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!