Cross Country Magazine Travel Guide 2012/13 Preview

2012/13TRAVEL GUIDE

The Perfect PLACE 25 brilliant flying sites around the world

euroPe - north aMeriCa - south aMeriCa - afriCa - asia - australasia

VoluMe 2

www.gingliders.com GO FURTHER.

the art of knowing

where to go

XCMag Travel Guide 12.02.indd 1 23/02/2012 09:04:07

3Cross Country Magazine Travel Guide 2012 / www.xcmag.com

COVER PHOTO - Col de Rodello. Photo: Gudrun Öschl THIS PAGE Photos: Marcus King & Fredrik Gustafsson

elcome to the second issue of the Cross Country International Travel Guide – your inside track to some of the best free flight sites around the world. From Mexico to Morocco and from Italy to India we’ve talked to the people

on the ground, flown most of them ourselves, and worked hard to make this a guide that you can count on.

Some of the sites you’ll know, others might be new. One thing connects them all, and that’s their promise of beautiful flying in stunning locations. Some offer shuttle buses or cable cars to launch, others dusty tracks and a step into the unknown – but they all serve up an awesome day’s flying.

Wherever you might be heading, from a long weekend to a trip around the world, enjoy the guide. Send us a postcard or post a photo on our Facebook page – we’d love to hear what you’ve been up to.

See you in the air!

The Cross Country Team www.xcmag.com

Thanks ToMartin Romero Garayzabal (Argentina), Gavin Zahner (Australia), Flor Martínez Villada (Spain), Basilio Silva (Spain), Sabine Duvivier (China), Heniu Dyduch (China), Shi Yuming (China), Gudrun Öchsl (Italy), Kelly Farina (Italy & Slovenia), Charlie Piccolo (France), Davis Straub (USA), Ricker Goldsborough (USA), Mirjam Hampel (Germany), Burkhard Martens (Germany), Astrid Rao (India), Roger P. Frey (Spain), Till Gottbrath (Germany), Pierre Verrier (Morocco), Ali ES (Turkey), Mark Hardman (New Zealand), Bryan Moore (New Zealand), Kat West (New Zealand), Orlin Dimov (Bulgaria), Petar Gavrilov (Bulgaria), Frode Fester (Norway), Josh Morell (USA), Norm Young (USA), Sam Crocker (USA), Donato Fitch (USA), Nick Greece (USA), Jonathan Dietrich (USA) , Salvador Lara (Mexico)

The Travel Guide TeamOn the captain’s bridge: Ed EwingAt the wheel: Anthony GreenIn the engine room: Marcus KingSelling the tickets: Verity SowdenLooking for icebergs: Charlie King

The small PrinTCross Country Travel Guide is published by Cross Country International and distributed in the US by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville, PA. 17318-0437.Application to mail at periodicals publication rates paid at Emigsville, PA. Postmaster: send address changes to Cross Country, PO Box 437, Emigsville. PA 17318-0437.Cross Country Magazine is distributed in over 75 countries worldwide. Global copyright laws apply. The opinions in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Cross Country.

4 Cross Country Magazine Travel Guide 2012 / www.xcmag.com

CONTENTS3 Editorial

4 Contents

6 Kamshet, India

10 Wanaka, New Zealand

14 Zaachila and Fortin de las Flores, Mexico

18 Bright, Australia

22 Marshall, USA

26 Dune de Pyla, France

30 Garmisch, Austria

34 Flight parks, Florida

38 Lake Garda, Italy

42 Tolmin, Slovenia

46 El Yelmo, Spain

50 Mayrhofen, Austria

54 Woodrat, USA

58 Voss, Norway

62 Sopot, Bulgaria

66 Cervinia, Italy

70 Castejon de Sos, Spain

74 Pamukkale, Turkey

78 Gréolières, France

82 Col Rodella, Italy

86 Nid d’Aigle, Morocco

90 Taining, China

94 Traslasierra, Argentina

98 La Palma, Canary Islands

102 Travel Guide Directory


Somewhere, someone is flying. Photo: Jérôme Maupoint.

JANUARY

INDIA

KAMSHET

THE LURE Escape the northern winter and migrate to southwest India for a magical experience, both in the air and on the ground. Fly in T-shirts and shorts on easy soaring days or buckle up and go exploring on XC when the thermals kick in. The flying scene is vibrant and welcoming and offers a slice of colourful, unpackaged village India far from any tourist trail.

