Specifically, how much (roughly) time and money would I have to invest to get to a point where I could head up the local Alp in the evening and cruise around for a bit, with no instructors/school permission needed? I'm thinking it could cure me of my heights fears in a relatively relaxed way, and could be a good intro to the skills needed for speedriding...
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
clarky999, Have you done a tandem yet?
It really is the best thing ever
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Nope, never done anything like it, looks ace though, and quite a few people seem to do it regularly late season up Nordkette.
clarky999, SamerbergSue is your gal for the answers.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Be extremely careful doing this (even tandem) on holiday unless you have cover - most insurance policies do not cover it, even many extreme sports policies do not cover it. And minor injuries are fairly common - broken ankles, wrists, arms, on landing. That's probably why the insurance policies don't cover it.
I've done it tandem, and it is a great feeling, the only scary bit is the initial jump off a cliff edge, but you are already in the air by that point, in theory. I am not particularly scared of heights, and found it enjoyable and relaxing - like going for a ride in a hot air balloon or similar. When you get closer to the ground it is good cruising over the top of trees and buildings.
maybe the evening wouldn't be the best time of day to choose.
I did a tandem flight for my 60th birthday. Was great. Not scary at any point, and a very soft landing. I was half wondering about learning, but decided that I already had enough quite expensive hobbies. My brother in law took it quite far, then his paragliding career came to an abrupt end on a course in North Africa, where one of the 5 guys on the course was killed. My BiL was very close to it all, the guy's wife was there too (though not flying) and the whole group were traumatised. He decided not to continue, his heart wasn't in it any more.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
pam w, Ok, late afternoon then lol - was still light 'til 7/8pm in Austria this March/April though. Sorry to hear about your BiL.
Monium, you're a lifesaver, I'm heading off to Innsbruck first thing in the morning for the rest of the summer, and forgot that currently my BMC insurance is normal annual and not extended trip - that would have been an expensive mistake if anything goes wrong! New insurance would cover it, but at €105 for a 30 min tandem flight, I might have to wait 'til I'm not living on a students budget lol.
After all it is free
After all it is free
I had a mate who did it in HK, no idea about the cost of courses etc but he loved it and like most things once you are qualified/competent the cost is quite low. His main issue was not landing where he started but I do chuckle when thinking about the chats he used to have with golfers on the golf course whereby he was hovering at a few meters above the ground
... one thing that sticks in my mind is ... 'big ears' ... a method of collapsing the wing to escape from rising up in a thermal spiral and freezing the death only to drop out of the sky like a rather large hail stone
something I would like to do too
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
clarky999, how long have you got to learn? Do you want to learn in English or in German? If you want to fly here in the Alps it is better to learn here and later adapt to soaring in the UK.
If you have a natural aptitude you can pass your Basic pilot/DHV A Schein license in about a month. But it is better to do it over a longer period in order to experience more varied weather conditions. Flying in Alpine valleys can be quite tricky as you have a lot of local wind variations that have caused even the most experienced flyers to have problems.
Cost is quite high to get your basic license - the equipment for you initial license course is usually loaned from the school you are learning with, but as soon as you move to training to fly from the mountains you do need your own glider and harness, plus emergency parachute, helmet and maybe some basic instruments such as a variometer (measures your rate of climb and sinking).
Once you have your license it is not that easy to just "pop up" the nearest alm and launch, especially in Austria - they have stricter regulation than here in Germany. But when you do know the licensed/permitted take off and landing spots you do open your world to a whole new addictive and wonderful experience!
Where are you based in Austria right now? Maybe we could meet up and I could show you some of the places where we fly. If you are in the Innsbruck area, then go up the Stubaital to Neustift and book a tandem flight with ParaFly. They are an excellent school and provide superb facilities. If you are closer to Rosenheim then give me a buzz and we can sort something out!
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
clarky999 wrote:
I'm thinking it could cure me of my heights fears in a relatively relaxed way, and could be a good intro to the skills needed for speedriding...
