Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
July 16th, 2011 | 
Author: I wish I had some more time to update more of the last couple of days. We are very busy with the program, last minute preparations and the kids. We are missing the kids already. Thanks again for Opa and Oma to look after them while we are gone.
You can get daily updates in text, photo and video about and off us at http://www.redbullxalps.com/no_cache/athletes/athlete-diary/max-fanderl.html Thanks for all your cheers and support. Max, Penny, Katia and Erik
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We are getting closer and closer to the race start. The last couple of weeks have passed very fast with all the action. First of all, I am very happy to have my family back. Penny, Katia
and Erik came last week and things have been even busier than before. (no surprise though) . To go back a couple weeks….After I completed the flights with the CT (www.flightDesign.com), I traveled to Innsbruck to get my wing for the race. The wing was a proto Factor2 which was has never been flown before. After my first flight, we decided to let Pipo (Nova Test Pilot) fly the wing as well to get his comments and feedback. It turned out the large Factor2 was by no means ready yet. They needed to do some changes within the canopy and as well as it needing to be trimmed. Time is running out, so Nova and I have decided that Nova build a Mentor2 in a light version. I am glad we did that instead of trying to finish the large Factor2, as it is already so late in getting the wing before the race start. Believe it or not, I still do not have it, but will pick up the wing on our way to Salzburg tomorrow. 
Just to clarify, the Factor2 in small and medium sizes are finished and certified, and the large is just about there as well. I flew with Steve Nash (Team UK) for one week and he is very happy with his small Factor2. For the past couple of weeks, Nova gave me a large Mentor2 demo wing, in order for me to get used to the wing. After Insnsbruck, I headed to Silian to meet up with my friends Stefan, Susanne and Wendelin at www.Bluesky.at. They are such super people and so friendly, and I only can recommend to stop by their store/school when you are going to the Dolomite’s. Wendelin has competed for several years in the Dolomite Man competition, and seeing him a couple of weeks ago, gave me a great opportunity to discuss with him route details. While staying at www.Bluesky.at, I met Richard Pethigal (Team Brazil) and we both hiked and checked out the route from the Tre Cime to Meran. The weather was not good at all and I headed back to Germany as it was time I put a couple of solid days of work in. 
Not long after, I met with Steve Nash (Team UK) in Innsbruck. I traveled there by train and we continued to Meran to check out the route from Meran to PizPalue. We did it by train so we could move forward without having to worry about the car. The weather was only semi good for 2 days and the rest of the week we had some rain and the north Foehn. The first day we hiked up in the Meran area and stayed in a hut. The day after, we flew for about 20 km in north wind conditions (not the best for this area). We ended up on the Stilfzer Joch (second highest paved pass in the Alps at 2770m) via train and bus. The next day we hiked up to 3000m to find a great launch site. We managed to get off around 11:00 am and flew west of Bormio. The winds got stronger and we were not able to fly the route we planned. After landing and on our way to Livigno a local pilot convinced us to go up again for another flight and it turned out to be very mellow this time, but still not bringing us there where we wanted to go. Later that day we headed to Livigno and the day after to the Piz Palue turn point. The “north” route was actually more challenging, as we thought it would be. It is the shortest way, but certainly not the easiest due the high mountain passes. 
From Piz Palue we headed to St. Moritz and explored the route from there to Bellinzona, which included a great hike in the rain over a high pass. The weather did not look very promising and we decided to take the train to Locarno and then further west to Santa Maria Maggiore to see how the route would look heading direct to the Monte Rosa area and then over the high glacier pass, which Maurer took 2 years ago. This is for sure the shortest way, but for sure a very difficult stretch to fly around the no-fly zone and with a narrow valley below. After that experience we headed back to Bellinzona and with no accommodation to be found, we ended up staying overnight beside the bike storage area of the youth hostel, which was also booked up. We stayed overnight x-alps style, sleeping in my wing. The day after we headed up to the Sankt Gotthard pass without any flights as the north foehn was just too much. The weather did not look too promising to keep on going, so we took the train to Kempten (Germany) and we managed to get a great hike and flight the next day at Tegelberg flying over the Neuschwanstein Castle before Steve had to head back to the UK. 
Since then I got a couple very good x-country flights with the Mentor2 before picking up Penny and the kids. The week with the kids and Penny has been fantastic, and thanks to Oma and Opa, Penny and I have had some good times hiking and flying in the Allgauer Alps. Now we picked up the rental car, got all the supplies organized and will be heading to Innsbruck to pick up my wing and then to Fuschel am See to camp with the kids and the grandparents. This will give us some time to explore the Salzburg to Dachstein area with hiking and flying. Everything is coming together very nicely and our spirits are high. We are looking forward to the last week of preparations. Max and Penny
Rain and thunderstorms everywhere. I guess we picked one of the worst weeks to check out the xAlps route from the air. I took advantage of the weather and connected with Lloyd Pennicuik’s (2009 Team Australia) friend Maria who stored all his maps at her place. Lloyd is lending us his hiking maps from the last race. Now I had some time checking out the maps and got confirmed what I could find out with Google Earth. Anyhow, the good old paper sure feels beats Google Earth on the trail, thanks Lloyed.