THE SET UPThe Western Ghats is a mountain range that runs along the western side of India. Kamshet is a small town in the Sayhadris, as the Ghats are called here, about 100km east of Mumbai. It’s a rural landscape dotted with lakes, sweeping hills and black cliffs.

Sanjay and Astrid Rao pioneered paragliding here in the 1990s and now run Nirvana Adventures. It’s now a training capital of India: lots of people from Mumbai or Pune come here to learn. For qualified pilots the flying is smooth and easy, with afternoon winds picking up to offer hours of soaring. XC pilots can pick their way around the hills, or head off on an adventure.

There are two main sites, 10km apart. Tower Hill faces

east and works in winter (November to February) while Shelar faces

west and works from January to May. June to September is monsoon.

Most pilots hook up with one of the handful of established paragliding guesthouses. They offer more than just a pilot package of food, transport and guiding – you will be embraced into the local scene and become very much part of the Kamshet flying world for a little while.

FLYING CONDITIONSIn winter the east wind builds during the morning and drops towards dusk. Pilots typically fly Tower Hill at 10am and then later in the afternoon, top landing easily to wait out the stronger winds of midday. Later in the season there is more thermic flying and the wind turns west: pilots walk across the flat, grass-topped Tower Hill and fly the west face.

In summer, mornings are too strong so most flying happens later in mellower conditions. Restitution kicks in most days and there is lift everywhere – flying continues until sunset. It’s a perfect place for pilots keen to clock up airtime and develop their skills.

For pilots keen to break the mould you can take off in the morning and go XC across an agricultural landscape dotted with lakes, hillsides and black cliffs. A day’s journey away and 100km as the crow flies is Panchgani, which offers greater XC potential. Taken together the two sites make a perfect two-week trip.

Cross Country Magazine Travel Guide 2012 / www.xcmag.com6

High over Shelar. Photo: David Obura

THE DETAILSWHEN TO GOTower Hill: November to February Shelar: March to May

ALTITUDE Tower Hill: 857m / 617m landingShelar: 720m / 640m Cloudbase: 1,800m, 3,000m possible

HANG GLIDER ACCESSPossible. Manpower can be arranged to carry the glider to take off.

MUST BE FLOWNMagic hour on Tower Hill at sunset is beautiful. Small classic routes exist: 10km from Tower Hill back to Nirvana’s guesthouse Native Place, or the 4km glide from Shelar to the same. More adventurous XCs are possible: pilots have flown across the Ghats to Karjat and elsewhere. Landing out is no problem and there is always a bus or rickshaw to jump on for retrieve.

WATCH OUT FORThe sites are below the Mumbai to Pune flightpath and planes pass at 1,800m. Watch for rotor if flying the west face of Tower Hill in a southwest wind.

In strong winds there is venturi to the left of takeoff on Shelar – a classic trap for unsuspecting pilots.

ACCOMMODATIONYou can stay in the hill stations of Lonavala and Khandala 30km away but most pilots stay closer to Kamshet. Native Place Guesthouse run by Astrid and Sanjay Rao is a friendly guesthouse with a tropical garden – pick your own papaya for breakfast – views over the lake, excellent food, a great ambience and good company. Choose from private rooms, the bunkhouse or tents.


Fred Gustafsson soars Tower Hill. Photo: Jonna Sture

Street life. Photos: Fredrik Gustafsson

May

France

Chamonix

INDIA

KAMSHETTAKE THE FAMILY AND RAINY DAYSChill in a hammock, swim in the lake, birdwatch, walk in the hills, visit 2,000-year-old Buddhist caves or sharpen your bargaining skills in the market. Pune is an hour away if you want to explore ashrams or go shopping.

WEATHER INFOLocals boast an average of 10 non-flyable days in an eight-month season. Weather at meteoblue.com (search Kamshet) or www.imd.gov.in.

GETTING THERE If staying at Native Place or similar fly to Mumbai and arrange an airport pick-up in advance to whisk you the three hours to Kamshet. If taking the bus from Mumbai head for Pune, but ask to be dropped off at the Rangoli restaurant on the highway near Kamshet. This is the pilot meeting place; you will need to arrange pick-up from there. Kamshet also has a train station.