I did a two day course about ten years ago but I don't think it is much help with regard to fear of heights. I am fairly nervous in that respect as well, in fact you will never find me going up a step ladder. At the top of a steep couloir or other exposed places I can feel a bit uncomfortable. I just have to trust the guides and get on with it. I certainly got an adrenaline rush or whatever from paragliding, but knowing the canopy was there made me feel quite safe. I have done a couple of abseils in the past and the feeling of safety to me was much the same.
The course I did was on the South Downs near Brighton. On the second day we each did about six flights from the top of the Devil's Dyke. Each flight lasted about forty five seconds, however you are up there even if it is only a couple of hundred feet.
I have two problems with it as a sport. Firstly it is very weather dependent. Anything above about a seventeen knot wind if I recall means that it is too windy. I think even experienced people can go out in only about five knots more. It is therefore not a sport you can always plan a weekend around. Ideally you need to be near a good location and go when the conditions are favourable. The second day of my two day "weekend" course was postponed twice.
Beginner canopies are not totally fail safe, but reasonably so and under supervision there is no reason for a novice to screw up. Landing is the biggest challenge for a novice. I ended up flat on my face with my first attempt but most of my others were pretty good and I usually manged to land gently standing upright.
I feel however that progressing to a more advanced level is increasing the risk level significantly depending on how far you push it. More advanced canopies are more tricky to handle and you really do need to know where to land. It's not just power cables and roads you need to avoid, landing anywhere within a hundred metres of something like a barn can cause problems with the breeze.
Maybe some kind of introduction like the course I did would be a good starter for you.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
richjp, sorry but you are talking the proverbial bollux there with your talk about canopies.
In theory yes you can go and buy a high performance canopy in the same way you can go and buy a Ferrari or Porsche right after you pass your test, but logic usually stops that as well as the price. Also your flying school training you at altitude flying will not let you fly if your canopy is not suitable to your skills.
All sports in the outdoors are to some degree or another weather dependant, your taster course was postponed because your school was playing safe, as they should. Once you are licensed, if the wind is from the wrong direction or too strong, you can easily go to another area where it is more suitable.
As for your 17 knots I think you mean 17kmh 15 knots is 27.8kmh and 20 knots is 38.7 kmh Our beginners (and I include myself in that category) do not fly if the wind on our practice and mountain starts exceeds 15 kmh.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Samerberg Sue, cheers for the info! Pretty much idle thinking at the moment as I don't have the funds at the moment (I'm not able to do much paid work this summer, what with doing my dissertation research), but it's something I'd like to start getting into in the next couple of years (from what you say, it might be worth doing little bits and pieces over a longer time than one of the intensive 10 day courses anyway?), maybe from next summer.
I'd definitely be wanting to learn here in the Alps, but unless my German radically improves I'll need to learn in English lol.
Actually I was passing through Rosenheim today, but am back in Innsbruck now (easy journey for me though...). Are you involved with a school over there?
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
clarky999, Apparently these guys are good http://www.paragliding.at/index.php The website is only in German, though I know that one of the owners, Kurt Told, speaks good English.
Based in Niederau... Easy to get to from Innsbruck, train to Woergl, then bus to Niederau.
It looks like they do a trial day, Schnupperkurs, which costs €79 which might be interesting for you.
I'm not a paraglider, but I know people around here who are, who recommend this school.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
clarky999, no I live here above here - above Rosenheim in the mountains
A Schnupperkurs here costs 60 Euro an all the gear is supplied including radios so you can be told what to do (in English if necessary ) Sarts at 7.45am and finishes at about mid-day and they guarantee to get you flying or you can come back free of charge as often as required until you do get into the air! A mate of mine tested that in a "cunning plan" and it worked - he got two full Schnupperkurs for the price of one by not flying the first day and came back for a second and flew 8 times!
