My 1st Alps Paragliding Tour...

Let me preface this post by saying that this was not my first time "flying" outside the USA, but it was my 1ST paragliding holiday! I am a P2 with just over a year of flying experience. This is my log of my "big" adventure to the paragliding mecca...The Alps!

5/29/2009: Flight to Geneva...We (my husband Jay & I) are on our way!

5/30/2009: Arrive in Geneva meet up with Luis & Todd and head out to the Chalet (in Megeve, France). Get settled in, meet the other pilots on our tour and rest for a couple of hours before heading to the launch at Plaine Joux. Absolutely stunning (and ultimately our favorite launch due to restaurants & facilities at launch and LZ)!!! This sight has Mont Blanc as a backdrop and in the valley, Passy, where you land. We sent Todd Weigand (our guide) & one of our P4 pilots into the air and within minutes some crazy N valley wind took over and kept us all on the ground.

5/31/2009: A northerly weather system was in play (which apparently is unusual in the region) so we were limited to only a few sites that could accommodate the wind direction. Luis chose Plaine Joux for the late morning/mid day flight. My greatest concern was my knee, as I am 7 months into healing from ACL replacement surgery, it is no surprise (object fixation) that I botched my 1st attempt and ended up with a nasty bruise on my bad knee! Fortunately, that was the only bad take off attempt of the entire 2 weeks (of which I am very proud!!!). My second attempt found me airborne and flying the ridge. Being a fairly new pilot, my main concern was getting to the LZ so I headed out to the valley and landed after about a 20 minute flight. I was exuberant & although I never made it to cloudbase (nowhere close!!!), I was in the clouds for at least the next 24 hours! My first flight in France...I will never forget!!

6/01/2009: We head out to a new site...Mont Lambert. This is in the Savoie region, near Albertville France. There were French, German & Belgium pilots there when we arrived. Our group included 17 pilots (a combo of east coast {TN, NC, SC & GA} and west coast {CA, OR, WA} pilots. Seeing soooo many pilots at launch was intimidating to me! New launch...lots of pilots, speaking lots of different languages...WOW!!!

This is where I will say...I am the cautious pilot...never the 1st, 2nd or even 3rd pilot off the hill. I like to observe other pilots (especially at a new site). Needless to say...things are a little different in Europe! My instructor informed me that we (Jay & I) needed to "step up" and stop dawdling! We needed to "get ready" quickly and get off the hill. Not sure I was entirely comfortable with this theory but...when in Rome (France)...so we did our best! It was windy enough to do a reverse but getting positioned on the hill was tricky with so many pilots. A wonderful Belgium pilot (who spoke English) offered assistance, which I readily accepted and I was off. Tons of pilots were scratching along the ridge, but I (always afraid of not reaching the LZ) headed into the valley. I found more lift than most of the others (kudos!!!) and played for a while before landing. After several in our group landed, 1 van went back up. Jay & I chose to eat our sandwiches and watch...big mistake...the others that went back up had great conditions and phenomenal flights that we missed out on :( Before we could get back up, everything changed and we never got another flight that afternoon! Lesson learned...go back up...even if you are not sure you want to fly. At least then you have the option of backing out (on top) instead of being left out at the bottom watching everyone else fly! We then went to another (evening) site in the area. L'eBudiaz. This was a high Alpine site and when we got there, I did not feel good about it. It is a very steep (beautiful) launch that I found difficult climbing. The winds were not the best direction for the site so I was very, very nervous. Most of our group got off the hill just fine. I was ready to launch when I realized three critical mistakes (my 6030 was laying over in the grass somewhere, my speed system wasn't hooked up and something else which I can't even remember now). Needless to say, my knees were trembling so just as I was about to launch, I called it quits. That inner voice was telling me "don't do it". My husband was so sweet...he balled up his wing and walked with me back to the van for the ride down. I didn't (but I could've) cried all the way down feeling like I "chickened" out and yet something inside was telling me I had done the right thing. The best part was the support of the other pilots when we got to the LZ. Many of them told me of times they did the same thing which did make me feel better.

6/02/2009: Plaine Joux, 2 early flights. My goal is working on launches and landings. 1 evening flight with very buoyant air. My longest flight yet in France! I LOVE this site!!!

