Last flying day in Annecy

Today was my last day of flying in the Annecy area. And what a day! The weather was perfect with lots of sun and weak winds, which gave me the chance to explore the region a bit more.
In the end I flew a 46 kilometer triangle, turning at Parmelan, La Tournette and Roc de Boeufs (on the other side of the lake). After three hour pure joy I landed and had a landing beer with Pål and Martin.
In the evening i checked in to a hotel in Annecy and had a simple dinner on a terrace. The coming three days I will spend here for a travel story.

Great Cross Country flying around the lake of Annecy today

Today was a rather eventful day I must say. Yesterday we finished the SIV safety course for paragliding. But we still had this day left, with safety boat and instructors at hand. So we could practise whichever safety manoeuvre we wanted, or try some acrobatics.

I opted for the latter and took off to try a manoeuvre called SAT. Not that I expected any success, but why not try when you can do so in a safe way?

Of course, I did not succeed. Instead I ended up in a spin, got my lines thoroughly twisted and in the end I had to throw my emergency parachute and land in the water. The safety boat was there within seconds. So I did not learn to do a SAT but I did get to practise throwing the emergency chute, a very valuable experience.

By now, me, my glider and my emergency chute were soaked with water. But the sun was warm and the breeze good so soon everything was dry and we could pack it all and go flying again!

The conditions looked really good so several of us launched and went cross-country flying. Wow! Good (if somewhat turbulent) thermals took me to cloud base at almost 2500 meters of altitude, more than 1200 meter above take off. Here, I cruised from mountain to mountain and ended up over the massive and snow clad La Tournette. Here I thermalled with an eagle above me and three sailplanes below me.

 It is hard to describe the beauty and feeling of freedom, you just have to be there. Maybe the photos give a small idea.

Market in Annecy

Yesterday afternoon and this morning I spent in the beautiful little city of Annecy, researching for a story. Here are some quick photos.











Yesterday afternoon and this morning I spent in the beautiful little city of Annecy, researching for a story. Here are some quick photos.

Paragliding around Lac d'Annecy

This week, I've been staying in the area of the Annecy, in a cute little wooden chalet at Maison du Moulin. This is a famous paragliding area, and that's why I am here.

The weather has been great and sunny, so I've had some lovely flights. I am flying together with the Swedish pilot and instructor Fredrik Angrimer, who is also giving me a little course.

You can see tracklogs (3D GPS tracks) of my flights here - just click on the red symbol to the right of every flight to see it on a map.