Plose Hike&Fly (Brixen)

Alastair BegleyItaly, Paragliding, Walking Short Link

On our second unplanned day in Brixen due to clutch issues we decided to climb the obvious peak which towers above the town, Plose (Telegraph), as it looked beautiful with its red flanks in the evening sun the day before. We dropped the van off at a garage in Brixen, hoping that it was just the master cylinder which needed replacing as this was an easy job, unlike the slave cylinder. An easy bus ride took us up to the seilbahn before we walked along a traversing line to the north towards the Ochsenalm. As we traversed around the mountain the views kept getting better and better as we emerged out of the forest and the path turned to face more into the Pustertal. From the Ochsenalm the main ascent really started and this meant that the views just kept getting better and better. The final section of the route was up a lovely ridge to the summit of Telegraph, aptly named due to the infrastructure on the summit! Unfortunately the entire day was fairly cloudy which impacted the views, however we enjoyed the fleeting views in between the clouds. Read the full article…

Neustift Vineyards

Alastair BegleyItaly Short Link

We had an unplanned stay in Neustift near Brixen due to some clutch issues with the van. We stayed at the wonderful Griesserhof which only cost us the price of two bottles of their wine, which really was very good. On the Sunday we did a short walk around the local vineyards, with plenty of sampling en route, and we can safely say that the wine was all very good, but the best wine definitely came from the Griesserhof. We enjoyed our two nights there, even if the second was unplanned and due to having a broken van, and will definitely be back as it is a great place to stop en-route to/from the Dolomites or Lake Garda.

Birnhorn Überschreitung Hike&Fly

Alastair BegleyAustria, Paragliding, Walking Short Link

Having booked the Passauer Hütte months ago we were excited that it looked like we had a perfect weather weekend as we approached the trip, and I was even happier that it looked like it should work for a hike&fly to save me about 1800hm of descent. After some discussions we settled on the northern approach to the hut as despite having 300hm more of ascent, it was a lot more gradual and on a better path, which got the vote for the descent. The start of the approach was up through the woods, however as we climbed higher we started other get fleeting views to the north into the Steinernes Meer. Eventually we emerged out of the woods and could enjoy the view fully, and it really was spectacular. As we arrived at the col by the hut we were suddenly greeted with the view south towards the main alpine ridge, something which was great to suddenly emerge and see in one go. We enjoyed our afternoon sitting on the veranda at the hut while eating some food, having a few drinks and soaking in the wonderful view. After. Read the full article…

Mittenwald Höhenweg Klettersteig&Fly

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Paragliding Short Link

Having last completed the Mittenwald Höhenweg shortly after having moved to Munich 5 years ago, we decided to head back to do it again as we had enjoyed it so much last time, however this time I had a plan to save on the descent by flying off from the German/Austrian border back down to Mittenwald. We were expecting the route to be busy, given that it was still the school holidays and it was the only nice day of the weekend, but we were not quite prepared for how busy the route would actually be. We arrived at the lift station and were ready for 9am, however we had to queue for sometime as the lift was so busy. As we left the lift station we eagerly climbed the first section so that we would emerge from the shade into the sun, especially me as I was still in a t-shirt. Thankfully it did not take us long to emerge into the sunshine, however at this point we saw how many people were gearing up for the klettersteig. We joined the crowds and patiently waited in the queue, as. Read the full article…

Mangart – Slovenska pot – Klettersteig&Fly

Alastair BegleyParagliding, Slovenia, Via Ferrata Short Link

When we were in Slovenia a few years ago, one of the routes which caught my eye but we didn’t get around to was the Klettersteig up Mangart. This was not because it was a particularly special or difficult route, but because it was fairly high, with little ascent and apparently you could see the sea from the summit, an unusual view in most of the alps. This meant that it was an obvious choice for this trip and it became even better when we found out that you could pre-book a minibus from Bovec for 3 euros per person each direction, which meant neither us nor our friends had to move our vans. Unfortunately as we climbed up the road in the van, it became clear that there was a lot more cloud than was in the forecast, but we remained hopeful that the weather would clear and give us some nice views. I had also decided to take my paraglider with me as I knew that in good conditions it was possible to launch from the summit, and in any case it should be possible to launch from. Read the full article…

Jerebica/Cima del Lago Hike&Fly

Alastair BegleyItaly, Paragliding, Slovenia, Walking Short Link

On our way to Slovenia we wanted to do a walk before we parked in the campsite in Bovec for 4 days. On the way down I was researching options and stumbled across Cima del Lago (Italian) or Jerebica (Slovenian). The walk looked absolutely perfect with not too much ascent, a nice ridge when up high and stunning views in every direction, so it was the obvious choice especially as it was only a 5 min detour from our route. While I was researching the route, it looked like it may be possible to fly down from the summit, however I couldn’t find any information about it. The joy of my hike&fly gear is that it is so light that I don’t mind carrying it even if there is a very uncertain chance of flying. As the forecast was for a very hot day, we got up early and set off to make the most of the cooler morning air, especially as the first part of the ascent was fairly constant and in the woods. Eventually we emerged from the woods at the col at the start of the ridge. Read the full article…

Paragliding 200km from Italy into Austria over the Stubai Alps and with views of the Großglockner

Alastair BegleyAustria, Italy, Paragliding Short Link

For my second flight with my new wing I thought I would fly back in the direction of home from Speikboden in Südtirol. The plan was to do the first leg of the classic 200km FAI triangle by heading along the Pustertal towards Sterzing, crossing the Brenner above Sterzing, before heading up the Ridnauntal to the Stubai alps. From the Stubai alps the plan was to head back down the Stubaital, cross the Brenner again to fly into the Zillertal next to Hintertux, before heading over the Gerlos pass and into the Pinzgau. From here I had a rough plan to fly north to either Kufstein or Kössen, depending on what the conditions looked like. The first section of the route went very quickly and I was soon at the crossing of the Brenner pass above Sterzing. With the high cloudbase this was not difficult and then with one more climb at the start of the Ridnauntal, I was able to fly all the way up to the high Stubai mountains without making a single turn. Up here the thermals were weaker and I should have turned up to cloudbase. Read the full article…

West down the Pustertal from Sillian

Alastair BegleyAustria, Road Cycling Short Link

For ease the next day, we decided that we would do another cycle from the campsite, rather than having to move the van. So instead of heading east down to Lienz, we headed in the opposite direction with the plan of cycling around 60km. Again the route was excellent with mostly very good surfaces and almost no cycling on roads.