawaii his perfect day sees him surfing in the morning and flying in the afternoon. He shot his two homes for this issue – Hawaii on the cover and Venezuela, p46 Tobias Dimmler is an instructor, tandem pilot and photographer whose passion for flying has taken him around the world, from exploring Nepal to supporting Chrigel during the X-Alps. Flying brings “a certain clarity” he says. “I look for these moments and try to capture them in my pictures.” See EigerTour, p42 Matt Wilkes is an adventure medic whose interests lie in remote medicine and extreme physiology, from studying altitude in Bolivia to serving with the Flying Doctors across East Africa.…

GB/NL Paragliding Championships 2023 Massively over-subscribed but with a final confirmed pilot list of 139 pilots it’s going to be busy at the British and Dutch Paragliding Championships in Ager, Spain. This is the best time of year to fly this famous site. 2-9 Sept, airtribune.com Paragliding Grand Prix Sorry, we mixed up our dates last issue. The final competition of the new Nova Paragliding Grand Prix is in Krushevo, North Macedonia in September (we said August). 3-8 Sept, paraglidinggp.org BGD SRS Spain The fourth and final competition of the new Sports-class Racing Series is in Pedro Bernardo, Spain. Also aimed at sports class pilots this series has been a big hit this season, and this BGD supported final leg will see the overall champions crowned. 10-16 Sept, sportsracingseries.org X-Slovenia…

Aaron Durogati and Paul Guschlbauer have joined forces to create the Wanderbird Hike-and-Fly Trophy – a series of accessible hike-and-fly weekends for pilots of all levels. Designed to be completed over one day, pilots can choose to enter one of three categories: Fun, Tour and Hero. The route is always a circuit and those in the Fun category can take cable cars to launch. Those in the Tour category must hike-and-fly, and those in the Hero category must hike and also complete the route twice. There are men and women classes in all categories, and a €5,000 prize fund for the Hero category. The first one took place in Aaron’s home valley in Dorf Tirol, Italy, in mid-July, and was won by Christian Schugg (GER) and Viktoria Brunner (AUT) in…

Being safe is all about risk management. We can manage one risk at a time, but when they combine, things get intense! Find ways to counteract these common dangers before they reach critical levels so you can maintain a good margin of safety and avoid an accident. Crash landings Crash landings are usually caused by poor glider control: a bad approach, landing downwind, turning low, no pitch control, flying into a hazard, landing behind an obstacle, or poor flare timing. Reduce the risk by keeping two landing options available within easy glide, and favouring long landing strips, lined up into the wind. Improve your chances by practising spot landing, swoop flare, butterfly beats, and always approaching with your legs down. Failed launches Launch sites can be dangerous places, with steep…

During my first year “gone feral” traveling around with a paraglider I headed to the high and dry mountains of Central Asia in September (2014). An Aussie friend returning from their bike-packing trip had told me that Kyrgyzstan and Georgia were the pick of countries to visit. I’d already been to Georgia, so Kyrgyzstan it was. The classic mid-latitude weather pattern is that early season has the highest temperature differential driving the weather (lots of sunshine after a cold dark winter) while in late season things settle down a little, with atmospheric stability setting in. Certainly, it was very dry when I ventured into the Ala Archa mountains just south of the Bishkek plain. Hiking up after disembarking from a convenient marshrutka (public transport van) route, the dusty inversion was…

What does flying mean to you? It’s about feeling the air, how the glider moves, and connecting with the energy. There’s always opportunities to improve. The birds are always teaching us. How did you get into flying? I had such great luck. I was taught hang gliding by my father and two brothers in 1978. I was 11 years old. I progressed with a Rogallo wing on a gentle slope, and was flying Valle de Bravo within a year. What early experiences got you hooked? In 1982, I had my first experiences in international competition at the Owens Valley Classic and Owens Open. I was 14 years old, and that’s when I learned to fly big air. I flew my first 150km. The Owens Valley is still the best flying…

The Coupe Icare will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year and is expected to welcome nearly 100,000 spectators over six days. The “world’s biggest free flight festival” was founded in September 1974 when 50 hang glider pilots got together in St Hilaire du Touvet for a spot landing competition. Landing in the valley the main Grenoble-Chambéry road came to a standstill as the spectacle of France’s first “birdmen” was seen for the first time. Ten years later the first flying fancy dress parade was held and a trade show was run alongside it. Today the Coupe Icare has grown into a huge event, attracting pilots and people from around the world. This year, highlights of the six-day program looks like: 19-20 Sept: Testival, a chance for pilots to test fly…

I first learned about eight years ago. I was living in Salt Lake City working at this climbing shop. The owners had just got into paragliding so I was like: “I’ll come and check it out.” Then I found out how expensive it was. I didn’t have the money for it but it was kind of cool. I got to a point where I was talking to one of the owners of the school, Chris Santacroce at Super Fly, I was like: “I want to learn but I don’t have any money. Maybe I can drive the van up the hill, clean the bathrooms in the shop?” So I started helping out in exchange for some lessons. My first wing was a Nova Mentor 3. What happened was somebody had…

25 YEARS AGO XC59 (Sept 1998): In 1988 Xavier Murillo and father and son team Jean-Noel and Zebulon Roche, then 15, made what they claimed to be the first flight from Mt Kenya (5,199m). The true summit is 800m higher than the trekker’s option, and ends in a rock pinnacle accessible only via a fearsome ice route known as the Diamond Couloir. Zeb wrote: “We arrived at the summit late in the evening and I was exhausted. There was no wind and only space for two steps to inflate. My Dad said, ‘You’ll be ok, off you go,’ but it didn’t feel right. “We slept the night in our gliders and the next morning there was a breeze and we flew. I took off, then Xavier. After that my Dad…

“An awesome seminar” is how one reader described our most recent Cross Country Masterclass in July in which adventure medic and critical care doctor Dr Matt Wilkes talked us through the Science of Safety. Matt has studied paragliding safety in a way no one else has, and his hour-long talk ranged from accident statistics in paragliding to practical first aid advice, including what to pack in your first aid kit. The full Masterclass is available online to watch, share it with your pilot friends, but in the meantime, here’s a summary in his own words of some of his most important points. Risk in paragliding If you want to understand how risky something is, you need as complete a picture as possible about how the sport is practised, to put…

Full results at eigertour.rocks…

“Dad, I know you’d really like to soar over the Matterhorn, but I suggest we bail before getting any lower. Let’s not land on a glacier!” Yes, the voice of reason, or more specifically the voice of my thirteen-year-old son and copilot on our sky-camping adventure. Once a year, since Martin was eight, we have embarked on a week-long tandem vol-biv in the Alps. Our rules are simple. We choose a start and a goal. After getting to our initial launch we then travel self-supported by tandem or on foot as we attempt to reach goal within seven days. Our initial task back in 2017 was Zell am See, Austria to Corvara, Italy. We had terrible weather that year. The first days were spent hiking or waiting out the rain…