On the move

The weather has been totally overcast here for the last few days so we have just been on the move. Before we left Annecy, we sat of launch waiting for the conditions to improve. The wind was blowing over the back. But while we waited, some of the high level clouds to the left of launch turned a rainbow colour.

We picked up a tourist brochure at Interlaken and have just been driving around to see some of the cool stuff. It seems to have turned out to be a tour of the cool statues that they have in some of the small towns in Switzerland, Litchenstein and Germany. This is one of the coolest we came across.

The following is a stone monument of a lion. Mark Twain said it was the most moving piece of rock in the world. I tended to agree. It was beautiful.


We head back to Germany proper tomorrow for the start of the German nationals. We are just planning to free fly but that depends on the weather I suppose.

Griefenburg Flying

Its raining here at the moment and not looking like it is going to fine up for a few days. We are in Interlaken. We aren't up to much apart from eating swiss chocolate and playing cards. This is the extreme sports capital of Europe but we are pretty single minded and just want a fly. It isn't looking pretty at the moment though.

Instead, here's a clip of some flying we did at Griefenburg. Griefenburg, Laragne and Annecy are definitely the best sites we have flown yet.

Another day flying

Not much to tell apart from another great day flying at Annecy.

I explored a range leading away from the lake. It felt glorious just flying the high mountains without a landing place in sight (even thought I could have got back ok since I was high).

The scenery was absolutely amazing. This is what I came to Europe for.

We leave tomorrow towards Switzerland. We might try to fly some of the way there if the weather holds out.

St Hillare, Annecy and an awesome flight

We travelled north again leaving Laragne. The cloudbase outside the car looked low and we didn't expect to fly. On the way up to Annecy, we thought we would check out the St Hillare launch since it is so well known for it's paragliding festival in September. Just as we got there we saw another hang glider turning off onto an unmarked road. We followed. It took us to a near vertical launch. 2 mins later, a bus load of hang gliding students turned up. It was on. And we were off.

The lift was extremely weak as it was nearly 100% cloud cover but we managed to stay up for about 20 mins before giving up the ghost and going for a glide along the cliffs. Still very nice and a worthwhile stopover.

We kept on going towards Annecy.


We woke the next day to heavy rains and a flooded campground. It took till 2:30pm before we bothered even heading up the hill. But when we got there, it was on again, paragliders were everywhere and going up.


We launched and started going up but then the cycles stopped we grovelled for 20min before finally finding a corker to take us up close to cloudbase. After that was some of the best and most scenic flying I have ever done. This place is awesome.


Flying around a lake with jagged rock faces surrounding it was very beautiful. We did the traditional circuit around the lake, hopping from peak to peak. On the way back, you stop off at a ridge that is 90deg to the valley breeze. You are able to soar it all the way to top. I have never done something like this before because I almost soared this ridge back to cloudbase.

After I did the circuit, I still hadn't had enough and started around again. On the jagged peaks just past launch, I managed to surf the edge of the cloud a hundred or so metres above base. Nice.


Was the best flight I have had. Maybe. It is definitely up there. The forecast for tomorrow is looking even better.

Another fine day in Laragne

Another fine day in Laragne. We could get used to this. Late starts, easy trip up the hill and landing back at the campsite where a pool and beer awaits. We are currently sitting under a ridge of high pressure that is likely to persist for the next week so hopefully this weather will continue.

We heard in the morning that there could be afternoon thunderstorms but unlike Griefenburg where the clouds were already starting to form by 9am, we were on the hill at 1pm with barely a wisp in the sky. Then the inversion started to break and the cu's started to form. There is XC course currently being run here and those pilots started to launch. As soon as we saw they were going up, Sam and I joined them. We went down the ridge and back and slowly made it to cloudbase.

We headed north towards Serres where we had landed previously but this time the clouds were looking even better.

We got down there easily with good climbs but got stuck there in weak lift. A whole bunch of others started to join us in the weak stuff. Apparently this ridge cycles and you just have to wait it out. We did plan to cross the valley to the bigger mountains to the east but there were no clouds. We got camping ground suck and headed back the 15km towards the main takeoff. It was an easy trip back.

Once back, and at 2500m, I just went for a jaunt across the French countryside in a big circuit, getting ever closer to that pool and beer.


We are making tracks today towards St Hillare and Annecy. Ciao to Laragne.

