www.FlyingMax.com – Paragliding

Today I picked up Dave from Munich. First things first and Dave made sure not to be hungry for today.
Now we can start with scouting out the xAlps route in person (not just Google Earth) and get organize the last bit and pieces for the race.
The weather forecast looks good for the next week and we will start

our tour from the Nova headquarters in Terferns heading to the Zugspitze and then to Sulden.
I will have my Spot turned on so you can follow us where we are and if anyone is in the area, please stop by to say hi and if possible share your local knowledge with us.

Here is the link of my Spot page
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0XsW0AKZFVY4Ry5pL8qqCX2ut164OPee5

I arrived in Germany June 6th and everything is coming along very well. Thanks to my brother Dieter to pick me up from the airport and the tour in Munich and my brother Uli to arrange a car from www.autohaus-fersch.de/ to be able scout out the xAlps route in the next 3 weeks. Once

we packed up, I drove to Lenggries to meet up Mik Broschart (our second xAlps supporter) to get some intensive training and workout done with Google Earth. Besides working with Google earth and figure out logistics, we were able to get a 2 hour flight in at Brauneck and long hike (with some thunderstorms) in the Lenggries area. Tomorrow I will head to Munich to pick up Dave (Gorzilla) and then we will head to Innsbruck to get started to pound the route by foot and in the air.

How is the training coming along? This is pretty much a question I get asked at least once a day.

Training is coming along very well. We have been super busy with www.ColumbiaRiverKayakCanoe.com, paragliding lessons, www.Appointment.com and family life.

From the training perspective, I feel better then I ever have been. I think it is more so because I am listening more to Penny’s advice and simply make sure not to over-train.

Otherwise I have a pretty good routine which involves spin-classes and the Yoga sessions at the www.shapeupinvermere.com/,and the training program and coaching from Penny which includes the daily hikes around Mt. Swansea, the Lakeview Meadows stairs and the gym.

This seams to be working very well as I feel strong and fit.

Overall we had a pretty good spring and I also got a fair share of flying in strong Rocky Mountain spring conditions which increased my confidence level quite a bit for this season. Another reason my confidence level is boosted is that I am very happy and excited to fly the new Mentor 3 light this year. The Mentor 3 is not new to me as I flew a prototype during the Nova SIV course last October at Achensee and really loved it. Further, it shows that the Mentor 3 will be a good pick as there will be a total of 4 xAlps pilots using the Mentor 3 in this years xAlps race.

Currently I am still flying the Mentor 2 and my new Mentor 3 light is just about ready and I should get it when I am in Germany next week.

Besides the daily hikes around Mt. Swansea and the “grunts” on the Lakeview Meadows stairs, working out in the gym and flying in the Rockies,  I give Google Earth a good workout to find the best xAlps route. To know the route and to explore the route before the race is critical. Our biggest disadvantage is that we do not know the area as well as the locals do. This year I am heading to Europe early (tomorrow) and my plan is to walk and fly the whole route before the race starts.

I will keep you updated once I start with scouting out the route and will have my Spot running so you can follow me.

coming from Canmore to bbq for everyone. Love you all!