Not for the faint of heart, Fiesch combines 4,000m glaciated peaks with searing hot vine-ripening valley floors, nuclear thermals and mighty valley winds.
The Heimatt launch is at 2,143m, accessible by cable car. It faces south above the huge Rhône valley, with Europe’s largest glacier, the Aletsch, behind. For seasoned XC pilots, Fiesch is the perfect starting point for big triangles.
Michael Maurer flew a 284.78km triangle last August on a Boomerang 10, and Antoine Boisselier a huge 332km triangle on his Laminar. Benjamin Becker scorched a 203.7km flat triangle on his EN-A U-Turn Emotion 3. You’ll probably need to cross Sion airspace – radio the control tower for permission as you approach (see Shv-fsvl.ch).
Fiesch has hosted world championships, but there are also several schools: pick the time of day and year for what you want, and avoid flying if föhn is forecast.
Photo: Martin Scheel / Azoom.ch
Originally appeared in the 2017 Travel Guide, in a section entitled ‘Going Big in the Alps’. Read other entries from the same section here