Back at Laragne (and some flying)

It was a worthwhile trip heading down south as we managed to check out St Andre as well. We did have flight but it was extremely short one in rotor. St Andre was a beautiful place. But the overcast skies re-appeared and the flight we had was not inspiring so we headed back up north and Laragne. Later on that night, when the sun was setting and the skies started to clear, a double rainbow came out. This is Sarah getting her dose of light.


The next day we woke to blue skies. Finally. It was nice to be in a place that has everything, landing at the camping ground, swimming pool and free wireless internet. We weren't planning on moving on so it was nice to know we didn't need to pack up camp and spend another day driving.

The conditions on the hill were clear. We just needed a fly to keep this officially a flying trip. There were no clouds so nobody was taking off. There were about 20 other hang gliders set up but there were in big groups. A paraglider took and off and was maintaining, so Sam and I took off soon after.


The conditions were still weak but maintainable. Sam got angry after about 10mins fighting the paraglider and decided to check down the ridge for other lift. He didn't find it and landed soon after. I hung it out and was soon joined by 4 other para's fighting for the same lift, still in weak conditions. It was quite fun. After about an hour, it was still just me and the para's fighting it out. The other hangies were still stagnated on the hill. Then conditions started to improve, the lift height slowly started to increase.


Finally the hang glider pilots started to launch and it was good to get some company in battling the para's. But there was more air to play in now so it was fine.

After getting some decent height, I decided to just head down the ridge about 10km and back. The lift was plentiful and it was easy to get there and back. This is looking back down the ridge towards the take off and the camping ground just on the other side of the hill.

The clouds came out a little. As I was coming into land, the sun on the textured paddocks was really nice. Laragne is definitely one of the better places to fly as the different colours are amazing.

On landing, I flew over the swimming pool low to say hi to Sam and Sarah who were there cooling off. I landed within 25m of our tents, parked the glider and went and joined them. Arhhh!!!!

Work, what's that again.

The Search

Sarah's dad was French and a scuba diving instructor to boot. Sarah's mum is German and was an Au-pair working near Cannes in southern France. As I mentioned previously, Sarah has never met her father. She says that it just seemed normal growing up with only a Mum as that was all she knew. However, seeing others with fathers would raise questions about what it would be like. Her mother took her to the village where he lived about 10 years ago but they just travelled past. So she didn't have an address but did have visual memory of what the houses looked liked. She had no idea whether her father was still there or had moved on. She just had a name, a photo that is 20 years old and memory of the street.

We got up early and left at about 8am. We travelled south from Laragne towards Cannes along the windy roads that run through the southern french villages. The rain came just as we left Laragne. By the time we hit Grasse, it was coming down hard, very hard. We had experienced before that the car doesn't hold the water out very well in heavy rain. The windscreen also fogs easily. This time around, the sunroof also started leaking on both the driver's side and passenger's side. I was happily in the back but managed to capture some of the mayhem that was happening.



We arrived in Mougins, just on the outskirts of Cannes. It was still pelting down. We started driving around to see if anything jogged Sarah's memory. This wasn't just a small village but a medium sized town. We stopped into a tourism information centre to get a map. While we were there we asked the lady behind the desk to look up how many Fontaines lived in Mougins. There were only 5. This gave us some focus and also a sense of belief we might actually find something. I noticed that Sarah had started to quiet down. She had never really expected to find anything. But now we had positive leads. As we ticked off the houses, you could see her mind was racing. What if the next house was it and he was there.

None of the houses that the current Fontaines lived in actually yielded anything. We guessed the search had ended. Sarah wanted to just follow her nose and have a look around. She could sense we were close. Then as we were driving along, she darted quickly down the street on the right. She had found it. Sam and I waited outside the next door neighbours house as she entered. She was in the there for about 20mins. Sam and I were probably just as nervous waiting, sitting down with our backs to the wall, not knowing what to expect.

Sarah emerged. She hadn't found anything more. The old couple that lived there had been there for 50 years but couldn't remember any details now. However, Sarah said the old lady was touched by the story and was going to start asking a few questions. She now has Sarah's email address if they uncover anything. The mystery continues. Only time will tell if anything will eventuate out of our little adventure. At least Sarah will know she has tried.

We continued on to Cannes. We just had to check out the boats owned by the super-rich that lined the harbour.

And check out how the beach compared to those in Australia.

After doing our mandatory 2 hour stop-over, we headed country again to the next flying site - St Andre. As we approached, we past some of the most scenic lakes yet.

