Cross Country Issue 256: March / April 2025
Celebrating the diversity in our sport
3 March, 2025
Skilling up
“Have you got touring skis?”
“No, but I’ve got snowshoes, will that work?”
There is a lot to be said for the diversity in our sport, and the imagination that goes with it. From the same starting point our simple sport – often billed as “the easiest way to get in the air” – can head off into numerous directions, whether that’s hiking or skiing up a snowy peak in mid-winter to fly down in stable air or flying 600km across the Brazilian flatlands.
We’ve managed to squeeze both these things into this issue, along with a lot in between. Whether it’s knowing what to do if you land in a tree, getting a taste of what’s been going on in the XC season down in Patagonia, learning about overdevelopment in the Alps, thinking about what’s happening with the airflow in those online tunnel videos, thinking parakite design with an industrial kite designer, or dreaming about floating above the Mamanuca Islands in the South Pacific, there is something in here for you.
There is certainly no need to get bored in our sports. If you do ever have enough of flying XC in Roldanillo or Annecy, then there are 101 other spots to head to instead. If you’re fed up lugging your full kit out to the hill then you can go lightweight and start to discover hike-and-fly. If you’ve had enough of flying downwind and those long retrieves you can start focusing on triangles. If you move to the flats you can discover towing or paramotoring. In free flight we are lucky enough to have what they call transferable skills, we just need to adapt.
One pilot who has done that to the ultimate level is Maxime Pinot. A true master of the air he has spent the last decade refining all skills, in the air and on the ground. After winning the Paragliding World Cup Superfinal in February he now holds all three current titles: Superfinal, European and World Champion. At the same time he has stood on the X-Alps podium twice. Such elite level performance is incredible and an inspiration to us all.
Whatever you find yourself flying this season, have fun! Enjoy the magazine.
Ed Ewing, editor
In the Core: People, news and insight
On launch with Shane Tighe
“I’ve got to change my tactics a bit.” Shane Tighe on life as an X-Alps rookie
My flying life: Glauco Pinto
The Brazilian cross country hang gliding guru on what matters most
Flying IQ: Helping you fly better
Fundamentals: Who’s checking the checkers?
Mike Kremer asks who is checking what when you get your glider serviced
How To: Manage a tree landing
Well it’s happened – now what? Jake Holland and Fred Souchon explain how to manage a tree landing
Meet: Annecy’s master of tree rescues
Benoît Pellarin has recovered more than 1,000 paragliders and hang gliders from trees in the Annecy region.
Weather: Climate change and La Niña
Explore how La Niña impacts global climate and weather patterns, even in the face of rising temperatures.
The Long Game: Staying warm in spring flying
How to keep the cold at bay when it’s freezing outside,
Destination: Norma, Italy
Travel back in time and soar above the medieval village of Norma, Italy
Features
Blowing Up
Felix Wölk explains how to recognise it, understand it, and know what to do when good clouds go big
Tunnel vision
Seen the videos of pilots flying through tunnels? Bastienne Wentzel finds out how they do it
Winter Eigertour 101
“Skinny lines and sharp edges.” Tarquin Cooper joins the pros in Switzerland to learn to ski-and-fly
Bar hopping Fiji style
Paramotoring photographer Jeff Hamann finds himself right at home in the beautiful Mamanuca Islands
Dune addiction
Bryan van Ostheim designs giant kites for cargo ships – and now parakites. Jack Sheard finds out more
Kitlist: Design insight
Insight: Mini Tandems
Smaller tandems can be flown in higher winds, or by lighter pilots. Marcus King finds out more
Insight: Naviter Omni
The Omni is the Oudie N’s smaller and lighter little brother – can it do everything you need?
