Eiger, Moench and Jungfrau

In September Pete and I went back to Europe for two weeks. In Germany we spent a week with my parents and visited family and friends in Leipzig and Berlin. Then we drove on to Switzerland and explored the area around Interlaken and Fiesch. We did lots of hiking, some climbing on Klettersteigs (one with BASE exits above Lauterbrunnen) and paragliding. The towering faces of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau were quite an impressive backdrop for our flights from First. I had just read the ‘White Spider’ by Heinrich Harrer, who was in the first team to climb the infamous Eiger North Face in 1938 and it was cool to figure out the puzzle of routes up this rock wall. We took the Jungfraubahn to the Joch and hiked over to Moenchshuette. Lots of Steinboecke and Gemsen were sighted. We also had a close look at the Aletsch glacier from its south side from Fiesch, a place we had visited with my parents when we spent a couple of weeks in Sas Fee in 1999. But we noticed that Switzerland was rather expensive compared to Italy and France.

Mt Blanc - Aug 19

Amazing! 50+ pilots top landed on Mt Blanc. Having seen the imposing mountains and having flown in Chamonix close to it last year I can imagine what this must have been like!

Maybe book European vacations for the last two weeks of August next year?

 
Mont Blanc from Stéphane Boulenger on Vimeo.

Chamonix, Sept 4-16

What amazing awe-inspiring scenery!

Like an all-imposing giant of rock and ice Mont Blanc dominates the views from almost everywhere. Although I have seen (and climbed) higher peaks, I have never been anywhere near such a massive mountain.

We lucked out with the weather, flew many different sites, tried new wings, did some short hikes and got even some via-ferrata climbing in. Didn't remember how much fun this was... have to do more of it next time we come to Europe – lots of exposure for excellent adrenalin jolts in a relatively save environment.

From Chamonix Sept

Since it’s posted already on our local flying forum, I will just recycle what I wrote there:

Fall flying in Chamonix is just like fall flying here. Mostly stable conditions make for scratch sessions and more or less extended sled rides. Valley winds can get strong in the afternoon. We even got a display of a solid Föhn-gust. Fortunately only a traction kite was up in the LZ and the kite-flyer got dragged all across it without damage.

But sled rides in Chamonix are of a different dimension. The views are gorgeous. Massive Mt Blanc and the needles of the many aiguilles dominate the scenery. Launching on a glacier, floating over crevasses seconds after getting airborne, searching rock cliffs for thermals, floating over the town with its many tourists and flower-decorated houses. Access to launches is fast and easy with gondolas and lifts (but some close in fall). Multi-day passes are well worth the money, especially in stable conditions. Pete did 6 flights in one day, probably half the costs of our 8-day pass. During our first week we stayed at the Flyers Lodge (http://www.flyers-lodge.com) in Domancy just outside the Chamonix valley, with Dennis and Gillian, who gave us lots of great tips on flying in the area.

We flew Planpraz (2000 m) across the valley from Mt Blanc on several days. On the final day Pete managed to climb to 2800 m and fly over the Brevent to Plaine Joux. From Plan de l'Aiguille (2200 m, mid station of the Aiguille du Midi gondola) we cruised over Bosson Glacier. To fly the Aiguille du Midi (3800m) you must cross an ice arête. It had a distinct knife-edge appearance and was topped by a stream of short-roped scramblers, posed perfectly to take everybody else out and down a 1000 meter slope should one slip. We gave it a pass. We flew from Les Grands Montets (3200 m) instead, where the launch is on a flat glacier a pleasant stroll from the gondola station (but watch for the crevasses), and where we got surprised by a massive rockfall from the Dru just around the corner (according to the news the mountain shed 12000 m3 of rock). Outside the Chamonix Valley we flew from Plaine Joux and Annecy (gorgeous limestone ridges and cliffs). Annecy Montmin launch is the most deluxe one I have ever set foot on with artificial lawn and terraced area for spectators (fortunately nothing too spectacular to see for them). And I have never seen so many people kite in the LZ as there (maybe 30?).