USEFUL CONTACTS Nirvana Adventures: www.flynirvana.comNative Place Guesthouse: www.nativeplace.comTemple Pilots: www.templepilots.comIndus Paragliding: www.indusparagliding.comParagliding Mantra: www.paraglidingmantra.com


Sunset on Tower Hill. Photo: Fredrik Gustafsson

Local flora. Photo: Fredrik Gustafsson

January days are 26°C and blue skies. Photo: Fredrik Gustafsson

THAT WAS JUST A PREVIEWMARCH

THE LURE Known as a town for all seasons and with

tree-lined streets that provide summer shade

and brilliant colours every day, Bright is the

site to banish SAD syndrome and give your

year the perfect kickstart. It’s one of Australia’s

best and most easily accessible flying sites:

the house thermals Marcus and Emily will

almost always send you off on any number of

interesting XC routes.

THE SET UP In the heart of the Australian alpine region only

three hours north of Melbourne Bright is a small

resort town. Fifteen minutes away is the launch

of Mystic, probably Australia’s most accessible

launch. Mystic faces north (remember you are in

the southern hemisphere) in a north/south valley,

so the valley wind is always up the face. After

climbing out on one of the house thermals you

can fly any way you wish, or wherever the wind

blows you. Landing fields and roads in every

valley make retrieves and hitching easy and the

journey back to Bright is never very difficult.

The access road is leased and maintained by

the local flying club so a Mystic flying pass must

be purchased before using this site. Pilots can

get one at www.nevhgc.net.

FLYING CONDITIONSSpring and summer thermic conditions are

strong but very manageable with cloudbase

relatively high, usually above 2,500m. Narrow

valleys make transitions easy even for beginner

XC pilots. The region is well suited to big

triangles and competition task flying. With

no coastal influences and no airspace issues

nearby Bright is the perfect place for a first XC

flight and has also been home to many comps,

from local events to the Paragliding World Cup.


Climbing out above Mount Buffalo. Photo: Bill Oates

AUSTRALIA

BRIGHT

MAY

THE LUREPull your A’s, grab that stabilo line, put both

your brakes under you butt and hold, hold,

hold... Garda has been terrifying – and inspiring

– pilots for years.

THE SET UPSitting at 1,700m above one of Italy’s great

lakes is a giant, grass-top mountain seemingly

built by Mother Nature for paraglider pilots –

and cleverly named Monte Baldo by the Italians.

In calm air, 1,200m above the security of a lake,

pilots practise all the manoeuvres that have

always caused palms to sweat at this site. It is

one of the best SIV and acrobatic training sites

in the world, but also great for a relaxing boat

around with easy top landing options and truly

stunning views. The landing zone and cable car depart is

halfway up Lago di Garda at Malcesine, a

small town sitting on the thin line between

water and vertical mountains. This is one of the

major gateways into the Alps and is famous

for its wind. The super consistent Belair and

Ora winds have been blowing windsurfers and

sailing boats back and forth across the lake for

ages. Unfortunately, many pilots attempting to

land on the man-made postage-stamp landing

zone have also been pushed into the lake by

these winds. The ‘south’ take off works with west winds

and is less than 10 minutes by foot from the

top of the cable car. There is a big windsock

indicating the zone, but feel free to use

the whole grassy ridge for launching. The

‘north’ take off is for east winds and is at the

extreme northern end of the ridge. It is a little

bit steeper but still has golf course quality

grass. To get back to the lake make a quick

left after take off.


ITALY

LAKE GARDA Garda is perfect for SIV training. Photos: Gudrun Öchsl

MAY

THE LURE This is the Julian Alps: smaller than the

French Alps but still mountainous and still very

beautiful. Flying XC is easy and reliable here,

but don’t be fooled into thinking it is only for

beginners. Slovenia holds a major share of the

world records on offer, particularly in out and

return when pilots cover 200km flying into Italy

and back.

THE SET UP The Tolmin/Kobarid valley is the most famous

flying arena in Slovenia and encompasses a

section of the world record route. The launches

are called Stol, near Kobarid, and Kobala, near

Tolmin, at the other end of the east/west valley.

Shuttle buses run to launch in season.The valley is one of the most scenic and

memorable in Europe with its gently flowing

river down the centre and a good retrieve road

either side. You can see the Dolomites to the

west on a clear day, but the region is dominated

by 3,000m Triglav to the north. Launches and landings are grassy and

well maintained with good windsocks, clear

noticeboards and local club members often on

hand. To help keep everything nice, site fees of

€3 or €4 are applied on some sites, with weekly

and seasonal passes available. In case of

emergency, mountain rescue is free in Slovenia.

