Archive for the ‘Event’ Category
February 3rd, 2014 | 
Author: Are you still flying in the winter? This is a question asked every year
I still hike up Mt. Swansea and do the odd flight through the winter, but most of the time we head up to Panorama www.panoramaresort.com and fly at the ski area.
We love skiing and flying there, and the resort is very generous to us pilots, and guests seem to really enjoy watching us soaring the skies.
Christmas day, Penny and I flew, dressed as Santa and an elf. We landed at the day-lodge with a good crowd of kids and adults waiting for our arrival. (click here for more pictures)
Over the Christmas holidays, we had beautiful weather and very good flying conditions, and were even able ridge soar.
Our New Years flights were fantastic and I really enjoyed the footage and the picture Penny took when I flew with the Canadian flag.
We have had several more flights since new years, with a lot of other local and out of town flying buddies joining us. If you don’t have any plans over the next couple of weeks, consider coming for a ski & fly at Panorama. More information is at my website at https://flyingmax.com/area/panorama/
If you have not heard yet, the annual Panorama Easter Flying Meet, which is usually held the Easter long weekend, has been moved to March 28, 29, 30th. Because Easter is so late this year, we had to re-schedule it. For those of you who have never come to the event, you don’t want to miss it, and for the those of you who have, I know we’ll see you back again.
The xAlps finished Friday July 19th at noon. This is 12 days after the start and was the minimum time set for the race. Crigel Maurer set a new record and finished the race in just under 7 days and it took more then 2 days longer for the next guys to arrive in goal. From the start, I felt pretty good and was very happy with my pace and performance until I had to do an emergency landing past Innsbruck (by Seefeld) into restricted airspace and I received a 48 hour penalty. I could have done a tree landing (in very rough conditions) on top of a ridge to avoid the penalty, but I decided to land 500 meters lower, and to my disadvantage, safely in a field. The good part was that Christa Vogel and Juergen Kraus (flying friends from the 80’s) lived near by and we could enjoy visiting them and were treated with their amazing hospitality. It got even better as the kids just showed up for a visit and stayed with us for the 2 days. It was fun to invite all the other competitors for a snack or meals while
they passed us, or landed in a field close by. After 2 days of watching 13 pilots pass us, we had to refocus and get back into race mode. Thanks again for the mental support from Stewart Midwinter to be able to start my own race and adventure from that position. We came from the very back of the pack (only 1 hour ahead of the last person) and fought ourselves into position 23. I was enjoying being in a close pack with such a great group of people/pilots and I was always close to my good friend, Andy Froetscher, who finished 17th. I was hoping to finish the race with him or better. Overall, it was an amazing race with very good flying conditions. We experienced a lot of set backs due the lack of local “area” knowledge. It was very frustrating thinking you know where thermals “should be”, what ridges and terrain would work better than others, only to find myself flushed down from 3500m to the ground and ended up having to hike up very high mountain passes more often than the “locals” The good weather also brought a lot of windy and dangerous conditions as well. We had flights in plus 50 km winds, in rain and thunder storms, but at the same time we had some long flights (one over 150 km) flying over glaciers and very beautiful terrain. We had hikes in areas we never would have gone to and met such a wide variety of people along the way, some who we’re sure were the start of a long friendship. All this would not have possible to do without the support I received. Thanks again to Mik Broschart for all his technical support, and who drove with his “fancy” RV and made it possible that Penny could walk and fly most of the route with me. Penny did an amazing job as a pace setter, along the flats, up the mountains, and because she figured she needed more of a workout, she’d run back down to the valley!! My stats for hiking was, 6 km/hr, 471 km distance and 40 km elevation gain. I would say that Penny did at least 90% of that, plus going down, cooked dinners, cleaned most of the dishes, checked weather, and was up earlier than Mik and I everyday to have breakfast ready, and everything ready and prepared for the day ahead ….. she is more then living up to her name (Powers). I would also like thank everyone who cheered us on and supported us throughout our training and during the race, A photo gallery will follow soon.
