New Paragliding and Hang gliding site in the Kootenays -Whitetale Mtn.

Brent and Tanya DuBois attended my last paragliding course and invited me to check out what flying potentials they might have from their property at Whitetale lake. Last Wednesday Aaron Cameron, Dominic Huges and myself made a little road trip to check it out.
Whitetale Lake is south-west of Fairmont Hot Springs and north-west of Canal Flats. The DuBois property is on the north end of the lake with 2 duplex cabins (for rent) and a Paragliding and Hang gliding campground. The site has 3 landing sites, one right at the lake, one right at the campground (in the smaller green field) and one at a huge field if the winds get to strong or for hang gliders. 

It takes about 25-35 minutes to drive a good gravel road to the take-off site which is on top of Whitetale Mtn (2125 meter). The glide ratio to the landing site is about 3 and the landing site is 1020 meters lower at 1105 meters. This will gives you plenty of height to find thermals or to fly out over the lake and practice some of your acro maneuvers. The lake is about 5-10 feet deep on the north end and will be up to 65 feet deep on the south end of the lake. 

The top of the mountain (main ridge) is clear-logged which offers plenty of space and endless opportunities to create even more take off sites. For now Brent cleared one section for a nice take off area which can and will be expended once it gets more busy. 

The take off is facing east and is an ideal morning to early afternoon site. The ride very well protected from the west wind as there is another ridge right behind at about 2500 meters and further west another ridge with 2700 meter high mountains. There is also some good potential of XC flights in the area and the terrain is spectacular. 

Below is a Google map of the are and a picture and short video of the site. 

We are planning to go camping coming up weekend, let us know who likes to join us. 

The xAlps are finished

The xAlps finished Friday July 19th at noon. This is 12 days after the start and was the minimum time set for the race. Crigel Maurer set a new record and finished the race in just under 7 days and it took more then 2 days longer for the next guys to arrive in goal.
From the start, I felt pretty good and was very happy with my pace and performance until I had to do an emergency landing past Innsbruck (by Seefeld) into restricted airspace and I received a 48 hour penalty.
I could have done a tree landing (in very rough conditions) on top of a ridge to avoid the penalty, but I decided to land 500 meters lower, and to my disadvantage, safely in a field. The good part was that Christa Vogel and Juergen Kraus (flying friends from the 80's) lived near by and we could enjoy visiting them and were treated with their amazing hospitality. It got even better as the kids just showed up for a visit and stayed with us for the 2 days. It was fun to invite all the other competitors for a snack or meals while they passed us, or landed in a field close by. After 2 days of watching 13 pilots pass us, we had to refocus and get back into race mode. Thanks again for the mental support from Stewart Midwinter to be able to start my own race and adventure from that position. We came from the very back of the pack (only 1 hour ahead of the last person) and fought ourselves into position 23. I was enjoying being in a close pack with such a great group of people/pilots and I was always close to my good friend, Andy Froetscher, who finished 17th. I was hoping to finish the race with him or better.
Overall, it was an amazing race with very good flying conditions. We experienced a lot of set backs due the lack of local "area" knowledge. It was very frustrating thinking you know where thermals "should be", what ridges and terrain would work better than others, only to find myself flushed down from 3500m to the ground and ended up having to hike up very high mountain passes more often than the "locals"
The good weather also brought a lot of windy and dangerous conditions as well. We had flights in plus 50 km winds, in rain and thunder storms, but at the same time we had some long flights (one over 150 km) flying over glaciers and very beautiful terrain. We had hikes in areas we never would have gone to and met such a wide variety of people along the way, some who we're sure were the start of a long friendship.
All this would not have possible to do without the support I received. Thanks again to Mik Broschart for all his technical support, and who drove with his "fancy" RV and made it possible that Penny could walk and fly most of the route with me. Penny did an amazing job as a pace setter, along the flats, up the mountains, and because she figured she needed more of a workout, she'd run back down to the valley!! My stats for hiking was, 6 km/hr, 471 km distance and 40 km elevation gain. I would say that Penny did at least 90% of that, plus going down, cooked dinners, cleaned most of the dishes, checked weather, and was up earlier than Mik and I everyday to have breakfast ready, and everything ready and prepared for the day ahead ..... she is more then living up to her name (Powers).
I would also like thank everyone who cheered us on and supported us throughout our training and during the race, A photo gallery will follow soon.

