Cross Country Issue 259: August / September 2025
Red Bull X-Alps and hike-and-fly adventures
21 July, 2025, by Cross Country. Main Image: Sebastian Marko
And flare…
“In this landing field there are three windsocks. They can all blow a different way at the same time. The trick is to pick a windsock and land right by it.”
Windsocks are an under-appreciated asset in our community, I always think. When learning, they are always there on launch and in the landing field, placed there by an instructor, but then as you progress they seem to become less common.
Sure, you find them at official landings and take-offs, but often there will just be a ragged old streamer tied to a bush fluttering in the breeze halfway down launch. It’s to show when cycles come through and those in the know understand that when it just starts to flicker – well that’s the time to pull up. Down in the valley, windsocks get forgotten: trees have snapped bamboo poles pointing out from their crowns, or there’s an empty wire-frame circle twisting in the breeze.
Standing with a local guide in one of the official landings in St Moritz, Switzerland he explained the different wind systems that could make the three windsocks point different directions at the same time. This valley wind, that valley wind, this convergence system. Oh and don’t forget about when it goes katabatic.
Earlier we’d been at the Red Bull X-Alps turnpoint landing zone by the lake watching pilots hover in through the strong wind, the shiny new Red Bull windsock bent back double on itself. They’d all managed the strong wind landings well. It had been a lesson in wind strength direction: one moment calm, 15 minutes later blowing 40km/h down valley. Let’s call it a “technical” place to fly, or at least to land.
In the end we had a beautiful evening’s flying in light thermals with a view to 4,000m peaks and lakes shimmering in the distance. West and east of us X-Alps pilots stretched out their late glides or hiked another lung-bursting 1,000m vertical to get in position for the next day.
As the sun dropped and the valley went into shade we turned and headed for the landing where all three windsocks were pointing roughly downhill. “Pick one and land by it,” I thought as I came in slightly upslope right next to my chosen one in the middle. “And flare!”
Enjoy the issue.
Ed Ewing, editor
Features
The Great Game: ‘I figured out how to win’
Italy’s Aaron Durogati became the first non-Swiss pilot to win the Red Bull X-Alps. Bastienne Wentzel talked to him at goal in Austria
The Great Game: ‘I knew I could keep up with the best’
The rookie Lars Meerstetter came in second in the 2025 Red Bull X-Alps – just seconds ahead of Simon Oberrauner
The Great Game: ‘There is so much energy in this race’
Join Simon Oberrauner as he shares his journey to finishing X-Alps third, revealing his mindset and strategy during the race.
The Great Game: ‘I get so many positive vibes’
Eight-time champion Chrigel Maurer ended his unbroken run by placing fourth in this year’s Red Bull X-Alps
The Great Game: 10 Magic Moments
Ten moments you might have missed from the Red Bull X-Alps 2025
In Patagonia
Jake Holland packed his paraglider and headed to Patagonia for five weeks of pure adventure
El Rey de Andalusia
Henry George meets 15-year-old hike-and-fly champion Víctor Aguilera on a trip to southern Spain
Born to Fly
From riding rodeo to paragliding, Riley Ferré knows more than most about getting back in the saddle
Where the wild wind blows
Jacob Kalmakoff meets the dedicated pilots shaping Honduras into an unexpected paragliding destination
In the Core: People, news and insight
Mark Watts flies 329km for new UK PG record
Mark Watts beat the best to land himself a shiny new UK paragliding record
On launch with: Matthias Rüegger
Matthias Rüegger on life as a guide in the high Engadine Valley
‘The best conditions of the year’
‘Look at how far we’ve come!’ Werner Luidolt compares and contrasts
Flying IQ: Helping you fly better
How To: Log your flights
From journaling to online contests, Jack Sheard asked pilots how – and why – they log their flights
The Long Game: ‘Look in their eyes and you see it’
The big question of “is it too dangerous?” became the theme of this year’s Red Bull X-Alps
Weather: Exploring the downburst effect
The latest research into the twisting winds created by downbursts
Head in the Clouds: Surfing the sky
Allen Weynberg checks in with the surfers and skysurfers alike
Kitlist: Design insight
BogdanFly Cocoon V3 GT
Marcus King is impressed with the latest version of BogdanFly’s light and compact pod harness
