Bavarian Open 2018, Bad Hindelang

From Thursday, 31st of May until Sunday, 3rd of June the International Bavarian Open take place in Bad Hindelang, Germany. In the beautiful landscape of Oberallgäu it is a pleasure to fly. The weather forecast for all four days predicts some thunderstorms in the later afternoon - normal summer days. 79 pilots are participating from both, the German and the Austrian league as well as further international guests.

Day 4: Sometimes it’s over before it started
The last day the the Bavarian Open was supposed to be the best day of the weekend with less clouds, no overdevelopments and stronger thermals than the days before. I took off 35 minutes before race Start (a 80km task was set from Spiesser via Neunerköpfle over the flats to Mittag and back over Nebelhorn to the goal in Bad Hindelang). I climbed my way up to cloud base quickly and already felt that this day would be more turbulent than the days before. A small collapse made me chose another thermal. I went over to Iseler where the others were thermalling and waiting for the race to start. Unfortunately I went to the south west flank which - as a learned quickly - is in the Lee of The Valley Wind instead of going to the wind facing north side. I had a collapse followed by a cascade and lost quite some height although I managed to get my wing flying again quickly. Also my motivation was gone and so I was on the ground 33s before the race started. This was definitely not my competition. Let’s hope for better ones to come.

Day 3: Cancelled due to overdevelopments 

Day 2: It was all about timing
When we arrived at take off the clouds were clearing and it looked as it would be getting better for a short time. Due to the strong humidity however clouds were forming up quickly again as soon as the sun came in and when we finally had a task of 30km set, it was getting darker and darker. The window was closed again and the finally opened at 13:30. Towards Nebelhorn we saw some rain and thinking that it would soon come to us, I and a couple of others took off to not get wet. We tried to make some altitude but none of us succeeded. As soon as we landed, we saw a couple of wing climbing better and better. Those who took of later were in big advantage and made it to goal easily.

Day 1: Some day you lose, some day the others win 
After after an early briefing at 8:30 at the Head Quaters, the busses brought us soon up as close as possible to the take-off, Spießer. From the drop off point at Hirschalpe we hiked up through grassy meadows to the final take-off for half an hour - quite exhausting for the body in the summer heat with 25kg on the back, but quite relaxing for the sole with so many flowers and nice landscapes around. On the-off a 54km task was announced leading us from Spießer through Tannheimer Tal to Reuthe and back.

The race was going to start at 12:00 and around 11:15 the first pilots took off. The lifts were very weak at that time and so I decided to wait longer. When it finally went up, I took off around 25minutes before start. Unfortunately it still took quite long to gain altitude and so when the race started I still had to thermal for some time before leaving for the first way point. After the talley crossing to Iseler it was very tough to gain altitude again and sow and a few other pilots had to work for along time to finally get up. The leading gaggle was already gone for a long time and so we followed them on our own route. Over Neunerköpfle the clouds already started getting bigger and darker. After the turn point at Hahnenkamm I lost my fellow pilots that I’ve flown with together since they went a route which I didn’t chose due to the knowledge that the north flanks of the Tannheimer Tal worked well before. I started climbing my way up again when I saw two pilots on a Zeno spiraling down and with a couple of others going to land. Not having heard anything through the radio I nevertheless thought the task was stopped due to the darker clouds and decided to land in Tannheimer Tal as well.

Well, the task wasn’t stopped. The pilots who spiraled down have been close to the cloud and it sucked quite heavily. Other pilots that stayed lower at that pint didn’t have any problems and made goal easily. It probably was a good decision to land with the overdeveloping clouds all around, but I’m still sad and a bit disappointed about my decision as it would have been easy to make goal. Let’s hope for better three days to come.

And here’s some cat content for the good mood :-) (The cats at my B&B.)

BaWü Open 2018 - 6.April to 8.April 2018

Day 1:
The first day of the first competition this year waited with sunny weather and a prediction for very stable conditions and a strong inversion. In the morning fog was lying in the valleys which quickly lifted up and brought us a bright blue sky.

After the general briefing at 9:00am and some waiting time we went up to the take off at Breitenberg near Pfronten to have the task briefing there at 11:30.

The task committee came up with a task along the Falkenstein ridge going 5 Times back and further over 7 turn points.

I took off around an hour before the race start which was at 14:00 in NIL wind conditions. With quite some running through the heavy and deep snow I was in the air and soon after above Falkenstein.