Venice and Larange

We ended up leaving Solvenia as we woke to yet another overcast day. What is the story here. We didn't end up leaving our little campsite till about 12 and still headed to Venice for a flying visit. It was a cool little town with lots of little lanes to explore. I didn't know what to expect but it is definitely worth a visit.

We left Venice about 7:30pm and starting an almost all night drive towards France. We didn't quite make it but crashed about 1 hour from our desitination at 4am.

We arrived in Laragne in the Provence region of France at about 9am to the best day they have had here for weeks. We were tired but still gathered the energy to head up the hill for a fly. The flying here is awesome. The scenary is amazing. It is totally different to the Alps as the hills aren't quite as high but the colours are nice. It's a good change. Cloudbase was around 22oom so wasn't high but still enough to have a look around.


Today the paragliding comp got called due to high winds on launch but it was great for high gliding. It was totally overcast but the thermals were still there. Later on there was wave as well as I went for 10km glide without losing height. Nice.

The weather tomorrow is looking bad again, so we are heading to Cannes for a search for Sarah's Dad. She has never meet him. I don't know if we are going to have any luck but there is a certain mystery in it that is enticing.

Ciao Austria: Hello Solvenia

We have had a couple of good days flying in Griefenburg now which is great. The cloudbase has only been around 2500m which is small by Griefenburg standards but still great for us to get up and have a look around. I can only imagine how good this place will be when it is really on.

After 4 days in Griefenburg, we thought it was time to move on. We had two choices; up towards Switzerland or down towards Solvenia. We wanted to get an update from Olli on the general European weather pattern before making our decision but couldn't get through. The plan was to launch from Griefenburg and start flying towards our destination to see how far we could get. At 11am, we still hadn't made contact and we were ready to launch. The phone then rang. It was Olli. The timing. We talked about heading towards Switzerland as the weather across all of Europe was looking pretty poor. Then someone mentioned that if we went to Solvenia we could pass through Venice on the way to France. That was enough to swing the decision. So 10mins later we launched and turned towards Solvenia. The freedom to make such decisions on the fly is liberating. I glad Sam and Sarah have the same sense of adventure.

We had a great fly down the ridges towards Solvenia. The thermals were good and plentiful and the clouds were friendly - to begin with. Half way down the main ridge between Spittal and Villach the ground was heavily shaded and the lift was weak. We could see the rain approaching fast from the North. The day had called for overdevelopment and thunderstorms in the afternoon. I suggested we go and land. Sam wanted to keep flying. Then god sent us a signal in the form of a very loud thunderclap. We turned tail and landed. 15mins later, the wind turned from a mild 5kt southerly to a 20kt northerly with the approach of the rain fronts. It soon pelted down.

So here we are in Solvenia. It is a total change from the perfect fairytale land of Austria. It is a lot more run down but also a lot more natural. We think it was the right decision to head down here. The water here is emerald.

The mountains are steep. Olli recommended a great little camping ground right beside the river. Vili, the camp owner cooked us the best fish and polenta ever (ever). We even came across an original hobbit hole.

We probably wont stay long. We are thinking about leaving today for France via Italy.

Finally: a decent flight

We woke to another overcast day. Unfortunately the majority of Europe is still affected by a low hanging over it. There were a few para's gliding down from launch so we decided to head up to have a look and have a sleddie. When we got there, the launch was in cloud and there were a lot of paraglider pilots just milling around having coffee's at the cafe that is up there. It is extremely civilised flying here. We sat down and had a hot chocolate in conditions that remind me of being on an Australian ski slope in the middle of winter rather than an Austrian Summer. We gave up and went back down. Later on it started to look ok again so we went back up. It was still raining a bit and cloud was still around but Sam was desperate. He started setting up.

The Europeans thought we were British and that we are used to flying in crap weather. My glider stayed on the car. Just as Sam finished setting up, the cloud broke and he got off. 5 mins later, the cloud was back.

The next day was slightly brighter but still overcast. We were in no rush so checked out a local canyon instead. In the afternoon we headed back up to launch. At least it was launchable. As we setup, lot's of other hangies showed up and the sky started to clear. Maybe there was a chance. Cu's started appearing. It was good to have other's in the air at the same time as it helped show the lift. I got a good patch and made it too cloudbase which wasn't actually all that high but allowed me to get the top of the mountain and a view that was the reason we came over for in the first place.

