Hike-and-fly season 2025 has started

The sport of hike-and-fly has truly landed. It wasn’t so long ago that this was a niche discipline for the hardcore only. Not any more, as Civl’s calendar of events this summer makes clear.

Over the next few months there are 26 registered events from the Pyrenees to the Alps to Brazil and the UK. They range from one-day events such as the Poljanska dolina hike-and-fly in Slovenia to serious races that attract the best in our sport, such as Bornes to Fly and Bordairrace. There’s also the Red Bull X-Alps, which takes place in June.

Whether you’re a fan or keen to give the sport a go, here’s a lowdown on what’s coming up. In May there are ten events, kicking off with the Pyrenees Ozone Open, which is already oversubscribed with 118 registered pilots.

At the elite end, there’s both the Bordairrace in Germany and the four-day Bornes to Fly in France, both seen as Red Bull X-Alps warm-ups. For those new to the sport there’s the Dragon Hike-and-Fly in Wales 10-11 May, and the X-Race in Austria’s beautiful Bad Aussee region at the end of the month.

Austria is also home to the new Wanderbird series of races and their series kicks off on 6 June in Kitzbühel. It’s one of three events that weekend, the others being the Campeonato de España H&F Open in Segura de la Sierra, Spain – it’s where the Rodriguez brothers used to train. Already 80 pilots have signed up. Moutier meanwhile hosts the Jura Airtour that weekend. Several other events are planned across Switzerland from Fiesch to Frutigen throughout the summer.

For those keen to explore events outside the main hubs of the Alps there’s a hike-and-fly Moravian Challenge near Třinec in the Czech Republic. In Brazil there is the Transcapixaba, the largest hike-and-fly contest in the country which takes place over five days in the northwest of Espírito Santo in July. In the US, Global Rescue XRedRocks takes place once again in Monroe, Utah 24-27 September.

A full list of events can be seen at civlcomps.org