This is textbook French paragliding: lovely big grassy take-offs, Southern Alpine mountains that create a network of possible routes and tasks, and gallons of good wine, soft cheese and saucisson.
The weather can be a bit changeable, and visiting pilots tend to stop at Annecy and not travel the short hop to this region, so it has the feel of a well-kept secret, exclusively for those in the know. But the infrastructure here is unbeatable, the local clubs offer a proud Gallic welcome, and there are so many well appointed launches that there’s somewhere to fly on almost every day.
Spring is when the air really punches, and the PWC aim to fly tasks of 100km around the valley from one of several sites. Free-flyers can usually watch the racing from the air as they complete the more modest direct line flights of about 20km back to the race HQ.
Competition dates: 20-27 May 2017
Photo: Maxime Bellemin
Appeared in the 2017 Travel Guide in an article entitled Goal Fever, about the sites of the 2017 PWC Circuit. See more 2017 PWC sites here