With steep south facing rocky flanks, Falkenstein is known to locals to provide turbulent but strong climbs being disturbed by the Bavarian valley wind coming in from north.

Additionally the day was providing a stronger easterly wind which provided additional turbulences. After being one hour in these exhausting conditions between 1300 and 1650m, between strong ridge lifts and inversion, the race started just when I had the lowest height. 

Additional cirrus clouds made the thermals on the south side of the ridge weaker and weaker and my impatience brought me back to the ground 10min later together with half of the other pilots. Only 15 made it slowly and patiently to goal with improving conditions later on the day.

On day 2 the conditions should be better. Let’s hope for more luck and patience!

Day 2:

The forecast for this day mentioned light Föhn winds. So I was sceptical at first how the day would develop. Having a deeper look into wind forecasts and the pressure difference between Innsbruck and Pfronten showed soon that there was nothing to fear for today. The day promissed to come with blue thermals with a max altitude at around 2200m and no low inversion like yesterday.

We went up to takeoff for a briefing at 11:00am and received a task of 60km from Breitenberg/Pfronten along Falkenstein to Buchenberg, Tegelberg, Trauchgauer and back over the flats to Pfronten. Weather on top was like in summer. Only the melting snow on the slopes along with NIL winds made takeoffs for many pilots difficult. Luckily I didn’t have any problems there.

The race was set to start at 14:00 with window open at 12:00. Having yesterday in mind I decided to start later to avoid staying in rough air before race start for too long. I took off 30min before start and it paid off well. I had a good altitude and Position when the race started and could easily make the first 4 turnpoints in the vicinity of Pfronten.

I then followed the Falkenstein ridge until the end towards Neuschwanstein and decided to cross to the next ridge at a point where it worked well on flights I did there before. From my previous flights I knew that not too much altitude was needed to do the crossing so I went on quite low. Well, today it didn’t work. Instead the valley wind washed me down in the lee within no time. I had to land after only 15km of the task and watch the others thermalling high above my head.

Day 3:

Today the forecast predicted even more Föhn than yesterday. When I arrived at the cable car in the morning I was pretty confident that we wouldn’t fly. Nevertheless a briefing was scheduled at 10:30 at take off so we went up. On the way up we checked the weather again and saw that the forecasts improved massively. The strong winds should now only start after 16:00 so a short task of 30km was set.

The race should start at 12:15 leading us over Falkenstein back to Breitenberg over Vils to Alpspitze and some kilometers into the flats to finally land at the official landing in Pfronten. I took off 38min before race start and other than many pilots at this time went directly to Falkenstein which again paid off. It was a bit chaotic right before start when all pilots were there since the maximum height we could reach at that time was only around 1600m.

Conditions were improving every minute though and so we could quickly make the first three waypoints. After that it took me a while to get up again but I found strong climbs on Falkenstein and could go on together with some other pilots. In the flats we found a nice climb again which brought as almost back to goal. Just some circles on the last turnpoint and we could make it - so I thought. In the end literally 3m lift were missing. I landed 20m before the goal line. I could have easily made it with just one circle more at the last turn point. But that’s the game :-)

I finished 90th overall. There’s definitely at lot of room for improvement.

Nevertheless it was a great end to this competition with a beautiful day and so much fun! I’m looking forward to the next (Mosel Open end of April).

Thanks to everybody who made it fun and especially to the organizers! It was really great!

Breitenberg to Buchenberg (aka Breiti to Buchi) - Spring flying in the beautiful Allgäu mountains

Today I was for the first time flying from Breitenberg in the beautiful Allgäu. With just 11€ for one ascent by cable car, definitely one of the "cheaper" mountains. From the top station to take-off it is a 10min walk up the skiing slope, which was still covered with melting muddy snow. The take-off faces east.

The wind was light, slightly taily. With my LM6 though, which is a wonderfully-easy-to-start wing in nil-wind conditions, the launch was no problem.

From the takeoff I followed the south-facing small ridge until the top station building and from there headed straight to Falkenstein which is a lower mountain range 4km north from Breitenberg.

There I found strong but rough thermals that found a sudden end at around 1800m ASL thanks to a strong inversion. I took the chance and followed the Falkenstein-range further eastwards against the wind and towards the royal palaces Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. Both castles worked well today and arriving at each at eye level, I was able to thermal up to around 1500m, not being unnoticed by the thousands of visitors there.

