Wetterkreuzkogel Ski Tour

Alastair BegleyAustria, Ski Touring Short Link

After not getting to an actual summit yesterday due to the quantity of fresh snow no the ridge, I wanted to ensure that Katherine actually ski toured to her first proper summit today. I decided that with the snow conditions at the moment our best bet was to head back to the Wetterkreuzkogel, which I first did with Adam on a week long ski touring trip in 2019. We decided to go for an early start as some of the forecasts suggested that bad weather would come in around lunchtime, and it meant that the route would be quieter. It was another very cold morning, my car said -15 degrees as we were driving to the car park, and I think it was about -13 degrees where we parked. We took the phrase “be bold, start cold” to heart and were absolutely frozen as we left the car, but soon our cores warmed up as we climbed abruptly from the car up the twisty track in the forest, and eventually my fingers even warmed up. We emerged from the woods as the high cloud in the sky was being lit. Read the full article…

Kreuzjoch Ski Touring

Alastair BegleySki Touring Short Link

With a forecast for overnight snow, followed by sunshine at some point in the day, I decided to take Katherine on her first ski tour. As we left Munch in the morning, I knew we were heading to Kühtai, but had a number of different options in my mind based on the updated weather and avalanche forecasts. As we were driving towards Kühtai, it is safe to say that it was not looking positive with extensive cloud above us, although that was not too much of a surprise as we knew it was improving throughout the day. What was surprising was at how quickly it improved as we drove up the valley through Kühtai and drove though a temperature inversion. As we arrived in Kühtai to hire skis for Katherine the mountains were basking in sunshine, although it was very cold, I think the car read -8 degrees. I elected to head to Mitterzeigerkogel, as I knew most of the route from my previous tour in Kühtai, and I knew it was an easy tour up to the Kreuzjoch. We made great time on the ascent, despite it being Katherine’s. Read the full article…

Hike and Fly from Offa’s Dyke back to my parent’s house

Alastair BegleyParagliding Short Link

I flew back to the UK for Christmas with my hike and fly gear on the off chance that the weather would allow some kind of hike and fly, which seemed unlikely given the forecast when we left Germany, and became even more unlikely as our time in the UK progressed. However despite the Boxing Day forecast being for extensive fog, this was initially constrained to lower in the valley than my parents house. With some cautious optimism we quickly drove around the valley and walked up the Red Darren to Offa’s Dyke. As we were walking up there was definitely a catabatic wind, however thankfully as we approached the top this was significantly weaker. After setting up we all took off and enjoyed the flight back to land in the field next to my parents’ house, which on my hike&fly gear I only just made!

Bleispitze Hike and Fly

Alastair BegleyAustria, Paragliding, Walking Short Link

I thought that when I returned from India and then the UK the mountains would have their winter coat, unfortunately they do not yet, so I decided to make the most of the sunny still conditions and headed to climb the Bleispitze above Bichlbach and fly back down. As I could travel there for free using the Deutschland ticket, I elected to take the train despite it taking significantly longer than driving. I was surprised at the amount of snow in the valley at Bichlbach and as I headed up the valley towards Berwang, but these valleys hardly get any sun at this time of year so it hadn’t melted despite the sun over the past few days. I had planned on heading up via a much less well trodden path which involved heading steeply up to join a ridge which runs up to the summit. I could find no trace of a path as I walked past the turn off, and when I used gps to work out where it should be, it appeared to traverse across steep grassy slopes which were covered in wet snow. Due to this. Read the full article…

Delhi

Alastair BegleyIndia Short Link

On my way back to Germany from Bir I had a 12 hour layover in Delhi, to make the most of this I booked a tour which picked me and my luggage up from the airport headed into Old Delhi. It was a very intense afternoon, especially the e-rickshaw ride around Old Delhi with an assault on the senses with lots of varying smells, lots of noise and an awful lot of people. I did enjoy it, and would go back to Old Delhi and explore it in slower time if I was ever back and had enough time.

Staying at Camp360 and then a flight to Dharamshala

Alastair BegleyIndia, Paragliding Short Link

With only a few days left in Bir, the first of which was not looking very good I decided to head to the classic Camp360 for another Bivi. However this is a bivy with a difference as for 1500 rupees you can stay in a tent with all bedding materials provided in a wonderful setting and enjoy a fresh home cooked thali for dinner and Indian breakfast (all included). What I was not prepared for when I set off on this is just how good the second day would be, which resulted in an absolutely fantastic flight with clear air, strong climbs, lots of birds and plenty of enjoyment. Day 1 On the first day my plan was to fly around a bit before heading to Camp360, however after launch it became clear that this wasn’t going to work as there was a very strong inversion which no one was escaping from and the airspace was getting busier and busier. At one point I considered top landing and even set myself up for it, however in the end decided against it. Once I had climbed back up to the inversion. Read the full article…

Paragliding to Dharamshala and then back to Golf Course for a Bivi

Alastair BegleyIndia, Paragliding Short Link

Having met some people in Bir over the previous few days a plan had formed to head to Bivi at “Golf Course” near Bir in the mountains for Diwali, in order to get away from the noise of the fireworks and firecrackers which go on well into the early hours. I did not think the conditions were going to be that great on this day, so my aim was to have a nice flight and ensure that I got to the golf course. However as soon as I reached launch it was clear that the day was much better than I had anticipated. Day 1 After launching I was able to quickly climb up to 3500m with wonderful views into the back, despite being tempted I decided to stick with my plan to stay on the front, and I am really glad I did as I had a wonderful flight. I really enjoyed myself on this flight, the views were excellent, the flying was great fun and there were loads of birds of prey, the only ones which came out on the camera were the massive Himalayan Griffon vultures. As. Read the full article…

Paragliding at 5000m in the Himalayas over the back from Bir, India

Alastair BegleyIndia, Paragliding Short Link

Flying “over the back” in the proper mountains rather than just along the front ridge was definitely high on my agenda while I was in Bir, however this was certainly not something to be underestimated with limited landing possibilities and a multi day walk out following an out landing. With an excellent forecast for the next day I tentatively made some plans, bought some gas and packed my Bivi gear in case I landed out. As this was my first time over the back, I decided against planning to Bivi but rather left it as an emergency option. Next time I will definitely plan a Bivi but it seemed more sensible to just have a chilled out flight the first time rather than worrying about finding a Bivi site and top landing and I was also unsure about the conditions to get back the day after. Compared to the previous two days it was so easy to climb out from launch and I soon found myself high above Hanuman Gargi ready to commit to the valley crossing and go over the back. While I could see other people had already. Read the full article…