At Geneva the weather got better and we were able to fly into the mountains at Albertville. From there we explored the xAlps route along Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne and headed up the pass via Valloire. The top of the pass was clouded in and and we had to head back to Albertville and fly to the west and following the big range of mountains passing by Grenoble. This roue was very interesting and now flying there makes a lot of sense why Alex Hofer flew this route in 2007. If you have a NW flow and cloud-base below 2600m this is the way to go as you have a long ridge to fly along instead of crossing big valleys and climbing big clouded in passes. 
We flew right down to Barcelonnette and headed up the Colde la Bonette pass. From there we decided to fly back and land down in Barcelonnette
to get some fuel. The airport guy was super nice and told us to fly to Gap as the fuel is way cheaper there. So we did, fueled up and flew back to Colde la Bonette pass and followed the valley down to Isolo. We did the mistake and turned into the Isolo valley as we thought that would be the way to go. Pretty soon we found out we were one valley to early. Good thing to find this all out in a motorized aircraft instead a paraglider. Even from there down to Monaco was not as obvious as you would think. I am glad we flew an extra loop around Sospel and Monaco as this all does not look as clear you would think. 
From Monaco we explored the route back to Barcelonnette and stayed there over night. The next day was blue sky and we started flying around 8:30 am and headed north from Barcelonnette to Col de Vars and then to Guillestre. From there we checked out the valley up to Briancon and then up Col du Galibier. The pass at Col Du Galibier is where we had to turn around the day before. From there we explored the Col de la Madaleine pass. From there we checked out the area going to Mt. Blanc. Mt. Blanc had a wild wave cloud on top. 
Anyways, the weather was still go to check out the whole route around the Mont Blanc right to the Matterhorn. From the Matterhorn on it started to cloud in and we able to get to Furkapass and Neufenen Pass and the south was all covered in low cloud. I was happy to get in as much as we did and we headed back to Germany which was overcast but dry.Thinking back what we have done June 3/4th and considering the weather conditions, flying the CT was absolutely outstanding. The CT from www.flightDesign.com is an amazing airplane and really puts Ultralight flying into a different dimension. The speed, fuel economy, space (for 2 people) and handling is outstanding. 
Thanks again Matthias and Henry to lend us your great plane for this job. We do appreciate this sponsorship a lot and will be proud to have your logo on my paraglider. Also, I could not have done this without Andreas, as I like to mention, having the best tools does not really mean you are the best crafts man, thanks again to Andreas Boehl (www.flyingBoehl.de) who is not just an excellent pilot but also an amazing guy understanding the weather in the Alps.
We still had a lot of snow in May. The weather was very unstable and had very strong conditions. I got a couple nice flights in which was great to get used the new “Advance Lightness” harness. It took me a while to get it set up right. Flying with it is very comfortable and it took a couple flights to get used to it. I am very happy with it and the combination with the backpack is a very good combination.
Overall training went very well and adding the Invermere Fitness Centre aerobic and yoga sessions rounded up the whole training. 
Penny is in a very good shape as well.
Last weekend she did a 25 km trail run at Nippika and she came in 4th overall and 2nd in her age group. That is very good considering she run 27 km as she got lost in the first 10 km.
Last week I did the mistake by overstretching my back which resulted into some muscle spasm which forced me to slow down for half a week. Noting was lost in this week as I spend more time with Google maps to study the route.
Now I am getting ready to pack up my stuff as I will fly to Munich in a couple of days. Penny and the kids will follow June 29th and I miss them already.
What a surprise…. Copper Point Resort had its first opening day on Friday May 27th and gave us a $2000 check to support Team Canada for the www.RedBullxAlps.com. We flew with BobbyJo (Marketing and Sales Manager) off Mt. Swansea and landed right beside the resort where we received the cheque. Pretty cool, would love to do more tandem flights like that!
While we packed up we also had the chance to greet the first hotel guest checking in.
Once you get into the area, check out the new resort, which is amazing and impressive, or check out their website at http://www.copperpoint.ca/,.
Thanks again Copper Point Resort, we do appreciate it.
Thanks to everyone who donated items for the silent auction and to all our great friends who came to the party.
Wow, that was a great one. We had about 150 people show up and everyone seemed to have had a blast.
On Saturday morning about 10 people hiked up Mt. Swansea (4 from the house and the rest from half way up the mountain). The flying conditions were not good at all as we had very strong SE gusting winds. No problem though, we just had a reason to start the party earlier as planned, and all of us had a nice hike down together.
Thanks again to Frank and Tracye for hosting the party at their house., and welcoming so many people to their home. Thanks also to Brian and Judy, Tracye’s parents for all their help and hard work throughout the day and the evening, and to Brad for keeping the barbecuing going, and to Sarah for all her hard work with the silent auction. The best babysitter for the kids was the bouncy castle which Frank and Tracye organized. And a big thanks to Cheri for face-painting so many excited kids. The faces were just awesome. Also a huge thanks to everyone else who helped out to make the whole day such a great experience.