From Chamonix Sept

To mix things up we ventured on a couple of via ferratas. A via ferrata is a climbing route with cables, metal steps and ladders, making it possible to move through exposed and steep terrain at a fast pace (compared to belayed rock-climbing). Instead of ropes and assorted other climbing gear, only a climbing harness with a short rope and two carabineers (special via-ferrata set-up) is needed. I especially ‘liked’ the Nepalese bridge on La Curella which spans a 30 meter gap with just 3 cables, one to walk on and two higher ones to hold on to. Way more exciting than any paragliding I have done (and ever want to do).

From Chamonix Sept

Chamonix is definitely worth a visit (or several), but better in spring or early summer if one is looking for good flying conditions (and easy Aiguille du Midi access).

(Driving back to Germany on the Autobahn was definitely not a ‘Fahrvergnügen’)

Dolomiti Moments

Two magic moments of the Dolomites trip: The last flight from Pordoi Pass when the rest of the gang had already flown out to land but Pete and I stayed and played some more in the smooth ridge lift. Cloud level was just above us and the rising air was condensing at our altitude. Wisps of cloud streamed by as we were flying in and out of them.

The last day of our trip did not look promising for flying. Low clouds were hanging just above Pordoi Pass. For lack of better things to do (and since our pass was still good for one more day - compared to BC lift prices are an amazing deal: 35 euros for 3 days), we took the gondola up to Sass Pordoi into the coulds and fog. Magically, we popped out into blue sky and bright sunshine about 200 meters below the top station. What a sight! Like islands from the ocean, Dolomiti Kofels and Spitzen peaked out of the thick layer of clouds. Marmnolada, Langkofel, Rosgarten and in the distance even see the summits of the Ortler Alps and the Grossglockner.

Dolomiti, Italy - Oct 4 - 9

October 4 to 9 we flew in the Dolomite Mountains (Italian Alps). We went with Blue Sky Flugschule from Sillian, Austria. IMO money well spent, since lodging, food (lots of it, including delicious 5 course Tyrolean dinners), shuttles and site briefings were all taken care of.

In summer the Dolomites are a bit too full on but this time of year the flying is still good and the weather usually better than elsewhere in the Alps. The Dolomites are renowned for the dramatic limestone mountains, spires and walls. There are paved roads up to 2200m and lots of ski lifts, some going to over 3000m. The valley bottoms are around 1400m with lots of large fields available to land in. We flew from several launches, including Col Rodella and Belvedere in the Fassa Valley, with the impressive backdrop of the Sella Group, Marmolada and Langkofel.

The weather only let us fly four of the six days but we still managed to do 10 flights. I had 7 hours airtime, Pete had 11 hrs. He spent lots of time flying around the Langkofel with its dramatic 400m high vertical walls and spires. Unfortunately the cloud base was right around the top of the cliffs which made it hard to go any further (Pete's best flight). Interesting note - during our first day at Col Rodella there were 2 reserve tosses and during the second day 3 paraglider crashes, 2 of them lead to severe injuries requiring heli rescues (one rotored in and the other did a 360 that intersected the cliff). Although the air wasn’t particularly rough where we flew, care must be taken not to blunder into rotor from strong valley winds or convergence points of valleys (this can be a problem at Col Rodella launch – see picture of a dusty having its way with 4 wings on the SE launch).

We had hoped to get to fly over the Marmolada (one of the turn point in the X-Alps). It turned out that Max Fanderl (of X-alp fame) and 4 other pilots from Calgary had gone with Blue Sky the previous week. Max had had to climb the Marmolada on foot during the X-alps but managed to fly over this time.

There were lots of pilots flying here. Most of the time the lift was good enough to stay up but not good enough to get away easily. This made for some very busy air space complicated by the fact that a few pilots seemed to have forgotten the air rules. When it got to be too much we headed to some alternate launches to escape the crowds. One in particular stood out – Belvedere, right across from the Marmolada. The launch was a grassy knoll that rolled off into a steep cliff. A frontal would likely have been fatal. Quite focusing!

This was our first flying trip in Europe. It was interesting to see that the majority of pilots were flying DHV1-2 even with 10+ years of experience. The most popular gliders were the Swing Mistral, the Nova Mentor and the Sky Atis.

Pictures here (will add some to blog soon)