The last night before the race

Wow, where is the time going??

Last week I met up with Penny and the kids in Germany (Kempten) and just before I could even think about the blog, the race is in less then 14 hours. 

We had a great time in Kempten and I had some very good family time with some training and flying, but since Monday, we have been in Fuschl am See, for the last meetings and preparations for the xAlps. 

The whole experience here with all the athletes, supporters and the whole xAlps crew is just fantastic and hard to describe. 

We have some great support here this year, and I'd like to thank Mik (our 2nd supporter) my family and friends who have come and joined us here for the start of the race, and others who have supported us prior and for the race. Dave who was scouting out the route, Thomas and Silke from Autohaus Fersch who gave us an amazing deal for the car we used to scout out the route and travel around with the kids, the Invermere people, companies and pilots, the Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada, Frank and Tracye, Chris and Kari and so many more I'd like to mention, but time is running out. We\d also like to thank the great and super helpful xAlps crew, you guys are doing an amazing job. 

Please follow the links below or check out the video to see what we have done so far.

For the next 2 weeks, check out www.RedBullxAlps.com and see live what we and everyone else is doing and our current updates are at http://www.redbullxalps.com/athletes/diary/max-fanderl.html 

Click here for the Photo Album.

A day at Chamonix

The weather forecast was good for today and we decided to stay and fly at Chamonix.
We got up early in the morning and hiked up to mid station of Mt. Brevent (south side of Chamonix). When we got up there, there there were at least 40 pilots up there and the launch site was a very busy place.
Soon we got airborne and I flew to Passy. The cloud base got lower and I decided to come back to Chamonix, from there I headed north until I could go no further due the north wind. Dave landed and I decided to come down as well as I planned to head to Germany to meet up with Penny and the kids. Dave was set to take up the gondola to Aiguille du Midi (3842 meters). Instead of heading back, we headed up to Aiguille du Midi.  Wow, what a incredible place, I am sure glad we headed up there. We could not fly from the top, but the views were incredible. We took one gondola down to the mid station (2300 meters) and setup for a flight from there. The wind was strong, but once airborne it was great. We were able to fly over the glacier and had a great flight. After the flight we got a quick bite and started to hit the road to Austria which is about a 7 hour drive.

More pictures of this day at
https://plus.google.com/photos/107366320201211493303/albums/5894083807073517441 

From Chamonix to St. Hilare and heading south

Big thunder and heavy rain woke us up in Chamonix. At least we got a good thunder concert as we could do nothing else around Mt. Blanc.
We contacted Clement and Bruno (from Supair) if we could come for a visit to Supair's headquarters in Annecy which is just an hour from Chamonix. They had time and made us feel very welcome and wanted as much as possible feedback of the new harness. In the mean time Bruno added and adjusted small bits and peaces on the harness he wanted to do anyways. I had some issues with the shoulder straps of their backpack which resulted into pain in my shoulders and Bruno knew right away what it could be and added more padding and changed what needed to be done. Wow, what a service, thanks a lot again Bruno and to your team.
Clement (manager in Sales for SupAir) is also a xAlps competitor and was very helpful to give me valuable information of the Chamonix to St. Hilare section, thanks again Clement, it all made sense wen we saw it the last couple of days.

