How to: Manage a tree landing

In our sport there is one thing that’s guaranteed, if you take off, sooner or later you will land. Of course, the vast majority of our landings will go to plan and everything is great, but what makes paragliding a ‘sport’ is the fact that things don’t always go as planned.

For this article I joined Fred Souchon, who works for the Chamonix PGHM rescue service (regarded as one of the best), to find out what we should do if we end up in a tree whilst flying in the Alps.

The good news is that most of the pilots they rescue from trees are uninjured. However, many pilots are unprepared for this event, so what follows are some tips to make it safer for you and the rescue teams that come to get us.

#1 Just landed

When a paraglider lands in a tree they will often fall through several branches before they end up with their wing and lines catching on branches and suspending them. Depending on the tree...