Blog Posts in Category: France

The conditions were unfortunately not good enough to do a proper xc flight, however they were definitely good enough to enjoy some airtime with spectacular views around Lake Annecy. Our plan had been to head back to the Planfait launch, as it is easier to get to, however we managed to hitch to Col de la Forclaz, which I was very pleased with as this was really where I wanted to start from. The flight was really enjoyable due to the wonderful scenery around Lake Annecy, I was particularly surprised by the view of Mont Blanc. I don’t really know why it was such as shock, but last time I flew at Annecy Mont Blanc was shrouded in cloud so I wasn’t able to see it. After soaring around for a while, I crossed over the lake to join Alex, however the high cloud had come in and the thermals were too weak to really gain any altitude. After soaring for a while we decided to call it a day and went to land. We had a picnic dinner by the lake, just a 30 second walk from Alex’s apartment,. Read the full article…

Having arrived in Annecy late in the afternoon, but still keen to make the most of the beautiful weather we decided to go on a short hike and fly up to the Planfait launch. The walk was mostly in the forest, however there were some fleeting movements with wonderful views over the lake. After an energetic walk up to the launch, we were there in good time and setup before making the quick flight down. I thought there would be no more thermal activity left, so had taken my hike&fly gear, however this was a mistake as it would have been possible to enjoy a wonderful sunset soaring session otherwise. The flight down into the setting sun was really beautiful, with outstanding views over the lake and the surrounding mountains.

The next day had much of the same plan, but this time we were a group of three. The day started much later, but was a much better day, at least at the start with a higher base. This enabled a quick flight to the Aravis once we finally launched and made the first slow climb up onto the Aiguille Rouges. When I launched I was not that sure how I would be in the air, as after three nights of too little sleep in a row, and definitely too much wine while Alex and I were waiting up for Kirby to arrive from the USA. Thankfully after I launched I quickly worked out my stomach was feeling great and thought it would be a wonderful flight. Unfortunately as we passed Passy we had a miscommunication about waiting before the crossing vs going, which meant that again I was separated from the others. Initially I flew fast down the Aravis but unfortunately ended up low on the lee side towards where I turned around the day before. Despite working hard and almost getting myself out of the poor situation a. Read the full article…

On our first morning in Chamonix we were planning on hiking up the north side of the valley to Planpraz as the lift was shut and it didn’t look like there was any availability on the lift to the Plan du Midi. While we were eating breakfast in Chamonix the motivation for the walk after some wine the previous night (and Alex’s hike the previous day) was low. We decided to head to the lift where it turned out we could in fact take the lift to the Plan du Midi, the only downside being that we had to make the long glide over the valley to the south facing slops which meant waiting until the day was definitely on. After getting to the Plan du Midi we enjoyed another coffee before heading to launch and wanting for the day to really get going. This ended up being a longer wait than expected as glider after glider was just bombing out, or fighting for a long time on the other side. Eventually we decided to go for it, and by the time we launched it was actually possible to climb. Read the full article…

With a week planned in Annecy, but the weather looking fairly unstable, we decided to head down a day early so that I could fly on the best day of the week. It was certainly a good decision, but it was still not a flying day due to late afternoon storms and a slow start to the day. I met a group of English speaking friends at the landing site, who I ended up spending most of the morning with on launch while we waited for it to turn on, which made it a pretty social day. When I took if it quickly became apparent that it was not going to be a big XC day, but rather a good day to get to know the site and admire the, frankly magnificent, views. The flying was pretty rough when above the lower inversion layer, with strong thermals, wind shear and another layer above that. Nonetheless it was a really enjoyable flight and it was great to have a flight without any big xc pressure. As the day went on the thunderstorms were clearly building, but I managed to squeeze in. Read the full article…