My First 200+ km flight with my hang glider in 2014
On July 16, 17 and 18, 2014, I had a few days off, and by a stroke of luck the calendar gave me the opportunity to fly during what looked set to be the best flying days of the year in the Swiss Alps. A few days beforehand, I spent plenty of time on the phone trying to rally my friends, and headed to Fiesch very early on Wednesday morning. No one joined me that day because the best conditions were forecast for Thursday. I enjoyed a magnificent sightseeing flight (still 97 km!) in the Fiesch area and landed after four wonderful hours in the air. To put myself in the best possible shape for the next day, I then treated myself to an excellent rib steak at Baschy's before turning in very early.
The big day arrived. Since I never eat while flying, I treated myself to a champion’s breakfast with eggs, cheese, and cold cuts at a hotel near the Fiesch cable car, then welcomed a number of friends I had contacted beforehand, as well as others who had also sensed how promising the day looked. The gondola ride up and wing preparation took place in the cheerful atmosphere of a reunion, and each of us shared more or less our plan for the day.
The goal for one of my best pilot friends and me was clear: break the 200-kilometre mark. To achieve this while staying within airspace regulations, we would have to pass the (damned) Sion TMA before 13:15, after reaching the Grimsel turning point. A quick calculation showed that we would need to fly very fast during the first part of the flight to make it happen.
After that, my plan was simple: fly down the Rhône Valley to Martigny and cross over to Verbier, thereby bypassing the (bloody) Sion CTR. Then fly back to Fiesch via either Zermatt or Saas-Fee, depending on the conditions. Altogether, this would make for an FAI triangle of at least 230 km.
This plan did not come out of nowhere. I had spent a long time studying the tracks of other pilots who had already completed flights of this kind. It was doable, the conditions were there, and from that point on, everything depended on me!
I was ready at launch when a bystander asked whether I was landing down in the valley. I replied, “Yes... after flying 200 kilometres first!”
11:07 AM, launch. As usual at Fiesch, I had to scratch around a bit to gain the first 200 to 300 metres. Things quickly became excellent, and I hurried across to Belalp to complete the Fiesch-Grimsel out-and-return as quickly as possible. This was the easiest part of the flight. The southeast-facing slopes of the Goms had been heated by the sun for hours, and reaching Grimsel was little more than a formality.
A few paragliders struggling to stay up indicated that the Grimsel “snake” was already active. I therefore chose not to push too far into the valley and turned back to find the usual powerful thermal on the return leg, once again right where it was supposed to be.
As the day progressed, the cloud base steadily climbed above 3,000 metres, and I made my way to Brig without too much difficulty. Since I was racing against the clock to cross that (&ç%*...!) TMA legally, things became a little more complicated. I arrived fairly low on the mountain before the valley leading into the Lötschental. It was 1:00 PM, leaving me just fifteen minutes to climb to a strong cloud base and cross both the valley and the TMA.
I could have tried to slip underneath it, but the idea of arriving low on the plateau on the other side did not appeal to me at all...
Fortunately, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a paraglider much higher than me, pointing out a superb +4 m/s thermal. I centred it tightly, pushed the wing, and arrived on the other side just in time for the end of the break taken by those dear military personnel (and their damn TMA!).
With that obstacle behind me, I felt much more relaxed about the remainder of the route to Martigny. The only issue was that I had never ventured in that direction beyond Cran-Montana. I knew there were vineyards, apricot orchards, and the (bloody) Sion CTR waiting for me. Fortunately, the day was truly exceptional, and I was still somewhat familiar with the mountains beyond, having admired them many times from Nendaz. I flew conservatively, always staying high, all the way to Ovronnaz.
The view over the Pre-Alps was magnificent, and I realized that at 3,500 metres, you can go a very long way!
I then headed for a small ridge well out in front, just beyond Ovronnaz, which looked as though it had been soaking up the sun for hours. Bingo! I climbed back up to the wisps at 3,400 m and decided not to push any farther towards Martigny. Instead, I crossed the Rhône Valley toward Croix de Coeur above Verbier, where, given the conditions, it was bound to be working.
Crossing the Rhône Valley at over 3,000 metres is always an incredible experience. More than 2,500 metres separated me from the ground, and I glided towards Verbier at over 80 km/h, admiring the vineyards and apricot orchards of the Lower Valais below. At moments like these, I often find myself thinking just how much I truly love hang gliding!
The hardest part was still ahead: reaching the southern turnpoint and making it back to Fiesch. At Croix de Coeur, I climbed in a solid +1.5 m/s thermal, smooth and steady, then launched myself once again into unknown territory. Unknown from the air, at least. I knew the 4 Vallées ski area very well, so finding my way was easy enough.
I flew over Lac des Vaux, then Lac de Cleuson and its dam, before connecting with a magnificent thermal that sucked me skyward at more than 4 m/s. Three sailplanes joined me, and together we climbed to the day's highest cloud base, reaching 4,150 m.
A little too euphoric, already tired after more than four hours in the air, and somewhat chilled by the temperature at that altitude, I made my big mistake of the day. I convinced myself to take the royal route to Zermatt, namely via Arolla and Tête Blanche, before descending on Zermatt from the west.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately given how committing that route can be, the thermal I was hoping for was nowhere to be found above Arolla. I was forced to retreat, scraping along low over the terrain above Evolène.
I switched into “Jura scratching mode.” I clawed my way up metre by metre in weak thermodynamic lift, skimming just above the Valais spruce trees. I had no intention of going down, so the only option was to go up! It took me nearly thirty minutes to climb back to a comfortable altitude of 4,000 m. Far below, I recognized the Moiry Dam, and with it Grimentz and Zinal. At last, I was back in familiar territory.
I gave up the idea of making a turnpoint at Zermatt or Saas-Fee. I would admire the Matterhorn from the sky another day.
I focused all my concentration, and whatever energy I had left, on getting back to Fiesch while still securing the 200 km mark. I crossed the final valleys quite cautiously, even stopping to circle in one thermal too many behind the Simplon Pass. In the end, I completed a 215 km flat triangle in 6 hours and 20 minutes of flight time, averaging almost 35 km/h.
Some time later, I learned that on the very same day, Urs Haari had completed a 265 km FAI triangle: Grimsel, Rochers de Naye, and the Matterhorn. All of it by paraglider!
I still had quite a lot to learn...
Link to the flight
https://www.xcontest.org/2014/world/en/flights/detail:pierro/17.7.2014/09:07