6/03/2009: Back to Mont Lambert (still have north winds). Had 3 nice flights before heading back to the scary launch...L'eBudiaz...This time there were LOTS of pilots at the site. Our group got there in the late afternoon and watched as winds were on the higher side at this point. I personally thought some of our group would launch when winds died down but got the shock of my life when Luis said I should launch. Yes...fear gripped me...for a moment...then I got in gear and suited up. When it was my turn, I launched without a hitch and soared over the valley of Albertville for over an hour. My biggest problem (remember, I am a newbie), too much lift!!! I went to over 7k and found lift EVERYWHERE! I couldn't get down. I had picked up a strong lift band and could not descend. After about 20 minutes of big ears and speed bar (to no avail) Luis got on the radio and coached me through a "big ears, spiral"...OMG...the G's were more mild than usual, but after 7-8 revolutions (and 3k in seconds), my heart was really beating hard!! It served the purpose though and I was able to lose the rest of my altitude with just big ears. The LZ for this launch was... shared (might not be the best term) or located close to a private airport (CL E). As I was on my final glide, I got buzzed by a plane. Guess he thought I had encroached on his space and he did a "tight" 360 around me. Funny thing is, it scared the heck out of everyone waiting for me in the LZ (I was the last to land...with dramatic flair!!!) but I thought it was rather amusing! I knew exactly what he was doing...kind of a gesture, if you will! My only concern was flying through his turbulance, but it was not a problem, I landed fine and they had a beer waiting for me! When I finally reached the LZ and landed, I was thrilled. I told the boys I was no longer a "virgin"...I finally had a flight over 1 hour! In fact, it was close to 1 1/2 hours & it was a site I had chickened out at only 2 days before! It was hard to contain the enthusiasm!

6/04/2009: Did I mention 4 is my lucky number? Today...Plaine Joux...I love this place! Having Mont Blanc in the background is absolutely magical! 2 early flights. Really good launches and landings. Then our evening flight.

Finally...magic air...I have read about it so many times and wondered what it must "really" be like. Butter smooth lift all over the place. Our group had a blast! We were all in the air and you could stay up as long as you wanted to. Wasn't like the day before where it was a little stressful trying to get down. This was smooth, buoyant air that was fun to fly in. No stress. Another 1 hour flight. Could have stayed much longer but my fingers were getting cold (always wear full finger gloves in the Alps...you need them!).

About every 2nd or 3rd night our entire group would gather for a BBQ. Sausages, steaks, hamburgers, veggies and plenty of French bread, Frommage (cheese) and drink! This was one of the most delightful experiences of the trip!

6/05/2009: Today...Le Saleve. Another new site overlooking Geneva! There are 3 launches on the ridge. You take off in France and land in Switzerland! A local PG club bases there and we had 1 of their members flying with us that day...a fellow flygirl from Switzerland...Selene. She was great at mapping out the site and restrictions for us (you can fly over parts of Geneva but must follow rules as Geneva airport shares space close by). French/Swiss cows at launch, restaurant/PG club at LZ, looking out over Lac Leman...lets face it...they know how to do it right! The launch we used was very narrow. Forward without a hitch. At this point, I'm starting to gain some confidence in my skills...imagine that!!! The best part is the club/food/PG store at the LZ. The cook serves up an awesome lunch and dinner!!

6/06/2009: Our first rain day...bummer! We headed up to Annecy as winds were setting up for that direction but the rain, clouds & wind hampered our efforts so we spent time in the PG shops and then went up and had a most "awesome" lunch at Col de la Forclaz! We then headed back to Megeve and went out to the Kart races & dinner for the evening. Wow... you think PG pilots can be aggressive in the air?...you should see them on the race track!

6/07/2009: Another light rain day. We get to rest/relax. Into town to shop, take the laundry in & so on. We took advantage of the few days when weather was a problem to visit some local points of interest. A mid evil castle tour and an impromptu visit to a winery were some of our favorites. Weather looks rather questionable for the next few days. I think we were spoiled in week 1!

6/08/2009: Winds are not good but we are going to try a new site that may be sheltered from the weather. Les Saises. A ski resort and beautiful site. When we reached the launch, a group of school children were there studying the mountains. Looked to be about 4th or 5th grade. I'm not sure who was more excited...them to see a bunch of PG pilots show up or us...who really enjoyed having such an enthusiastic audience! (I think it was us!!).

Another high alpine launch...not much room for error! Had a great launch and a great ridge soaring flight with really good landing. Took my 1st "in flight" pictures. Back up to the top. Now winds have completely reversed. Done for the day. Lesson learned...conditions change fast in the Alps...take advantage of good conditions when you have the opportunity!! On the drive home we decide to check out another launch nearby. The launch at Cluses had beautiful views and a fairly good sized town in the valley below. Winds were fairly strong so Todd went up first to see if it would be flyable for us. In the end he was the only one to fly as the head wind was strong enough to keep us grounded. I really enjoyed seeing the launch even if we couldn't fly.

