Cross Country Magazine | Latest Issue

Passing the Flame A crew of 24 different sports personalities were on the Aiguille du Midi, Mont Blanc, to see Sandie Cochepain, top right, launch and fly with the Olympic flame Photos: Etienne Grillot and Bertrand Delapierre

Photo: Bertrand Delapierre

The soaring spirit

“Faster, higher, stronger.” The motto for the Olympic Games has inspired people around the world for decades, so it was a real surprise and a joy to see the Olympic flame embarking on a paragliding adventure as it made its way through France in June.

On its way to Paris for the opening of the Games the flame was flown from the summit of the Aiguille du Midi by local paragliding legend Sandie Cochepain. A chain of sports people in official red jackets helped carry the flame down the precarious Aiguille du Midi arête and then, we can presume, stood around stamping their feet and waiting for the wind to be just right so Sandie could launch and the flame could take to the air. Chapeau Sandie!

Faster, higher, stronger could be our motto too, although we could also adopt “Not so fast, not so high and not so strong.” Because of course for many of us free flight is not about elite performance – it’s about adventure, about taking time out to reconnect with ourselves and nature, and carving out moments of wonder that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

It’s a discipline and an art that we learn the long way (hopefully not the hard way), laying down flight after flight until we have a book of them to refer to. Like books, you can’t just skip to the end to see what happens – you need to start at the beginning and progress, otherwise you end up missing important chunks.

Anyway, the Olympic flame by paraglider – it’s a little moment, and it’s a reminder that what we do is an adventure, a passion and a lifestyle as well as yes, a sport. Moments like that can speak to people and inspire them whoever they are, wherever they are, all around the world.

This issue once again we hope to amaze you and inspire you. From the high Spanish plains and the FAI European Paragliding Championships to the forest-covered hills of South Korea and the flower-carpeted slopes of Castelluccio we have something for you. Whether it’s learning how to “shark” when on glide, discovering how you can fly up the side of a cloud, or learning how paragliders make it from software to take-off with Théo de Blic, it’s a packed magazine. Enjoy it – take it slow!

Ed Ewing, editor