Cross Country

“Have you got touring skis?” “No, but I’ve got snowshoes, will that work?” There is a lot to be said for the diversity in our sport, and the imagination that goes with it. From the same starting point our simple sport – often billed as “the easiest way to get in the air” – can head off into numerous directions, whether that’s hiking or skiing up a snowy peak in mid-winter to fly down in stable air or flying 600km across the Brazilian flatlands. We’ve managed to squeeze both these things into this issue, along with a lot in between. Whether it’s knowing what to do if you land in a tree, getting a taste of what’s been going on in the XC season down in Patagonia, learning about overdevelopment…

Pablo Pontoriero is a UIAGM mountain guide and XC and tandem pilot who lives in southern Argentina. He has made numerous climbs, ascents and XC and climb-and-fly flights in Patagonia, including flying from Cerro Torre (pic). This issue he reports on the XC scene in Patagonia. See p20 Felix Wölk lives and flies in the eastern Alps. A professional photographer and paragliding guide he has spent more than 30 years exploring and flying in the mountains of the Alps. This issue he looks at how our flying weather is changing and why we all need to be more aware of overdevelopment – p50 Joanna Di Grigoli is a Venezuelan pilot who has lived and flown in Annecy for the last decade. She headed out into the forest to meet Annecy’s famous Tree Guy…

Maxime Pinot won the Paragliding World Cup Superfinal in Roldanillo, Colombia in February, capping an amazing and consistent 2024 season for the French pilot. It was the second Superfinal win of his competition flying career, and means he is now the current reigning PWCA Superfinal Champion, European Paragliding Champion and World Champion. Maxime’s first Superfinal win came in 2014 in Denizli, Turkey. Only 23 at the time it was a surprise win, for himself as much as anyone else. Since then he has dedicated himself to paragliding, and has racked up two podium finishes in the Red Bull X-Alps as well as his racing titles. Famous for his thoughtful and often philosophical approach to flying, winning and losing, after his win Maxime posted: “Ten years ago I won this trophy…

Stubai Cup 2025 The Stubai Cup is a chance to check out and fly the latest wings from all the top brands in the Austrian village of Neustift, near Innsbruck. There are also various side-events and presentations. Pilots need to register beforehand via the event’s website. 14-16 March, parafly.at Zillertal Battle 2025 “Beat the legends.” With actual prize money (€1,000 for first, plus team cash prizes) this EN-B only competition attracts lots of top guns who swap their CCC gliders for EN-Bs to race around Austria’s Zillertal valley. Always a blast. 22-23 March, civlcomps.org Dobrča Open 2025 Slovenia’s Julian Alps offer first class paragliding with long valley runs and reliable mountain flying. There are three classes, fun, sport and serial, open from EN-B to EN-D respectively, as well as a…

Constance Mettetal (FRA, Niviuk Icepeak X-One) also showed she was on untouchable form in the Superfinal in Colombia, smashing the women’s competition and finishing sixth overall. Like Max Pinot, it was Constance’s second time winning the Superfinal (Mexico 2022 was the first); she is also current European Women’s Champion after winning at the Euros in Pegalajar in Spain last year. After the competition she said: “Second title in the bag! And a sixth place overall makes me so happy. I’m on cloud nine.” She added: “Making it into the top 10 of a Superfinal alongside the best pilots and friends in the world is crazy.” Constance was first woman in three tasks. Afterwards the French team coach Julien Garcia praised her performance saying she had flown “at the highest level…

The XC season in the Andes north of Patagonia is short. There are three or four months at most with the potential for good thermals and high ceilings. Patagonia is also famous for being windy, so when there is a good day you need to seize it. The complicated weather, convoluted geography and the remoteness transform each XC attempt into an adventure. Even if the flight plan is a day long with organised retrieve or a closed triangle, we almost always go out with bivouac equipment, prepared to sleep in the mountains. You also have to have good information about the trails, since there are valleys that are very difficult to get out of. It is also ‘mandatory’ to have a satellite tracking device, since phone coverage is pretty bad.…