The Alps 101

I was on a “secret launch” somewhere outside the main Annecy basin in the northern French Alps watching as my flying buddy for the day disappeared into the distance. He had given me some vague instructions about heading left after take-off, then climbing out to a certain height (1,200m? 1,800m?) before pushing out and around the corner. By the time I was ready to launch he was already gone.

At least there were some flat fields in the valley bottom to land in if I didn’t find anything. Although there were some instructions about that too – something to do with a valley wind kicking in later, venturi and “landing backwards”. Oh well, here goes nothing…

Twenty minutes later I was pointing my toes at a rock spire on the southern tip of the Aravis thinking “this should work!” and then hanging on for dear life as the ground dropped below me, my stomach with it, and my glider and I rode a rocket to base, my fingers freezing in the cold early spring conditions. 

Welcome to the Alps!

The Alps

Stretching in an arc 1,200km west to east the mountains of the European Alps offer some of the most diverse and accessible flying possibilities anywhere in the world. From evening soaring to cross country to hike-and-fly and high-mountain adventures, a network of roads, Alpine passes, cable cars and paths...