Travelling from site to site and devoting all he has to the sport, Théo de Blic explains how to rack up the hours in Europe
My biggest goal in a season is to clock up as many hours in the air as possible. In a good year I can manage around 800 hours; in 2022 I was at almost 900. There is only one way to spend that amount of time in the air: you always need to be at the best flying spot possible.
Chamonix in January / February
If you want to log flights in winter in Europe there is no better place than Chamonix. The weather is usually fairly nice and Chamonix is protected from windy days due to the huge mountains surrounding the narrow valley, which makes it pretty reliable. Add to that the winter landing is just a three-minute walk from the cable car and the daily paragliding ticket is around €20 and you end up with a winter wonderland for paragliding. On a good day we have managed to log 23 flights, and if you run you could make 26! It’s hard to beat. To top it all you can end your day flying from the Aiguille du Midi at 3,800m!
Théo de Blic in Chamonix mid-winter
El Hierro in February/March
El Hierro is the smallest island in the Canaries. Unlike its big sister Tenerife, El Hierro is mainly flyable on the windward side of the island. It’s pretty technical because the box is sketchy and it works through cycles, so it’s possible to go and enjoy two beautiful weeks in a row or two horrible ones. But when it’s working, oh god it’s worth it. Basically you wake up at 7am, walk to take-off in two minutes and it’s already flyable. You take off at 200m above sea level and five minutes later you are at 900m shredding. And it doesn’t stop until 8pm! It is simply insane. Beware of tendinitis though.
French Alps in March/April/May
Most particularly my home spot Verel, close to Chambéry. It’s an amazing west face flyable from around 1pm to 9pm almost daily. Verel is flyable almost all year long. Even in December we have good thermal days for big wings, but for acro wings it really starts in March, and mainly with north wind. It’s a beautiful spot with a lake in the background and a 15km long cliff. My usual schedule is hike-and-fly in the morning and acro in the afternoon. The pace is insane with a run every three minutes. When I get bored I usually cross-country the whole cliff, top-land on the end of the cliffs on another take-off, chill a bit and come back to shred again. At the end of the day I just land in my garden. I am never as happy as I am when I am flying in springtime at home, it is the highlight of my year!
Organya in May/June/July/August
In truth I drive back and forth between Verel and Organya, but most of the time I’m in Organya. On a typical day Organya is flyable around 12/1pm until 9/10pm. It’s a beautiful south face and is almost always flyable. Whatever the wind, whatever the forecast you are almost 100% guaranteed to get at least a two-hour window. I have seen Organya work with no sun at all all day long. The valley breeze comes in, thermal activity starts and you are in for a good day! Contrary to popular belief Organya isn’t crazy strong or turbulent and perfectly suitable to any type of pilot. I’ll just advise you to master rapid descent techniques for when you eventually want to land.
September is my off time
September is the end of the thermal season in Europe so I spend time flying either in Verel, Chamonix or in Lake Garda in Italy. Garda is a beautiful place for September. There aren’t as many tourists as in summer and it’s a nicer vibe. It’s also easier to find accommodation.
Ölüdeniz in October
There is no better place to fly than Ölüdeniz in October. It’s getting chilly in Europe but in Turkey it feels like a perfect summer: the atmosphere, altitude, clear blue water, it just feels like being on holiday. Of course, it also means I am doing SIVs with Rise Paragliding but it’s still such an amazing time. It’s also a good time for me to enjoy some nice altitude runs!
Mürren in November and December
It’s the end of the season, cable cars are closed, the weather is getting trickier, people do not want to fly so catching a lift isn’t as easy and yet there still is a bubble. This bubble is called Mürren in Switzerland. Mürren is midway up a mountain in a narrow valley surrounded by 3,000m peaks and has a protected micro climate. It is only accessible by cable car, which runs all year. What’s more, it’s affordable. And that’s how you end up spending the end of the season in Mürren for €80 a month doing 15 runs a day!
First published in Cross Country 237 (Feb/March 2023)
