Chrigel Maurer

Where eagles dare

From adopting the right mindset to training your body to perfecting the stall, Till Gottbrath talks to paragliding maestro Chrigel Maurer about the regime of “progressive and systematic” training that helped Chrigel get (really) good

20 January, 2025, by Till Gottbrath

In the Red Bull X-Alps pilots fly in conditions that appear to belong in the “unflyable” category for normal pilots. When the race is on comments on social media range from “awesome” to “they’re completely crazy” or “totally irresponsible.” Some pilots can’t get enough, while others ignore the race altogether. 

Since the last X-Alps in 2023 I have been asking myself where the limit is: the limit for me, and the limit for Chrigel and Co. On the one hand there is me, who has been flying for ages (1986), is risk averse and has the ambition of a mid-pack XC pilot (and...

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