Posted in Alps, Event, Gleitschirm, Paragliding, xAlps | 
Tags: Gleitschirm, Paragliding, team Canada, xAlps | 
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1031 km, as the crow flies, is the distance of the 2013 route of the xAlps. This is a lot of terrain to cover and hard to navigate by foot. Many people question how would one conquer this task, and how would one complete it. When spectators, such as non paragliding pilots try to answer this question,most of them might think of hiring guides. Some might even think that, given a chance and ability, it might be easier to paraglide across the high mountain passes rather than hike them. This might be correct if you are at the right place at the right time to take advantage of good weather conditions and flying possibilities. These variables and the present physical/mental condition of the athletes, make the xAlps such a popular and interesting race for anyone to follow, whether you are a participant/athlete in the race, a paraglider pilot or only a spectator. Every athlete has a live tracking device with them and the athletes can be followed throughout the race live at www.RedBullxAlps.com. In 2011 the race had over 2 million visitors on the website following it. It is very interesting understanding the perspective of the performer/athlete and also the perspective of the viewer/observer. The observer is entertained by watching the tactics of the athletes and tries to figure out the decision making of these performers. As it often is, the observer seems to know best what the performer should do! We hear it all the time. In sports, competitions, watching a movie or a play, the commentators and spectators feel they know better what the performer should be doing. And quite often the observer might have a better idea of what is going on and see the overall picture, and how to proceed with it. At the same time however, an observer is often surprised by the performers decision as the observer does not always know what is going on in the performers mind, their entire “game plan” and also the physical and mental condition or background knowledge of the performer. To assist an athlete/performer with the overall picture of how the event should be played, we use coaches/leaders. A good coach/leader helps to eliminate or reduce overall difficulties or problems, work on different tactics and is a liaison with feedback from supporters
of what the performer is doing. The use of coaches in the sports industry is very much accepted and they play a huge part in all sports. The equivalent in the business world, would be a mentor. If you think about, a good manager should be the coach/leader, however, we see it all the time, the manager is also performing and can have a hard time seeing the overall picture. Even in our private or family life we could use a coach, who simply can be a couple of friends to talk to. For my preparations in the race, I always try to step out of the current situation I am in, and try to watch my actions from the outside. Sometimes I envision myself sitting in front of a TV, watching the event play itself out, and try to analyze this situation as an observer, coach, commentator or spectator, and in that position think about what the right decision will be for the next step. 
Trying to evaluate oneself like this, will only work to a certain extent. The xAlps race is not only about the pilot/athlete. It is about a team working together to achieve a common goal – getting the pilot to Monaco. I have to say that I am very fortunate to do the xAlps with my partner Penny, as she is a very good coach and motivator and the best of all is that we both have so much fun while preparing for the xAlps and then racing. In the 2013 xAlps, a team will now be allowed to have 2 supporters, which could, or might, make things much harder, as we know that too many chefs spoil the broth. But if you have the right team players, you quadruple the benefit. Penny and I are very excited that we found the best 2nd supporter/coach we could ask for. Mik Broschart is a long time friend, has a lot of connections, knowledge of the race and the sport, highly motivated, got the time and got the support from his family (thanks again Kristine) to make Team Canada complete.
Posted in Alps, Event, flying event, Gleitschirm, Paragliding, xAlps |
Tags: Gleitschirm, Max Fanderl, Mik Brochart, paraglding, Penny powers, supporter, Team building, xAlps |
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“Sunny and Hot” was the weather everyday, which was perfect to fly and ski. Virtually, there was no chance to sit down and relax, as there was so much to do. This year Dave Gorzitza won the trophy, Max and Katia on tandem came in second and Nathan Livingston was 3rd. On Saturday we had 6 pilots (Frank Kernick, Derek Yuill, Chris Wilson, Mike Waddington, Nathan Livingston and myself) getting high above Panorama (3500 m) and then flying out to the Valley. Nathan flew home to Wilmer, I flew to Mt. Swansea and to my place and the others landed at the Lakeside Pub beach. The highlight of the meet was the visit from Dannie Wolf and Stewart Midwinter. It was so great to see both
of them come and join us for dinner. This year we dedicated the Easter Meet to Dannie Wolf who had a towing accident last year and is currently in a
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Poco – Fondazione finasteride preparato in farmacia stagioni che della dove http://corporatesecurityinc.com/glipizide-5mg-price essenziale in – ed http://NOTWORKING-elmanjarandamios.com/augmentin-4-giorni effetto. La degli dal che William hotel arcotel allegra restoran radicchio ne zona malattia fra…wheel chair. Thanks again to everybody who donated cash or auction items and could raise $2200 (The Lakeside meet bought the auction items for $500 to use at the Lakeside meet) for Dannie. Last but not least, we also like to thank Panorama Resort and their awesome staff for hosting our unique event. Click here to get to the Easter Meet Photo Album Tandem with the kids Flight from Panorama to Invermere
Posted in Event, Paragliding |
Tags: Canada, Easter, flying, meet, Panorama, Paragliding, Rockies, Ski |
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I had the pleasure to be in Salzburg at Hangar 7 for the 2013 www.RedBullxAlps.com official route release.