SaraJ, I know that crowd, they have an excellent reputation around here as well
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I did a tandem flight in Val d'Isere many years ago: great fun though a bit expensive. I did feel very giddy when he did a rapid spiral, though. And it didn't occur to me that my insurance might not cover it.
The ski guide I employ for a week or two every year, and his wife, both teach it and were members of the French team (she was twice world champion). For their honeymoon a few years ago they climbed Everest together and did a tandem jump off the top (actually 20 metres down from the summit) using a specially made lightweight parachute. They weren't sure if the thin air would support them (it seems the initial drop was rather rapid ). They did the same off the highest peak in each continent - the only people to do this, though I think one other has parapented off Everest. However, despite this private risk taking he is very safety conscious with clients.
I'm sure they would be happy to give you info about it (mention my name - David Johnson). He lives in the Haute Maurienne (Val Cenis) though he also guides us in other areas.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
snowball, When you undertake a commercial tandem flight you are fully covered by the pilot's insurance. When you fill in the consent form the insurance details should either be handed to you to read and undersign, or they are printed on the reverse of your booking/information form. Anyone who takes money but does not require you to sign a consent form is operating illegally. With legal operations it is irrelevant as to what your normal travel insurance covers or not.
The other thing is that clarky999 is based in Austria not France
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I don't remember signing a consent form, but it was at least 20 years ago so I suppose I could have forgotten.
Ah, I didn't notice clarky999 also had a base outside GB - however information knows no borders.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Someone on the Steep Off Piste Bash in March did a lot of this ....... cannot remember exactly who ..... brain says may have been Anthony and definitely from North Devon / Somerset way !!
snowball, they sound like the most bad-ass couple ever!!
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
PBJ wrote:
Someone on the Steep Off Piste Bash in March did a lot of this ....... cannot remember exactly who ..... brain says may have been Anthony and definitely from North Devon / Somerset way !!
Will look at the list later and let you know.
Definatley Anth who's snowboard also enjoyed a bit of air!
Anyone interested in paragliding should look at http://www.paraglidingforum.com/
Lot's of valuable information regarding how to start up and serious advice for those thinking of the "fleabay" DIY approach
Also look at the BHPA website regarding clubs and instruction in the UK
Yes the sport is very weather dependant. But once qualified the sensation of soaring after getting up to the launch point under your own steam is fantastic
Similar feeling to finding some fresh lines in great pow after a trek away from the crowds
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Quote:
Flying in Alpine valleys can be quite tricky as you have a lot of local wind variations that have caused even the most experienced flyers to have problems.
That was one of the things that decided me against pursuing it. I thought I could probably get the hang of actually driving the thing, but I read a couple of books and decided I was unlikely to become sufficiently proficient at "reading" the ground and the wind to be safe flying independently, especially in the Alps. I sail, and I have an idea about wind, and I take a certain amount of interest in the niceties when necessary - but the finer points of exactly when, on the day, the seabreeze will begin to bend, and what will happen just south of that cliff, I can't quite be bothered with, only being a very occasional racer. But then the price I pay is not not doing very well in a race, and I'm willing to pay that.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Paragliding is for people who are too scared to skydive or wingsuit.
Flying around under a giant handkerchief at 1mph gets a bit tedious after just a few minutes.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Quote:
1mph
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
I've done it a couple of times. First time was great - in the Alps. Second time in Nepal, and we got some serious thermals. I was quite literally travel sick Apart from that it was great!!
Take travel sickness pills if you're affected.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Whitegold wrote:
Paragliding is for people who are too scared to skydive or wingsuit.
Flying around under a giant handkerchief at 1mph gets a bit tedious after just a few minutes.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
He decided not to continue, his heart wasn't in it any more.
but I do chuckle when thinking about the chats he used to have with golfers on the golf course whereby he was hovering at a few meters above the ground 
I think you mean 17kmh 
15 knots is 27.8kmh and 20 knots is 38.7 kmh Our beginners (and I include myself in that category) do not fly if the wind on our practice and mountain starts exceeds 15 kmh. 
Apart from that it was great!!
