xAlps or not

The application deadline for the xAlps is coming up soon and the big question is, are we going to apply again to represent Canada in the race?
It often crosses our minds, especially during the race, why are we doing this. What pushes us to train so hard, spend our "holiday savings" on it and dedicate so much time and energy in preparation and during the race?
There is something very special about the xAlps, and something that  no one will really understand unless they are part of it. However, one of the reasons for participating in it, is the adventure, which I share with my partner (Penny). The other is the mental aspect of the race, and to be able to do things you dream of. Many of which are hard to do on your own. Also the whole atmosphere of the xAlps, which includes everyone from the organizers, volunteers, supporters, sponsors and competitors. They are all like family or brotherhood, and everyone we have met over the years have played some sort of roll in our life, whether it be during the race or afterwards in a continued friendship or mentor.
We are very proud that we have been accepted/invited 4 times to this amazing race, to experience the adventure, and to meet and make so many new friends.

Since the 2013 race, many new things have happened in our lives. Last October, I started a new business (www.TrappeurHomes.com) with a good friend, Aaron Cameron, which has taken off in a big way. It has been a lot of work, but a lot of fun at the same time. Furthermore, I have decided to get back into Ultralight flying and teaching, and we are looking to get a float plane to explore the mountain lakes around here. Also on the agenda for next year is a holiday to Penny's "homeland", South Africa and experience the African life with the kids. Penny has recently also finished a refresher in open water sailing and she wants to go on a sailing trip with the kids for a couple months too.
As you can see, with all this, and focusing on the new business, we will not have the time and dedication for the preparation and participation in the 2015 xAlps. For this reason we have chosen not to apply to represent Canada in the next xAlps.
This decision was no an easy one, but in reality you only have so much time in day and instead of spreading ourselves too thin with all these plans and projects, something had to give.
Thanks again to everyone who has cheered us on and supported us over the years, and who keep following our adventures through the available social media.

Max, Penny and the kids

Webcam and Wind meter at Mt. Swansea

Late last fall we already installed the webcam and wind meter at Mt. Swansea. for a test run. Over the winter the battery got drained and froze up and the webcam and wind meter went into hibernation.
A couple weeks ago I carried up a new car battery and the system woke up and is running fine since.

Thanks to Jan, job well done. Also, please see all the credits in how this project got established and funded at http://www.flyingmax.com/area/swansea-webcams/

We plan to have the webcam and wind meter running from mid April to mid November and shut it down over the winter
.
Besides the 2 webcams, we as pilots certainly enjoy the 2 wind meter links. One is to show the actual wind directions, speed and gusts and the 2nd with a 24 hour history to see what the overall wind development is.
Jan is also working to create a page to view more historic data over the month to come.

Check it out at
http://www.flyingmax.com/area/swansea-webcams/

  

More winter flying in the Valley

Winter here in the valley is not boring at all,
Here are some pictures from a flight off Mt. Swansea with the Canadian flag and landing at the start of the Winter Festival and the Annual Bonespiel.
Click here to see more pictures.

Check out this video about our Whiteway (right in front of our doors)

Flying to Powder King

Aaron Cameron, my business partner with TrappeurHomes.com, Chris Wiegert , home builder in Columbia Valley, and I did a business trip to Powder King (near Mackenzie) and rented a Cessna 172 from www.BabinAir.com for the 680 km trip.

There is nothing better then flying in the pristine Rockies Mountain trench in the winter. There are no words to describe the beauty, vast, wild and untouched landscape and even the pictures are not doing justice either.

Skiing at Powder King was fantastic. Amazing hosts, super nice people and excellent snow.
Thanks again to everyone making us feel so special.

We had to change our flight plan on the flight back due unsettled weather and it turned out to be a very exciting and scenic flight back via Prince George, Williams Lake, Kamloops, Revelstoke and the Rogers Pass.

What a trip, can't wait to fly there again!

Click here for more pictures.

Are you still flying in he winter?

Are you still flying in he winter?
This is what I get asked every year, specially when it gets very cold.

I still hike up Mt. Swansea and do the odd flight in the winter, but most of the time we head up to Panorama and fly at the ski hill.
Panorama Resort is very good to us and they (and their guests) enjoy watching us playing in the sky.

At Christmas day Penny and I landed at the day-lodge with a good crowed of kids and adults while we landed as an Elf and Santa Claus, which was a lot of fun. (click here for more pictures)

Over the holidays, we had very good conditions and we could even ridge soar.
Our New Years flight was fantastic and I really enjoyed the footage and the picture Penny took when I flew with the Canadian flag.

We had several more flights since new years with a lot of other local and out of town flying buddies. If you have no plans for the next couple of weeks, consider to come for a ski & fly at Panorama. More information is at my website at http://www.flyingmax.com/area/panorama/ 

P.s. if you have not heard about it yet, we will have our annual Panorama flying meet (usually during Easter) March 28, 29 and 30, if you have time, come and have fun with us.

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.