After the SupAir visit, we headed to Villard sur Doron stayed overnight and the next day we hiked up to Mount Bisanne. This site is known as a very popular XC starting point, but when we got up, it was still covered in clouds and once the clouds lifted, we had a good north wind which is from the wrong direction. After spending some time up there, we hiked down a couple minutes and launched in some week lee thermals and managed to fly down instead of hiking down 1200 meters.
After we packed up, we headed to St. Hilare and checked out the route Clement was telling us.
We planned to hike up Dent de Crolles (2062 meters) which is just above St. Hilare, but the cloud base was just about 100 meters above St. Hilare (900 meters) and we could watch the first para gliders playing in the morning sun (9:00am). After watching this for 20 minutes, we decided not to hike and start flying. My first flight was about 2 hours and I flew part of the route back to Les Marches and back to St. Hilare, top landed had some lunch, adjusted the harness a bit and got ready for another flight. Cloud base raised up to 1400 meters but it was still not enough to cross the valley to follow the xAlps route. After my 2nd attempt crossing the valley, I managed to thermal up some small bumps on the other side and could work all the small bumps and ridges to the south west passing by Grenoble. Cloud base never got higher then 1800 meters which made it impossible for me to follow my way-points which were leading me into the higher mountains (about 2500 meters). I ended up at a ridge soaring site on a high plateau by Lac Mort, top landed there and contemplated to hike about 10 km south to a open grassy mountain. Instead of hiking, I launched again and tried to fly east and to work myself out of this area, which resulted in a landing down in the valley. Overall I had a great flight and spend more then 6 hours in the air trying out different things.
Today we plan to hike up another mountain and head down south towards Monaco. 

Interlaken to Chamonix

Once we got to Interlaken, we could not believe how many tandem flights are happening there. I heard they have about 8 tandem companies with about 10 tandem pilots each. This town is insane with tourism, I would say it is about Banff multiplied by 10.
We hooked up with a couple locals and followed them to the Niederhorn. This time we did not hike as it got kind of late and the Foehn was supposed to come in pretty soon. So we took a bus to the mountain train and after the train ride with a gondola up to the Niederhorn. It was great to chat with the locals and to find out what can be done if the weather is very very good. For me, I got a very good opportunity to take it all in and get used to the area. Once we got to the top, some pilots and tandem pilots started to pack up to rive back down as the Foehn already started to come in. It was not to bad yet and we got ready right away, took off and had a extended sledder to the landing site.

After that, we headed to the lake for a quick swim to cool off (it was very cold) and then headed to Kandersteg to start hiking up to the Loetscher Pass. On the way up, we met some hikers and they told us to turn around as there is to much snow on the pass. It seams that this year there is way more snow in the alps then usual. We took the advise, turned around and drove to Kippel. This was a interesting drive as we had to go through a long tunnel on a train (with the car). From there we decided to head up to the Loetscher Valley and stay up there (1768 meters) due the amazing views and the cooler temperatures. We heard that in Sion the temperatures got up to 36 Celsius and staying overnight there would be kind of warm.

The next morning we started hiking up to the Loetscher Pass from the other side (Kippel) and half way up we watched the Foehn clouds build in the valley. We decided to fly down as this might be the only chance we had as the Foehn will come again. We had a great flight and I could stay up longer and play with the thermals. This valley is very protected from the Foehn due the high mountains around it. After we packed up and drove to Sion, we could not believe how strong the Foehn was there, it must have been at least 50 to 70 km/hr winds.
From Sion we headed to Chamonix to check out this area and finished out day to set up camp in the Chamonix campground.
Here are some pictures of Interlaken.  

Flying in Flims and heading to Interlaken

Floehn in Flims, just as the weather forecast stated. Dave and I still decided to hike up to Naraus to check out the area. Once we got up, we were able to sneak in a flight to get back down to Flims. The conditions were strong and it was no problem to get high over the rock face (just behind the launch site) We played around in the area, which gave me a good opportunity to take some pictures of my new harness in the air. After about 45 minutes of flying we landed in Flims and then headed to Interlaken (Meiringen) via the Oberalp Pass, Furka Pass and Grimsel Pass.
In Andermatt we stoped for a Coffee at a Internet Coffee and met "Banz" (owner of the shop), which turned out that he used to live in Invermere and is very well connected with Daniel Zurgilgen and Lusti. At the same time "Banz" gave us pretty much all the xAlps route info for this area we came here for. We found the best route from Chur to Interlaken and from Interlaken to Zermatt. Thanks again "Banz" we had a great time and really enjoyed meeting you.
More photos of the flight is at
https://plus.google.com/photos/107366320201211493303/albums/5890564439821573809?sort=7

Hiking from Davos to Chur

Today we hiked from Davos up to the Strela Pass and once we got up there we could feel the Foehn (Chinook) blowing in. To bad as it would have been great to fly around the famous Davos area or fly to Chur.
Dave hiked back down to Davos and I kept going to Chur and hiked for about 27 km for the day. It was good to practice these longs hikes with the new SupAir backpack, like everything, it all takes some time to change from what you are used to.
It was also good to see how well my insoles from "The Orthotic Group" are working for long hikes and on the pavement. These insoles did not change anything on my posture or what ever, but give me support at my foot at places where I got week over all these years of hiking. During all the training and now here in the Alps, I really want to give them my thumbs up and thanks again to Chris Wilson who got me on those.