In good conditions, the place is apparently epic. We are just here in the wrong time. We are thinking of moving on and potentially coming back later when the weather is better.

While we have been here we have been staying a great little Austrian house in the next village to Griefenburg. It even has it's own landing paddock.

Every night we just sit on the balcony and enjoy the view.

The Austrians love making their houses as immaculate as possible. I don't think Australians could be bothered but it does make us feel like we a living in a fairytale.

We left Skyline with a sense of excitement. A feeling of leaving the nest and heading off on our own adventure. We headed towards Griefenburg - a decision that was made only 1/2 hour before we left. Previously we thought we were going to head west towards Innsbruck and then Switzerland. Sure, we didn't the know the place as well as Olli and Carol but sometimes it is half the fun finding little nooks and crannies by just running over them.

On Wednesday, the day was still looking pretty dodgy for flying so we headed off to some waterfalls we saw in a brochure where we are staying. As we were driving, we saw a castle on hill in the distance, and since we didn't have any real sense of urgency, we quickly turned left and went to search on how to get up there. We didn't make it that close to the castle but sometimes what you find is sometimes better than what you were searching for. We found some overly friendlly cows and horses.

Only used to friendly farmers, these cows and horses loved people. They wanted to lick you, touch you, even give you a bit of kiss. They were quite special. They all wanted some contact but weren't pushy.

We made it to the canyon of waterfalls in the next valley after closing but that just meant we got in for free. It's still light here till 9:30pm. It was worth the 6 Euros to enter even though we didn't pay.

We also came across the deaded Griefen that hearld's from Griefenburg.

So it was more of a touristy day than a flying day but that's life. Sometimes hang gliding just takes you to the places that are special to spend time.

Goodbye to Schladming

One of the fondest memories I will have of Schladming will be the evenings spent sitting on the hill with a wine or beer in hand overlooking the little township with the Dachstein in the background.

A picture of what I expect see a lot of on this trip. Sam with a beer in is hand at the end of a day.

We went to the mechanic first thing in the morning. The water pump and labour was going to cost 220 Euros. Ummm. Without a car though, we would be stranded without wheels which would make carting hang gliders painful. Since we didn't have to put the car in to the garage till 1pm, Sam and I decided to still give a flight a go. We didn't want to cause more damage to the car so we only went the lower launch. About half the way up. The Dachstein is in the background.

It was a short and bumpy flight. The launch wasn't actually that high. About 10mins I think. Since we didn't have a car to pick us up, we had to carry the harnesses back to our house on the hill. It was actually quite a nice walk, following a river back through town were a there was a market with a short stop for an ice cream on the way. We made the mistake of taking a short cut and walking directly up the hill. It was steep and gave the calf's a good little workout.

So in the end, it turned into more of hike than a flight. But looking back, the hike was actually really nice.

We picked up the car in the afternoon. It was purring again. Happy days. After an evening curry courtesy of Richard, we say goodbye to Schladming and made tracks back to Skyline. We will leave Carol and Olli here and head off on our own into the big wide world of the Alps.

The day after my first flight in the alps the weather turned again. Sam spent the day playing with his glider while Carol, Sarah and I just bummed around. We checked out lake Chemesee which is not far from Skyline. That night we celebrated in a small Bravian town till 6am in the morning. It was just one of those nights that didn't finished.

The weather was still bad so we packed up and made our way to Austria to visit a friend of Carol's from Bright who is living there at the moment. We stopped off at Salzburg on the way.

It's a great little stopover. We only spent a couple of hours there but it was nice to wander around this great little town.


We pulled up to Schladming to a gorgeous evening and a few drinks from where we are staying. Does it get much better. The weather even started to fine up once we hit Austria. Maybe all the bad weather was in Germany.


The next day we planned to head up the hill for an early flight before the cloud settled in. It is quite unstable at the moment so there were danger of it over developing. But it had settled in by about 8am. We still headed up around lunchtime. Once again, we were the only hang glider pilots.


The lift was average but enough to get above the launch. It was still a nice 1/2 hour flight even though it wasn't the longest one. I settled into my glider a little bit more.


Everybody seemed to get a haircut at the end of the day. Sarah to took to Sam with a vengeance. He now has as much hair as me!


The car is continuing to give us troubles. As we pulled into Schladming the other day, there was a fairly loud noise coming from the engine. It's currently in the shop being looked at. We think it might be the water pump. Means we are holed up in Schladming for one more day. What a shame.