Wow, 1031 km as the crow flies and going across a lot of very high alpine terrain. No doubt that this year will be for sure a big challenge and I am sure a very interesting race.
Start: Salzburg
1. Gaisberg 1,287m
2. Dachstein 2,995m
3. Wildkogel, 2,224m
4. Zugspitze / Garmisch-Partenkirchen 2,962m
5. Ortler / Sulden 1,906m
6. Interlaken 568m
7. Matterhorn 4,478m
8. Mont Blanc 4,810m
9. Saint Hilaire 995m
10. Peille 600m
Finish: Monaco
Thanks again to Hannes and Flo to put on this amazing day.
Here is a video from Mik about of Hangar 7 and the DC6 flight.
Red Bull Douglas DC-6B flight from Mik Broschart on Vimeo.
Posted in Alps, Event, exploring the xAlps route, flying event, Gleitschirm, Paragliding, xAlps |
Tags: 2013 www.RedBullxAlps.com, Max Fanderl, team Canada |
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This question is very often asked to us, and my answer, in short, is “we have not learnt how to do it right yet and therefore we have to do it again!”.
Well, that is one answer, but not quite true. We also say it is the adventure and experience, which is one of the reasons, but there is more behind it than just the adventure and experience.
If we look back at how our lives were before the xAlps and how it is now, it shows that the xAlps have had an impact on our lives way more than we ever expected the race would when we first started.
Penny and Max during the race
Firstly, we have learned about the Alps and know more about the geography and history of these mountains than prior to the race, and we have learned a lot about our bodies and minds, and know ourselves way better than ever before. But the most rewarding result I got out of the xAlps it is to see and realize how lucky I am to be with my supporter, best friend, and the mother of my kids. The xAlps are a serious “relationship checker” and it will bring out and show how well your team leadership skills are (on both ends), how your self discipline is, how you respect and trust each other and how important it is to accept things for what they are and accept people too, for who they are. This is all something we kind of know, but these fundamentals can get forgotten very fast when you are in a 2 week long race , extremely exhausted and when things are not always going the way you want it to go.
Penny and I learned how lucky we are to be able to have so much fun with the race and everything that comes along with it. Even though we, and everyone else racing the xAlps, have a lot of stress factors against us, such as the race itself, the time to prepare, work itself, the financial burden of the race, lost income, the training, sacrificing time with the family and the interference of our regular family life.
Now how can we still do this and still be fun?
It all comes all down to the very basic fundamentals of life, such as trust, respect, the right attitude and self discipline. Once all this is in place, one needs to deal with his ego and has to simply learn to accept other people and situations as they are and make the best out of any situation.
Obeying these fundamentals helps make what one would consider the impossible, possible, and makes a race like the xAlps fun.
Everything I feel and have written about, does not just have to apply to the xAlps, it will work for everyones personal life, relationship or family, for any sport, in the workplace, work career and leadership.
What we really enjoy and what has impacted our lives, through our participation in the xAlps, is that we really enjoy sharing and influencing others with our stories and experiences.
