Posts Tagged ‘Paragliding’
April 5th, 2013 | 
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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
diltiazem
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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Flight with camera in the wing
Flight with extended camera
Posted in Gleitschirm, Paragliding |
Tags: Invermere, Mt. Swansea, Paragliding, Windermere Lake |
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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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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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After the Octoberfest I drove back to Sillian as I was guiding one more week in the Dolomite’s for Bluesky.at. We were a group of 12 pilots including Lucille from Edmonton and the weather was awesome. The first day we flew at Monte Piano (next to the 3 Zinnen) and the rest of the week we flew at Col Rodella and Belvedere. On 2 days most people logged flights with over 2 hour.
Every morning some of the participants joined for a “hike & fly” before breakfast to enjoy the morning air. The last morning was very spectacular as we could watch and fly over the cold air (fog) flushing over the Corvara pass down to Arabba.
Now I am on my way to Achensee for the Nova SIV.
Posted in Alps, Dolomitten, Gleitschirm, Paragliding |
Tags: Alpen, Alps, Dolomite, dolomitten, Gleitschirm, Paragliding |
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After the
“Flight with the Balloons“flight, we managed to get one more flight from St. Hilare and then headed to the Dolomite’s. By the way, Mik’s video had over 26000 views in the first 7 days, which I was very surprised by. A massive low pressure system moved over Europe and the week for flying in the Dolo’s did not look very promising. The tour started with a hike around the 3 Zinnen. The day after we could fly for hours at Col Rodella. Then we had a day of hiking at Fasso Falzarego and the Piz Boe. Penny, Carrie and Dave spend one day in Venice which was a amazing trip on its own. Even if you can not fly, the Dolomite’s are spectacular and always worth a visit or just a couple hours away from other amazing places like Venice. Before the tour finished, we still got one more day of great flying and some people managed to fly to the Marmolada and to
fly back to the hotel in Arabba. All in all it was a great week.
After the Dolomite’s we headed north and visited the main office from Nova near Innsbruck. Dave was very excited to help to get
his Ion2 tuned with their computerized tuning system. The days after we flew at the Brauneck (bei Lenggries) and had a good time with our tour guide Mik and his family. Thanks again for your
time Mik. The last 3 days we spend in the Allgaeuer Alps to fly and to check out the castle, ruins, food and the last day/night we had a very good time at the Oktoberfest in Munich. Now I am back in Sillian to get ready for one more week in the Dolomite’s.
Posted in Alps, Dolomitten, Gleitschirm, Paragliding |
Tags: Alpen, Dolo's, dolomitten, Gleitschirm, Nova, Paragliding |
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For this years Dolomite/Germany tour we started at St. Hilare at the “Coupe Icare“. Wow, explains it all!! Mik, Toni and Hannes from Nova organized tents and thermo-mats for us, and showed us around, showed us where to camp and gave us all the “inside” details of what to do and what was going, during our stay.
Thanks again for all your help. The Coupe Icare is a must for every light aircraft pilot. I have never seen so many people attending a flying event. I heard that they had about 100.000 visitors. I am not sure if it is true, but the take off and landing sites were jam packed, traffic was blocked up for kilometers, and pilots of any kind were seen in the air for 3 days. The flying expo was amazing and it was super interesting to see what the manufactures are offering and planning for the future. The parties in the evening were just awesome with some wild bands and performers. The evening light up was fantastic and we really loved the mini hot air balloons. We also managed to get some flights in and the most amazing flight was in the early morning (with fog) flying around hot air balloons. See the video (from Mik) and pictures below.
paraglider meet hot-air ballons @ coupe icare 2012 from Mik Broschart on Vimeo.
Posted in Alps, Event, Gleitschirm, meet, Paragliding |
Tags: Coupe Icare, Gleitschrim, Max and Penny, Paragliding, St. Hilare |
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Fall is one of my favorite flying seasons. This is the time of the year to give lessons as the conditions are mellow and way more relaxed then during the spring and summer season and great for “hike & fly” as it is not to hot for hiking and still having good conditions for nice x-country flights. So far August and September (until mid September) just was a “blur” with all the activities we did. Besides flying, we did a lot like camping in the west Kootenays, Stand-up paddle boarding, multi-day canoe trip down the Columbia River, fishing, hiking, exploring, partying and so on.
Now we are getting ready for our “Fly the Alps” tour. This will be very exciting and fun. Penny and I will travel with a couple Canadians to St. Hilare to the Coupe Icare and then we will be guiding for www.BlueSky.at in the Dolomite’s. After the Dolomite tour, we will be traveling to Achensee to visit Nova to check out what they are working on and fly at their flying sites. After the Achensee we are traveling to the German
Alps to fly over the fairy tale castle Neuschwanstein (see pictures and more info at https://flyingmax.com/dolomite-tour/). This tour will be finished off with a visit at the October Fest in Munich. After this I will be doing another Dolomite tour (also with some Canadian’s) for www.BlueSky.at and right after this I will participating at SIV course at Gardasee.
A day after the SIV, Steve Nash (UK xAlps pilot) and I will be holding a xAlps workshop for Nova junior pilots from Mt. Blanc following one of the xAlps routes. The following weekend will be the Nova pilots meet in Austria to finish off the European trip. All this will be jam-packed into a 5 week period. I will be posting pictures and posts during the trip.
Posted in Alps, Dolomitten, exploring the xAlps route, flying event, Gleitschirm, Paragliding, xAlps |
Tags: Achensee, Austria, dolomitten, Europe, Fall flying, Gleitschirm, Paragliding, Rockies |
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The dinner and party was at the Lakeside Pub and was a lot of fun. The “Electric Squirrels” did a great job to keep the dance floor busy.
To get more update/results and to keep updated (click “like”), go to
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lakeside-Event/148779641862570
Posted in Event, Gleitschirm, Hang Gliding, meet, Paragliding |
Tags: Hang gliding, Lakeside Event, Paragliding, Splash down |
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Yeahhh, Penny’s new Ion2 finally arrived and she flew it last Sunday with a big grin in her face. Even this eagle (behind her) had to fly with her to believe what he saw.
We are very excited about the whole development Nova is focusing on.
Last October the kids, Penny and I had the pleasure to be at the last Nova-Pilots meet at Fiss in Austria. It was a fantastic place and we all enjoyed the area, people and the great service we had. Katia and I lucked out to win the first prize (weekend in Fiss) by kicking the soccer ball into goal at our landing, see the pictures below.
Anyhow, a lot of people were surprised when Hannes announced during the meet that they are working on a new Low 1-2 wing (Ion2) instead of a new high end wing (Triton2). Hannes stated that the 2-3 wings are going through a lot of changes and he is more excited to show what you can do today with a low end 1-2 wing.
A couple month later, the result of the Ion2 (low end 1-2 wing) was enormous, the performance and handling in this class is outstanding. All the words and hype got now backed up with a 223 km FAI triangle flight last week. No one ever flew on a wings you can use to teach people on this far. Now to top it off, Nova released the new Prion2, which is a beginner wing which is used mostly in schools. Well, this wing is not only for schools, it has just about the same performance like the Ion2, which means you should be able to do a 200 km flight as well.
The very interesting result of this, is how students are now looking at buying wings. I was running a beginner to novice paragliding course the last 10 days and normally people are looking for cheap used wings to get started and once they have a couple hours under their belt to upgrade to a 1-2 wing and then start with cross country flights. This approach is now changing as you can skip the first step and get stated right away with a wing which is save to learn on with a great handling and the performance to fly far and long from the get go.
Well done and thanks to Hannes and his team.
