Wallberg to Bayrischzell Paragliding

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Paragliding Short Link

I wasn‘t 100% sure if the day would even be flyable due to strong winds forecast at all altitudes, but thought that I would head to Wallberg and find out as it wouldn‘t cost anything thanks to the Deutschland ticket. Conditions at launch were good, and very quickly I managed to climb up to 2200m, enough to head off on a short xc, but decided that I wanted a bit more height first. Frustratingly it then took me ages to get back up to 2200m due to the amount of cloud, and it was certainly pretty windy. Once I was finally back up at 2200m, I headed off towards Bayrischzell. As I headed to Brecherspitze it was clear that it was very windy and turbulent but the climbs kept coming and kept me well above the mountains, I ensured that I would always be able to glide down to the valley despite the wind, as I didn‘t want to get pinned in a venturi. As I was flying along to Bayrischzell I was feeling a little unsure about continuing, and watching a paraglider below me take a massive collapse, combined. Read the full article…

Schmittenhöhe Paragliding

Alastair BegleyAustria, Paragliding Short Link

There were excellent conditions forecast in the Pinzgau so I took the day off work, hoping to do my first 100km flight. Despite the good conditions forecast in the Pinzgau, I wasn‘t 100% sure what the day would bring, as further north there were very strong winds forecast. I made use of my Deutschlandticket and Austrian Bahncard and travelled to Zell am See by train, which was a very relaxing way of arriving, other than the spring for the bus to the cable car from the Zell am See train station! Conditions after take off were wonderful and I was soon up at altitude and enjoying a brilliant view, there was a northerly wind, but it wasn’t too strong, even when I descended into the lee of it. I made good time to Pass Thurn, however this is where the conditions started to unravel, there was a very strong wind rushing down the valley which gave me a terrible glide to an almost guaranteed thermal source on the other side of the valley crossing. I actually gave up trying to get there as the headwind was so bad, as I. Read the full article…

Volbiv from Stubai to Olang-Antholz

Alastair BegleyAustria, Italy, Paragliding Short Link

One of my aims this year was to do a VolBiv, which is where you travel from A to B by air with a paraglider, along with a tent and other associated camping equipment. As this was my first VolBiv and I only had 3 days, I had set myself some simple rules to make it easier/more enjoyable: In the week running up to the VolBiv the forecast for Friday-Sunday was very good, with Friday and Saturday looking great and Sunday looking OK, which resulted in me planning a route which started in Stubai with the flying crux on the first day, flying over the Stubai glaciers and the main alpine ridge. Once over the ridge, it should have been plain sailing along the south facing slopes of the Pustertal. I didn‘t have a specific objective, but had planned routes to Lienz and onwards to Spittal an der Drau. The advantage of this route was that there was a trainline all the way along the route after I reached the Pustertal, so getting home on the Sunday would be easy no matter where I finished. I gradually packed my equipment. Read the full article…

Gamskogel

Alastair BegleyAustria, Walking Short Link

With a mixed weather forecast and following a lot of rain in the mountains we decided to head to the Gamskogel with the IMG, as it was relatively low, easy to access by train and shouldn’t have been too bad following the recent heavy rain. Due to the introduction of the 49 euro ticket in Germany, most of us took the train the Kufstein to start the walk, which was a nice social way to start the walk. The ascent to the Gamskogel was mostly in the forrest, but it took us up some nice scenery next to the Kienbach with glimpses out of the forest across and out of the Inntal, where there were some fairly ominous looking clouds. Thankfully we made it to the summit before it started to rain, where we had a lovely view in every direction, but unfortunately due to the forecast it certainly wasn’t a day to be hanging around. We made a quick descent down to the Weinbergerhaus for a lovely lunch, before making the descent back down to Kufstein for some ice cream and the train back to Munich.

74km FAI Triangle from Hochfelln

Alastair BegleyParagliding Short Link

Somehow winter managed to pass me by with no paragliding days, and due to a very slow start to spring we were at the end of April before I had flown this year, in fact about 6 months since my last flight. I set off for the day with a big plan but fairly low expectations and the day turned out to be spectacular with excellent thermals a clear sky with views that went on forever. We started from Hochfelln along with what seemed like every other paraglider in Bavaria, as it was one of the few lifts which was running so early in the season, and the launch was complete chaos, as it was clearly most peoples first flight of the season after a winter with no groundhandling. Whilst the conditions were difficult due to snow on the ground, there were numerous paragliders who crashed onto the walking patch, most people failed to launch and there was some terrible launch etiquette. Eventually it was my turn to launch, which went very smoothly after my ground handling practice earlier in the week and I was soon up at the departure. Read the full article…

Ruderhofspitze 3474m

Alastair BegleyAustria, Ski Touring Short Link

This winter has not been a good winter for ski touring, with a distinct lack of precipitation and plenty of warm days, so running up to this weekend I was unsure if we would actually be able to make the tour. However thankfully there was some fresh snow in the last few weeks, and the weekend ended up having a good, if warm, forecast. Our plan for the weekend was to stay in the Franz-Senn-Hütte for two nights, with the primary objective being the Ruderhofspitze, a tall but relatively isolated peak, with a stunning snow arête up to the summit from the ski depot, so it looked like an excellent mountaineering objective. We headed down to the Stubaital early on Friday morning, with the thought that we would get to the hut and then go up and do something relatively short, however this was not to be as by the time we got to the hut it was really warm in the afternoon sun and we all needed to cool off after the ascent in the sun! The next morning we got up for first breakfast and were leaving the. Read the full article…

Christlumkopf Ski Tour with Becky

Alastair BegleyAustria, Ski Touring Short Link

It seemed so simple when we came up with the idea, arrive at the Christlum ski area as it opened, skin up to the top, ski back down and get back to work in time for the afternoon, however it was only when I looked at how long the route took Adam and me a few weeks ago, that I realised this may have been a tad ambitious. I was keen to get out with Becky, as last weekend she had bought ski touring skis and we didn’t have a chance to use them, and this weekend the weather looks fairly snowy. So we came up with the above plan, which turned out to be a bit overambitious for a first ski tour, as there was no time at the top to chill out and eat some food before getting back down! The skin up the Rodelbahn was a great way to warm up and for Becky to get into the rhythm of ski touring, so we gently snaked our way up through the forrest, eventually appearing at the mid mountain and emerging from the forrest. Here we briefly skinned. Read the full article…

Pre work Hirschberg Skitour

Alastair BegleyAustria, Ski Touring Short Link

I certainly wasn’t convinced at the idea of a pre work ski tour when my alarm went off at 04:50, however I dragged myself out of bed and completed the 1h drive to the parking for Hirschberg. After getting fairly cold gearing up at the car, we soon headed off up the initial section of piste. I remember this initial section being brutal when I walked it, and it certainly felt just as brutal on skis in the dawn light. Eventually we made it to the top of the piste, and the end of the ski resort where we headed off into the forrest. Here it was much easier going and the track was wide enough to skin two abreast so it was fairly social. We followed the skin tracks off the main track and more towards the descent, which probably made progress slower, but it certainly made the ascent more beautiful. As we broke out of the woods the sun was just starting to hit the slopes as we emerged into the warm sunlight and glowing peaks. A few steep turns later and we were at the huts before. Read the full article…