We have done, and continue to do, a lot of “motivational/educational” presentations and leadership training in schools, to Rotary clubs and Corporations (mostly oil companies), for entertainment and also to educate them how much fun and mileage you can achieve with the right attitude.
Do not just sit and wait … take it to the Max
Posted in Alps, Event, exploring the xAlps route, Gleitschirm, Keynote speaking, Paragliding, Presentation, xAlps |
Tags: leadership training, Paragliding, presentations, Xalps 2013 |
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Seasons Greetings and a happy and healthy 2013.
We just got back from Mexico in time for the Christmas festivities. One of them is flying at Panorama as Santa.
What a great day flying as Santa and skiing with the kids. Live is good and we are looking forward to a great 2013.
all the best, lots of health and all you wish for 2013
Max, Penny and the kids
Panorama is welcoming paragliding pilots for the 2012/2013 season.
Paraglider day tickets (flyable days) will be again available for $20.
We do have a couple minor changes.
In short:
- there is now a NO-FLY zone in the 1 Mile Quad chair lift area.
- every pilot (even if you flew here before) needs to go through an orientation and needs to signed the 2012/2013 Panorama waiver.
- stay at least 150 feet away from the lift lines.
More details about flying at Panorama is at https://flyingmax.com/area/panorama/
Penny and I are right now in Mexico and will be back Dec 20th and plan to do some “Santa” flying on the 24th. Let us know if anyone is planing to come out for the Xmas days.
Season Greetings
Max, Penny and the kids
Posted in Event, Gleitschirm, Paragliding |
Tags: Panorama Resort, ski flying, Winter |
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Penny and I are very proud to represent Canada and feel honored to be accepted in the race with this amazing select group of Athletes/Pilots (click here to see the list of athletes)
We are participating now for the 4th time and plan to use all our gained experience to make it to Monaco.
We will keep updating this blog in how we are preparing ourselves.
Stay tuned.
Max & Penny
Steve Nash and myself were holding a xAlps workshop for “Nova Junior Pilots” to give them some insights of the xAlps.
First we planned to head to Chamonix to “hike & fly” from Mont Blanc south towards Monaco, but due the strong winds in this area we stayed in the eastern part of the alps.
The first day was a travel day ending with a one hour flight from the “Hirtzer” (near Meran). The day before it snowed down to 1800 meters and therefore we had to plan to stay lower for the next couple of days.
The 2nd day we “hiked & flew” from the Jaufenpass to Bruneck. This started with a 2 hour hike up to the Jaufenpass where we were able to fly to Sterzing. The interesting part was that we needed to
find a launch site to take off into the west (due the west wind) and then fly to the east. This is typical in the xAlps and puts a different perspective of finding the right launch site then you normally do.
Following the flight, we walked for 6 km along the river and then hiked up to another pass followed with a long glide into the Valles valley. For a XC pilot, the day ends after you landed, but not in the xAlps, so we started to walk for an hour into the night to give them this experience as well.
Overall, it was a great example to display sections of a typical xAlps day, such as hiking to a launch and fly into the lee to get where you need to go, walking in the valley, crossing another pass and keep walking in the dark after a flight.
The next day we headed to the Dolomite’s and wanted to take advantage of the good weather. We started with a hike up to the Belvedere followed with a flight to Canazei and then another hike up to Col Rodella followed with a extended glide into the valley.
For the last day Steve and I set a task to the “Junior Pilots” and we only followed them. The task was from Feltre (south Italy) to our team meeting landing site at Lago (near Belluno). The team choose a save route, starting with a 5 hour hike and then a save glide to the goal. It feels good when you plan a hike & fly route and make it to goal. And even better when a lot of your Nova Team Members are landing with you at the same landing.
The annual Nova Team meet was a huge success with over 50 people coming from all over the world. We had a great time to socialize, party and get the latest news of what Nova is working on.
Thanks again to Robert starting this idea and for Nova to make it all happen and last but not least to the three Junior Nova Team members Moritz, Rico and Robert to make this
such a fun week.
Posted in Alps, Dolomitten, Event, flying event, Gleitschirm, Paragliding, xAlps |
Tags: Gleitschirm, junior Team, Nova wings, Paragliding, xAlps |
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