The party (BBQ and Silent auction) brought in just over $7000.00, which is amazing and a huge wow. We knew before applying how much money this race would cost us (about $20.000), but it is amazing how much support we received from the community willing and wanting to help us with our endeavour. See the list of supporters at
https://flyingmax.com/xalps/sponsors-and-supporters/
Check out the pictures (thanks Kathy Tam as she did most of the pictures) and everyone else who has some pictures, please load them up as well.
Frank and Tracy are hosting the
Team Canada xAlps fundraiser party
May 14th
at their house at Lakeview Meadows.
Camping is available at Frank & Tracey’s place or at our place.
FOR NON PILOTS:
BBQ, Silent auction, and jam night.
Burger & salads: $10/person (Kids: $5)
Burger, salads, keg beer (as much as you want till it’s gone): $20/person
Silent auction:
Lots of great items to be auctioned.
If you have any items or services you would like to donate, please contact Penny.
Tracye organized a bouncy castle and Cherri Hann will do face painting for the kids.
Jam with Duncan McDonald.
Bring your instruments and friends who would like to jam it up. Dancing all evening too.
We will also have several harnesses set up as flight simulators, for anyone who would like to feel how it is to fly.
FOR PILOTS:
9:30 am pilots meet in front of Frank and Tracye’s house
$10 for pilots who are hiking
$20 for pilots who want to get their wing driven up
$40 for pilots whw want to have a ride with their wing
X-country task will be assigned on launch.
Here are some photos from the 2009 fundraiser.
Hope to see you all.
Max & Penny
Easter is still a week away, but the Panorama Ski Resort closed on April 10 so we decided to hold our annal Easter Meet the closing weekend.
Friday was a perfect blue sky day and later in the afternoon some good flights could be logged. Trevor with www.SoarTheRockies.com did a maiden flight on his rebuild “Libelle” over the summit and between the paragliders. It was a fantastic show for everyone. When I arrived at Panorama and headed up the mountain, I watched Frank climb out and head out to the valley, and he landed at the Lakeside Pub. I got up there late and had to land at the resort, as we had another xAlps presentation for the resort in the early evening.
23 pilots showed up on Saturday, and between everyone, there were about 86 flights with lots lasting up to about 40 minutes. It was kind of high overcast and the sun was not strong enough to create the bigger thermals. It was a great day for pilots and spectators, as the sky was filled with pilots, and at the end of the day we had 8 pilots landing at the day-lodge.
On Sunday only about 7 pilots managed to get a flight in before the wing got too strong and was very cross at take-off. We wrapped up the event at noon and then enjoyed the “Slush-Cup” and some great afternoon skiing with family and friends.
One of my highlights was flying tandem with Katia and Erik. On the end, Erik and I shared 1st place for the event, as Erik dropped his easter egg from 300 feet right into the target and we ended up landing on target. Katia and I had a great flight but missed with our easter egg drop. The kids were very proud when they received their own trophies as the youngest competitors of the event.
I have put up some pictures at my picasa album, check them out and add more if you have some.
Happy landings from Erik, Katia, Penny and myself.
Training in March is coming along very well. Even though spring does not seam to show any signs yet, training switched from X-country skiing to to hiking and walking. Live and work is very busy and if I am not able to train during the day, I am spending a lot of time hiking and walking during the night hours. I pretty much train every day to get into a routine. Most
of my training is now walking and hiking for several hours with a full backpack. The backpack makes a big difference as this will also strengthen my core and shoulders. Most of my walks I combine with climbing stairs. We do have a 40 meter vertical set of stairs going down to the beach which I will do at least 3-5 times after a multi hour fast walk including all my gear. The hikes are still in the snow and when the snow gets to soft or to icy I am wearing my snow-shoes. My plan is to do multi- hour walks/hikes for several days in a row and then train for a day or 2 in the gym. 
You can see my progress on my MovesCount page or even see how I am doing compared to the other xAlper at http://www.movescount.com/groups/group1115-Red_Bull_X-Alps_Athletes
Last week we headed to Silverstar with the whole family. Unreal how much snow these guys have and how much still was coming down in the week we stayed there. Penny participated in 3 races and had the following results 15 km classic ski, 6th overall and fastest Canadian 1o km classic ski, 8th overall and fastest Canadian 30 km classic ski, 6th overall and fastest
Canadian Way to go Penny we are all so proud of you. Considering Penny raced only a 15 km and a 30 km in cross country ever before. Some of the worlds best coaches say “if she would now learn how to ski, she will be for sure one of the best skiers in Canada. We had an excellent time there, we shared a suite with the Tamelin’s (3 kids from 6 to 12) and the kids never had a dull moment. We spend time cross country skiing, down hill skiing, skating,
toboggan, hot tubbing with rolling in the snow and tubbing. The kids loved tubbing the best. I had enough time to get work done as we had very good internet connection and i got about 10 hours of cross country skiing in. Most of my skiing was at night and sometimes challenging due the poor visibility with all that snow. Skiing at night for up to 2 hours with poor visibility defiantly hones your orientations skills.