Tegelberg with easterly winds was difficult to climb as usual and so I used some smaller climbs to extend my flight until Buching.

Nothing special, but a beautiful little spring-thermal flight on a wonderful day :) Thanks to all who where part of it and made it special!

Autumn Time is Flying Time - A long weekend above lakes

Since I discovered mountains and especially paragliding as my passion, October never failed to excite me. After a extraordinary cold and wet summer which luckily paid a little bit out towards the end, also in 2016, late October didn't disappoint us at all. 

Since 1st of November was a public holiday we decided to use the long weekend for heading south for some flying. While probably most people were heading to Bassano del Grappa, we were looking for some more quite alternatives.

Our trip started on Saturday, 29 October with a visit of Tegelberg (1665m) and Neuschwanstein Castle. Not having in mind that it was holiday season and weekend both at the same time, I was a bit shocked about the crowd that was queuing in front of the takeoff. It was not a big surprise, since Tegelberg is one of the most scenic sites in southern Germany,, offering views over Neuschwanstein castle and Lake Forggensee. After some 45 minutes in the queue, I finally was able to get airbone. Thanks to the very stable day with some southerly wind (the take-off is facing northwards), the flight was rather short. But nevertheless beautiful :) I was luckily able to take some proper shots of the castle.

In the evening we continued our journey towards Laion in Grödnertal, with the plan in our minds to fly at Col Rodella, probably the most scenic site in the world the next day. But already in the evening a strong North wind made us clear that this won't be the site for the next day. We instead headed towards Trento and from there to Lago Toblino, a smaller and almost unknown lake just north of its big brother Lago di Garda. A beautiful flying site at Monte Gazza (1583m) was waiting for us. It offers two different landings: the first one just on the southern shore of Lago Toblino, between some vine and apple plantations. 

The second landing is around 700m in altitude higher and a lot more spacious situated in the small village Margone (936m). We met a bunch of pilots from the local club at the second landing. They offered us a free ride to the takeoff along with some Maroni and beers. 

The takeoff is a big grassy knoll right on the top of Monte Gazza offering plenty of space for taking off in multiple directions. The conditions were again very stable and therefore the flight ended after 20 minutes. With the surroundings, the wonderful locals and a beautiful view over Lago Toblino and Lago di Garda, this site is a real gem with 100% no German masses (yet). 

Our last destination was Levico Terme on the other site of the Adige valley. After having driven to Bassano del Grappa probably more than 50 times in the last years, the place was familiar to me, but only from passing by. Paragliding365 suggested a takeoff at the very top of Monte Panarotta (1800m) so up we went. What we found was a very steep slope that offered no space for mistakes covered with slippery grasses. After enjoying the view from high up there towards the Brenta Dolomites and some Alpine glaciers, we went down to the takeoff in Vitriolo (1490). It is a easy and spacious takeoff for hanggliders and paragliders with a parking space and a little Café just next to it. 

Jump for Joy (Picture by Philip Boesecke)

The flying site offers again wonderful views over Lago di Caldonazzo and the smaller Lago di Levico. In the valley landing spaced are manifold  and some smaller XCs are easily possible. A small drawback are the larger amount of prohibited airspaces towards the west of the takeoff. Even though a strong inversion was damping a lot, we still were able to fly in thermals on both Monday and Tuesday for each more than 1.5 hours. Overall a wonderful place with a nice old town in Levico and by far less people than in Bassano. In future I will definitely stop more often here :)

Lago di Levico

Florian flying around

Barco

My beautiful Ozone LM6 (Picture by Philip Boesecke)

Happy Landing (Picture by Philip Boesecke)

Buchenberg - After-work flying at its best

Buchenberg is another mountain in the Allgäu alps range. It is just a few kilometers east of Tegelberg with a similarly beautiful view over lake Forggensee.

While Tegelberg offers a quite steep and rocky surface, Buchenberg is mellower and pretty much covered with trees. But this doesn't mean, it is less thermally active. Flights from here to Tegelberg and further are not rare.
With 1142m, Buchenberg is 700m lower and therefore, even after cable car hours, a good opportunity for beautiful evening flights, especially in summer time, where the sun sets around 9pm. Even with my rather heavy XC equipment, the 45 min of hiking are very well doable.

Enjoy some pictures of one of our flights there in mid-July 2016.

Pilots: Ewa Korneluk-Guzy, Thorsten Pausch, Martin Lukasiewycz