‘It speaks in silence’

Flying among the high mountains is not something you decide on a whim. It requires patience, timing and a good understanding of alpine meteorology. To fly above a ridge like the Biancograt, a knife-edge snow arete on the north side of Piz Bernina in the Swiss Alps, you need a cloudbase above 4,000 metres. Anything lower, and this high mountain playground remains out of reach. While perfect conditions are not uncommon, the need for the wind to be both the right strength and direction makes truly good flying days quite rare. But they are worth the wait. 

There’s a certain magic in gliding above these majestic peaks. For me, the most meaningful experiences happen when I choose to stay among them. I’m in no hurry to glide to the next climb. I like to stay around, land on a summit and sit among the rocks, feeling the wind and the silence. Some of my most memorable moments haven’t happened during the flight, but in the stillness that follows. Simply lying down feeling infinitely small, in the best possible sense of the word. 

If you come to the Bernina only to chase kilometres, you might miss the magic. The true reward is not found in distance or altitude or achieving a certain summit. It’s found in presence....