The poles do show some wear and tear now, they are great, but the handles wear off pretty fast as you can see and I hope I can get them exchanged soon.
Tomorrow we plan to go flying from Flims, if the Foehn/Chinook is not messing up our plans again. 

Checking out turn point Sulden today

Today we checked out the turn point Sulden.
We explored the option in how we could fly out from there and shortly after we started to hike up Piz Chavalatsch. Dave flew from there back to the car and I headed to the OfenPass. This was my first flight with the new Supair harness and I was glad I spend the extra time yesterday to get it all set up. The harness felt great and all was working the way it should be. I was happy about that as the thermals were strong and in no time I was up at cloud-base (at 3200 meters). Shortly after I realized that I had problems penetrating to the south due the strong south wind. I lost about 1000 meters to gain about 3 km. I kept working to the south and drifted slowly to the OfenPass and then landed.
Once Dave caught up, we headed to Davos and plan our next flight from there.
I have some more pictures posted at
https://plus.google.com/photos/107366320201211493303/albums/5889805974819769297?authkey=CIXMuq2m87i-SQ 

My new harness and on the way to Sulden.

Today my harness from SupAir arrived at Nova, It was also a rain day and perfect day to adjust and set up the new harness. 
Wow, only 1.5 kg and this for a large harness. 
After this we headed to the Stilfzer Joch to check out the next turn point "Sulden".

Turnpoint Zugspitze (Germany)

What a fantastic day. 
Dave and I started the day with a 1500 meter hike up to the Stanser Joch. This site overlooks Achensee and down the main Inntal valley.
Once we got up (1:00pm) we watched already other para-gliders and gliders go by. We had a quick lunch and got ready to get airborne. The conditions were perfect and I could sky out right away. Once I got up, I flew along the Inntal valley passing by Innsbruck to Seefeld. From there I did a huge valley crossing to get to the Zugspitze area. I arrived there low with about 400 meter over the valley floor, but was able to find a small thermal and managed to climb out to 3000 meters. Once up there I could fly to the Zugspitze. At my first attempt to get to the Zugspitze turn point I got low and had to come back for a second time to get into the 100 meter turn point radius. I sure hope I can make this turn point same way in the race, otherwise this would end up in a huge hike.  

After the Zugspitze I headed back out to the Inntal to fly towards the next turn-point Sulden. I flew for about another 40 km and landed between Imst and Landeck. On the way to Landeck I decided to turn around and land next to a big highway gas station to make it easy for Dave to find me. 
Dave had a 3.5 hour flight himself and landed close to the car. He is super stoked as this was his longest flight he ever had. 
We drove back to Nova and hope that my harness has now arrived. My Mentor3 light is still not finished and I might get a Mentor 3 large today as well as I flew the Mentor 3 medium for the last couple of days. 
Hello to everyone and we will keep you posted as long we have an Internet connection. 
More photos at 
https://plus.google.com/photos/107366320201211493303/albums/5889218649628650273 

1st day on the route

The weather forecast was for no rain and low cloud base. My wing (Mentor3 light) will be delayed for one more week, my harness from Supair and a SD card from Brauninger should arrive on Thursday at the Nova headquarters. Therefore we started our explorations from the turn point Wildkogel.
We started from the east side of the Wildkogel and had a nice 1200 meter hike up. The wind was from behind blowing up to 15 km/h. We managed to get airborne and after we landed in the valley we headed to Gerlos and did another 1000 meter hike to the Kreuzjoch and from there I managed to fly to the Zillertal.