FLYING CONDITIONSThe season starts in late March or early April

depending on winter snowfall and when

the tracks open. The season goes through

to September, sometimes later. June can

sometimes be quite stable, but it becomes

unstable again late July and in August – this is

when the majority of world records have been

set.The air in Slovenia is never that rough or

rowdy and pleasant flights are enjoyed by most

levels of pilot.Forty minutes further south pilots can enjoy

thermalling all year round at a site called Lijak.

It is part of a 35km ridge where pilots regularly

clock up 100km OLC flights every month of the

year! Great for February or March getaways.


Green valleys and forested hills are typical of Slovenia. Photo: Marko Wramen

SLOVENIA

Tolmin

AUGUST

THE LUREThe small town of Sopot nestles at the foot

of the southern slopes of Stara Planina, the

longest mountain range in the Balkans. The

range runs for 560km, crossing Bulgaria from

its western border all the way to the Black Sea.

Sopot is in the middle. Apart from the main

ridge the surroundings are flatlands so there

is varied flying on offer, and little air traffic to

contend with. On good days, 100km out and

returns and triangles are regularly flown.

THE SET UPSopot is 140km east of Bulgaria’s capital

Sofia, and 60km north of Plovdiv, the country’s

second city and its cultural heart. Both cities

have international airports and Sopot can be

reached by bus or train from either. Take off is a

south-facing, grassy slope with a chairlift from

the landing area and car park, which are about

two kilometres outside of Sopot.

FLYING CONDITIONSFlying conditions are very strong in April

and May, with more than 5-6 m/s thermals.

Overdevelopment and thunderstorms are

common in May. Conditions are milder and

smoother but still very good from June to

August, and with south winds the entire ridge

works very well. Late autumn and winter can be

stable with inversions common, but on the right

days the combination of sunshine and cold air

unleashes the area’s potential for some great

winter cross country flying.


Bulgaria

Sopot

OCTOBER

ITALY

Col Rodella

THE LUREFlying the huge vertical cliffs of the 3,343m

Marmolada, better known as the Queen of the

Dolomites.

THE SET UPThe town of Campitello di Fassa sits at the

northern end of the Val di Fassa in the heart of the

Dolomites. From here four ideal grassy launches

are within easy reach. The most obvious site, Col

Rodella, has launches to the north, southeast and

southwest. Reached by cable car in less than 10

minutes from Campitello di Fassa, Col Rodella is the starting point for some of the

most scenic flying in the Alps. Big XCs are possible from here, but most don’t come for that. Instead pilots flock here for aerial sightseeing, knowing sharp skills are required to navigate safely. Buses in the

valley make retrieve easy.In October the cable car closes

and pilots head to Lokomotive and the Sella Pass.

FLYING CONDITIONSThe site is normally above the inversions that

plague other alpine areas in the autumn. Its

elevation also leads to its strong convection,

producing anything from mellow to thermo-

nuclear thermals. In spring and summer it can

be pretty violent and is only for the brave and

very experienced alpine pilots. September and

October offer more relaxed and less intense

flying with 2-6+m/s climbs. The general Fassa valley flow runs from

south to north and can be intuitively used to

get out from nowhere low down. Pilots who

understand valley winds and the Alps will

revel in the flying here. On the other side of

the coin pilots relying on the passive safety

of their gliders may feel uncomfortable at the

strongest time of day. So choose your launch

time carefully and be honest about your skill

level. On stable days thermals will be close in to

the steep, impressive rock walls. But on classic

unstable days triggers lower down work,

meaning you can fly here without getting too up

close and personal with the cliffs.

Take off at Langkofel, a quiet alternative close to Col Rodella. All photos: Gudrun Öchsl / profly-images.org


“It’s a must-have for every pilot.”

The full 100 page 2012/13 Travel Guide from Cross Country magazine features in-depth guides to 24 of the best flying sites around the world including the Alps, the USA, South America, Mexico, Australasia and Asia.

To get your FREE copy in print or as a digital download subscribe to Cross Country Magazine – every reader gets one as part of their subscription deal.

Alternatively, click on one of the blue buttons below to buy it now.

Subscribe toCross Country

magazine

Purchase theTravel Guideprint edition

Purchase theTravel Guidedigital edition

Cross Country Magazine Travel Guide 2012/13 Preview

Documents

Transcript of Cross Country Magazine Travel Guide 2012/13 Preview