6/09/2009: Today we head for the birthplace of PG...Mieussy. OMG...it is beautiful. The LZ is pretty tight and it was windy so we weren't sure it would work. Luis went up first and decided we could handle it. We all had really good flights and then walked into the village and had a "most awesome" lunch! The rain came in while we were eating so we were done for the day! It was a very good day! Lesson learned...even when the forcast calls for bad weather, you can find pockets of flyable weather...if you have a knowledgeable instructor/guide!

6/10/2009: Today we head to Italy. We travel through the Mont Blanc tunnel into Aosta valley of Italy. I think this is the biggest shock I experienced. You enter the tunnel on the French side surrounded by chalets and snow capped mountains and cows with bells on their necks & when you come out on the Italian side, it is totally different. The houses have rock, slate or red tile roofs, vineyards that look like they are thousands of years old, and rock wall terraces and castles everywhere you look...it was stunning! The Aosta valley should not be missed!

We headed to the LZ first (and our instructor had surmised that it had been changed as there was no longer any wind socks there). Fortunately, we spotted 2 paragliders in the air and obviously heading to an LZ within proximity. We got in the car and followed them to the new LZ. To our surprise, they were Americans! Then we realize it is Chad Bastain, Jeff Goin and a fellow
named Stan who were over there for the World Air Games in Torino, Italy. Of course they knew Luis & Todd so after chatting we gave them a ride to the top and flew with them. It was their "free" day. This launch was Andrate, Italy. It was very beautiful looking out over red tiled roof houses and vineyards in the villages. There were lakes and a castle out in front of launch. This was the most challenging site for me as it was the most thermic. My MO is to head to valley or LZ with plenty of altitude to spare. This was the most turbulent area at this site and in mid afternoon...it was hot and bumpy!! I landed fine but I will say, it was the most "active" flying I've ever experienced! I went back up for a second flight later in the day and it was very different. Lots of lift, again had to use big ears to control my altitude. After I tired of fighting the lift, I headed to the LZ and the winds had picked up quite a bit. I had a pretty strong headwind to the LZ but made it with room to spare. It was my first landing in high winds and I got to the upwind side of the LZ and just (almost like an elevator) floated down, making sure I stayed well upwind of the power lines. A most excellent landing that I was quite proud of!!!

6/11/2009: Annecy, France. We had been to the site earlier in the week (when it was raining) so it was somewhat familiar. Still, I couldn't believe the number of pilots there. First flight was good. A sledder with lots of sink. I wasn't sure I would make the primary, but with a little speed bar I got there! On the 2nd flight, I hit strong sink right away. Tried a few different things and realized right away that I wasn't going to make the primary so I opted for the bailout LZ at the edge of the lake. There were 3 other pilots there already (though not with our group) so I was not alone.

After a pick up, it was back to the top (Montmin) where we sat for a couple of hours and watched pilots launch in tricky conditions. It was entertaining in a scary kind of way! It was really interesting how the wind socks at launch were somewhat misleading. They almost seemed to be sheltered from the rotor that frequently spilled over launch causing much havoc with less experienced pilots (or at least, those unfamiliar with the site). Needless to say...I was watching, not flying. It looks like, at times, it can be a very technical launch and it surprised me how many obvious "new" students were hucked off (or fell off) the edge of launch. Fortunately, there were no injuries while we were there.

Finally, we headed down to our wonderful restaurant down the hill and had an early dinner. After, we climbed the hill to launch and had a wonderful evening flight with much more lift than earlier in the day. We played on the ridge, flew over the lake and still reached the primary LZ with plenty of altitude!

6/12/2009: Our last day in France. The weather is finally right for Auguille du Midi! We head to Chamonix. We take the cable car to the top and spend some time enjoying the view (and NOT enjoying the bitter temps). We then head back down to the lower launch. Jay and I did not fly it as we heard it was so technical. In hindsight, the lower launch was fine for us and I wish we had
brought our wings (another lesson learned!). As it was, we took some awesome photos of the 5 pilots in our group that did fly. We heading down to the bottom, we drove the van to the LZ to pick our pilots up and head to Plaine Joux.

It was fitting that our last few flights in France were at our favorite spot. We had a very nice afternoon sled ride and then a phenomenal evening "lifty" flight. My last launch and landing was flawless which was very gratifying! After a round of beers in the LZ we headed back to the Chalets for our final group cookout!

6/13/2009: Off to Geneva and to the USA...Au revoir France...Au revoir our chalet...Au revoir Mont Blanc! But not for long...for this paragliding pilot, the call of the Alps is too strong.
We will be back ;)