 

 

 

We are on our way to check out the xAlps route

Today I picked up Dave from Munich. First things first and Dave made sure not to be hungry for today.
Now we can start with scouting out the xAlps route in person (not just Google Earth) and get organize the last bit and pieces for the race.
The weather forecast looks good for the next week and we will start our tour from the Nova headquarters in Terferns heading to the Zugspitze and then to Sulden.
I will have my Spot turned on so you can follow us where we are and if anyone is in the area, please stop by to say hi and if possible share your local knowledge with us.

Here is the link of my Spot page
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0XsW0AKZFVY4Ry5pL8qqCX2ut164OPee5

Arriving in Germany to get started

I arrived in Germany June 6th and everything is coming along very well.
Thanks to my brother Dieter to pick me up from the airport and the tour in Munich and my brother Uli to arrange a car from www.autohaus-fersch.de/ to be able scout out the xAlps route in the next 3 weeks.
Once we packed up, I drove to Lenggries to meet up Mik Broschart (our second xAlps supporter) to get some intensive training and workout done with Google Earth.
Besides working with Google earth and figure out logistics, we were able to get a 2 hour flight in at Brauneck and long hike (with some thunderstorms) in the Lenggries area.
Tomorrow I will head to Munich to pick up Dave (Gorzilla) and then we will head to Innsbruck to get started to pound the route by foot and in the air.

  

How is the training coming along?

How is the training coming along? This is pretty much a question I get asked at least once a day.
Training is coming along very well. We have been super busy with www.ColumbiaRiverKayakCanoe.com, paragliding lessons, www.Appointment.com and family life.
From the training perspective, I feel better then I ever have been. I think it is more so because I am listening more to Penny's advice and simply make sure not to over-train.
Otherwise I have a pretty good routine which involves spin-classes and the Yoga sessions at the www.shapeupinvermere.com/,and the training program and coaching from Penny which includes the daily hikes around Mt. Swansea, the Lakeview Meadows stairs and the gym.

This seams to be working very well as I feel strong and fit.

Overall we had a pretty good spring and I also got a fair share of flying in strong Rocky Mountain spring conditions which increased my confidence level quite a bit for this season. Another reason my confidence level is boosted is that I am very happy and excited to fly the new Mentor 3 light this year. The Mentor 3 is not new to me as I flew a prototype during the Nova SIV course last October at Achensee and really loved it. Further, it shows that the Mentor 3 will be a good pick as there will be a total of 4 xAlps pilots using the Mentor 3 in this years xAlps race.
Currently I am still flying the Mentor 2 and my new Mentor 3 light is just about ready and I should get it when I am in Germany next week.

Besides the daily hikes around Mt. Swansea and the "grunts" on the Lakeview Meadows stairs, working out in the gym and flying in the Rockies,  I give Google Earth a good workout to find the best xAlps route. To know the route and to explore the route before the race is critical. Our biggest disadvantage is that we do not know the area as well as the locals do. This year I am heading to Europe early (tomorrow) and my plan is to walk and fly the whole route before the race starts.

I will keep you updated once I start with scouting out the route and will have my Spot running so you can follow me.

Thanks to everyone who came to our BBQ

Thanks to everyone who came out to our BBQ and fundraiser party for the xAlps.
We feel very lucky to have such an amazing group of friends, and such great support for this endeavor! And a huge thank you to all who donated items for our silent auction which paied for half of our airplane tickets to Germany.
We couldn't have done it without you. And of course, Frank and Tracye, you guys are amazing. If it wasn't for you, this wouldn't have happened. Cheri Hann, thanks for showcasing your talent, on the kids faces....amazing face painting. And of course too, Brad and Jenny for coming from Canmore to bbq for everyone.
Love you all!

How important is a team?

1031 km, as the crow flies, is the distance of the 2013 route of the xAlps.
This is a lot of terrain to cover and hard to navigate by foot. Many people question how would one conquer this task, and how would one complete it.
When spectators, such as non paragliding pilots try to answer this question,most of them might think of hiring guides. Some might even think that, given a chance and ability, it might be easier to paraglide across the high mountain passes rather than hike them.
This might be correct if you are at the right place at the right time to take advantage of good weather conditions and flying possibilities. These variables and the present physical/mental condition of the athletes, make the xAlps such a popular and interesting race for anyone to follow, whether you are a participant/athlete in the race, a paraglider pilot or only a spectator. Every athlete has a live tracking device with them and the athletes can be followed throughout the race live at www.RedBullxAlps.com. In 2011 the race had over 2 million visitors on the website following it.

