Cross Country Issue 266: July 2026

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The Alps can be everything to every pilot. From morning hike-and-fly to SIV or acro runs to thermalling lessons to first XC to flying 200km to breaking world records. They can inspire, intimidate, frighten, challenge and reward, at whatever level you’re at.

We’ve dedicated this issue to The Alps – that 1,200km arc of mountains that curves through the centre of Europe from Monaco to Slovenia. For many they are the spiritual home of free flight – the place where hang gliding reached the masses and where pilots first ran off hills with ram-air parachutes nearly 50 years ago. They offer “accessible adventure” – where else can you thermal above the glaciers at lunchtime before landing to paddle in an Alpine lake or eat apple strudel in a village café hours or even minutes later. 

They also offer a lifetime of learning: the meteorology is complex, the valley systems never-ending, and the secret spots, house thermals and XC tricks enough to last a lifetime. Many pilots fly nowhere else, while for others they act as a beacon, encouraging pilots to return year after year, to fly better, discover more.

In an attempt to provide inspiration we have cherry-picked our stories. Tim Rochas explains how to hike-and-fly the biggest of them all, Mont Blanc at 4,808m. Tom Payne gives us some great ideas for exploring the Alps and having fun without being tied to counting kilometres. 

Hans Petit, just 18, reveals how he set a new Junior FAI triangle world record from the famous Col de l’Izoard in France. Swiss solo eagle Luca Godenzi shares his love of his home patch in the Bernina Range – top-landing peaks and combining climbing, skiing and flying in a never-ending game of efficiency and beauty. Romano Salis shares some of his images from those adventures too; I know none of us have time to pause these days, but take a moment and look at what they are doing, where they are flying. This is pure adventure on the roof of Europe. 

Elsewhere we dive into what the Alps actually are and why they work so well, with our “Beginner’s Guide to the Alps”. If you want to soar the north face of the Eiger like photographer Tobias Dimmler, then you have to start somewhere.

Finally, it is worth noting that you don’t need a pro-level wing to make these adventures happen. As Bastienne Wentzel observes in her Insight article into the “mid-B” class, Chrigel Maurer and Peter von Känel used mid-B wings in their project to climb and fly all 82 4,000m peaks in the Alps two years ago. Our flying equipment performs as well as the pilot who uses it: no excuses.

I hope it all inspires and informs. Enjoy the issue!

Ed Ewing, editor

Features

In the Core: People, news and insight

Flying IQ: Helping you fly better

Kitlist: Design insight

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