It is very interesting understanding the perspective of the performer/athlete and also the perspective of the viewer/observer. The observer is entertained by watching the tactics of the athletes and tries to figure out the decision making of these performers. As it often is, the observer seems to know best what the performer should do! We hear it all the time. In sports, competitions, watching a movie or a play, the commentators and spectators feel they know better what the performer should be doing. And quite often the observer might have a better idea of what is going on and see the overall picture, and how to proceed with it. At the same time however, an observer is often surprised by the performers decision as the observer does not always know what is going on in the performers mind, their entire "game plan" and also the physical and mental condition or background knowledge of the performer.

To assist an athlete/performer with the overall picture of how the event should be played, we use coaches/leaders. A good coach/leader helps to eliminate or reduce overall difficulties or problems, work on different tactics and is a liaison with feedback from supporters of what the performer is doing.  

The use of coaches in the sports industry is very much accepted and they play a huge part in all sports. The equivalent in the business world, would be a mentor. If you think about, a good manager should be the coach/leader, however, we see it all the time, the manager is also performing and can have a hard time seeing the overall picture. Even in our private or family life we could use a coach, who simply can be a couple of friends to talk to.

For my preparations in the race, I always try to step out of the current situation I am in, and try to watch my actions from the outside. Sometimes I envision myself sitting in front of a TV, watching the event play itself out, and try to analyze this situation as an observer, coach, commentator or spectator, and in that position think about what the right decision will be for the next step. 

Trying to evaluate oneself like this, will only work to a certain extent.
The xAlps race is not only about the pilot/athlete. It is about a team working together to achieve a common goal - getting the pilot to Monaco. 
I have to say that I am very fortunate to do the xAlps with my partner Penny, as she is a very good coach and motivator and the best of all is that we both have so much fun while preparing for the xAlps and then racing. 
In the 2013 xAlps, a team will now be allowed to have 2 supporters, which could, or might, make things much harder, as we know that too many chefs spoil the broth. But if you have the right team players, you quadruple the benefit.
Penny and I are very excited that we found the best 2nd supporter/coach we could ask for. Mik Broschard is a long time friend, has a lot of connections, knowledge of the race and the sport, highly motivated, got the time and got the support from his family (thanks again Kristine) to make Team Canada complete.  

Easter Meet at Panorama

This was our 16th annual Easter flying meet at Panorama Mountain Resort.
The weather was exceptional and so were the number of participants. 36 pilots came with their friends and families to enjoy what Panorama Resort had to offer.

"Sunny and Hot" was the weather everyday, which was perfect to fly and ski. Virtually, there was no chance to sit down and relax, as there was so much to do.
This year Dave Gorzitza won the trophy, Max and Katia on tandem came in second and Nathan Livingston was 3rd.

On Saturday we had 6 pilots (Frank Kernick, Derek Yuill, Chris Wilson, Mike Waddington, Nathan Livingston and myself) getting high above Panorama (3500 m) and then flying out to the Valley. Nathan flew home to Wilmer, I flew to Mt. Swansea and to my place and the others landed at the Lakeside Pub beach.
The highlight of the meet was the visit from Dannie Wolf and Stewart Midwinter. It was so great to see both of them come and join us for dinner. This year we dedicated the Easter Meet to Dannie Wolf who had a towing accident last year and is currently in a wheel chair.
Thanks again to everybody who donated cash or auction items and could raise $2200 (The Lakeside meet bought the auction items for $500 to use at the Lakeside meet) for Dannie.

Last but not least, we also like to thank Panorama Resort and their awesome staff for hosting our unique event.


Click here to get to the Easter Meet Photo Album


Tandem with the kids


Flight from Panorama to Invermere

Spring flight from Mount Swansea

Spring started early this year.
Here are a couple video clips of our local flying site (Mt. Swansea) and some cool view's of the icy lake.

2013 www.RedBullxAlps.com route released

I had the pleasure to be in Salzburg at Hangar 7 for the 2013 www.RedBullxAlps.com official route release.
Wow, 1031 km as the crow flies and going across a lot of very high alpine terrain. No doubt that this year will be for sure a big challenge and I am sure a very interesting race.

Start: Salzburg
1. Gaisberg 1,287m
2. Dachstein 2,995m
3. Wildkogel, 2,224m
4. Zugspitze / Garmisch-Partenkirchen 2,962m
5. Ortler / Sulden 1,906m
6. Interlaken 568m
7. Matterhorn 4,478m
8. Mont Blanc 4,810m
9. Saint Hilaire 995m
10. Peille 600m
Finish: Monaco

Thanks again to Hannes and Flo to put on this amazing day.

Here is a video from Mik about of Hangar 7 and the DC6 flight.


Red Bull Douglas DC-6B flight from Mik Broschart on Vimeo.

Wonder why we are participating in the xAlps again, for the 4th time?

This question is very often asked to us, and my answer, in short, is "we have not learnt how to do it right yet and therefore we have to do it again!”. Well, that is one answer, but not quite true. We also say it is the adventure and experience, which is one of the reasons, but there is more behind it than just the adventure and experience. If we look back at how our lives were before the xAlps and how it is now, it shows that the xAlps have had an impact on our lives way more than we ever expected the race would when we first started.
Firstly, we have learned about the Alps and know more about the geography and history of these mountains than prior to the race, and we have learned a lot about our bodies and minds, and know ourselves way better than ever before. But the most rewarding result I got out of the xAlps it is to see and realize how lucky I am to be with my supporter, best friend, and the mother of my kids. The xAlps are a serious “relationship checker” and it will bring out and show how well your team leadership skills are (on both ends),  how your self discipline is, how you respect and trust each other and how important it is to accept things for what they are and accept people too, for who they are. This is all something we kind of know, but these fundamentals can get forgotten very fast when you are in a 2 week long race , extremely exhausted and when things are not always going the way you want it to go. Penny and I learned how lucky we are to be able to have so much fun with the race and everything that comes along with it. Even though we, and everyone else racing the xAlps, have a lot of stress factors against us, such as the race itself, the time to prepare, work itself, the financial burden of the race, lost income, the training, sacrificing time with the family and the interference of our regular family life.
 Now how can we still do this and still be fun? It all comes all down to the very basic fundamentals of life, such as trust, respect, the right attitude and self discipline. Once all this is in place, one needs to deal with his ego and has to simply learn to accept other people and situations as they are and make the best out of any situation. Obeying these fundamentals helps make what one would consider the impossible, possible, and makes a race like the xAlps fun. Everything I feel and have written about, does not just have to apply to the xAlps, it will work for everyones personal life, relationship or family, for any sport, in the workplace, work career and  leadership. What we really enjoy and what has impacted our lives, through our participation in the xAlps, is that we really enjoy sharing and influencing others with our stories and experiences. We have done, and continue to do, a lot of "motivational/educational" presentations and leadership training in schools, to Rotary clubs and Corporations (mostly oil companies), for entertainment and also to educate them how much fun and mileage you can achieve with the right attitude. Do not just sit and wait ... take it to the Max

Grant Application for Mt. Swansea got the green light

Adrian Bergles (President of the Columbia Valley Cycling Society, in the middle) spear headed a big grant for mountain biking, paragliders/hang-gliders, hikers (including hiking to the launch site) for Mt. Swansea.

Last Sunday Kootenay--Columbia MP David Wilks (on the right) announced $57.775.00 in Western Diversification Community Infrastructure Improvement Funding to the Columbia Valley Cycling Society for improvements to the trail and flying infrastructure at Mt. Swansea.
This represents 50% of the entire grant -- the rest of which will be made up by the Columbia Basin Trust (25%), the British Columbia Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (BCHPA) and a number of other partners.
As the mountain is a major hub for cyclists, hikers, and paragliders/hang gliders, this project will mark a tremendous improvement in recreational infrastructure in the Columbia Valley. It illustrates the collaborative approach the cycling society strives for in its back country recreation and land access projects.

From the flying perspective, we will be improving the north and south launch sites, setting up a weather station and installing 2 webcams, which will help pilots see the flying conditions before heading up and for others to see what they are missing!!