Proximity

The Island of Gods : RAW

Paragliding World Cup videographer, Philippe Broers, challenged me to add live commentary to my videos. This is an attempt to do something highly unnatural for me: to verbalize every thought while flying a competition paraglider (EnZo) at full speed, low along coastal cliffs, during a 90 km flight on the island of Bali, Indonesia. In this video I philosophize about life, describe strategies and tactics, and observe my surroundings.

If you appreciate my work and want to motivate me to create more, you could buy me a coffee, by watching the video on Vimeo and using the Tip Jar.

Bali

Things happen for the first time, they happen for the last time. To me it is all the same. It is now.

Flying my EnZo at full speed over a beach more secluded than I have ever imagined, midway through a 50 km ridge run. To the left is the island of Bali, Indonesia and to the right is the Indian Ocean.

Ungala Cliffs

Araxa

"To fly is to touch the wind, smell the clouds, hear the sun, see beyond the horizon." Anonymous

Epilogue

Thirty six hours of buses, aeroplanes, and taxis brought me back to Canada, with Araxa clouds still dancing in my head.

Was I really there?

As I close my eyes to sleep, I can still feel the motions of my EnZo at full speed, G-loading fluctuating, risers losing tension, my wrists twitching as fast as Bruce Lee jacked on Red Bull to keep the wing open.

Yes, I was.

Day 7

Climbing EnZo

The final task and one that would allow a second task discard. Imagine flying the last day of competition knowing that if you bomb, it will not count. It will be as if it never happened, just a bad dream. We did not imagine it, we lived it.

It was last day discard mania as EnZos, IP6s, and Core2s raced pulley-to-pulley with nothing to lose. We would be on full bar even before leaving each thermal and would hold full bar through thermals that were not good enough. Speed-to-fly had no meaning today, neither did height-above-ground.

Everything fell apart, though, when the final glide along the Horizonte Perdido ridge did not produce the booming lift that it 'always' does in the mid afternoon. We found ourselves scratching our heads as we struggled to stay aloft deep in the low hills, among high tension power lines, coffee, and eucalyptus.

The moment we were back in the game, it was game on without hesitation. Full bar, no fear, and this time below reserve height along the 200 m high rocky ridge to goal. A moment came when I realized that I was between rocks and a single power line that went along the ridge, at which point I called time out, dropped bar, and narrowly crossed the power line, into the last landable field, which was inside the end-of-speed section but 1 km of forest from the goal line. A key player was 50 m in front of me and kept gliding at full bar and just a little further ahead hit a small patch of lift, dropped bar into it, and this gave him enough height to still cross the power line and also the crest of the forested hill into goal.

Such is the game and I accept it, as it is. But I play it as I chose.

Erico won.

Eight days of flying, 600 km flown, 30 h of airtime, 40 km/h average speeds, 3-5 m/s climbs, 3000-3800m cloudbases. Seven reserves. This was the most racey paragliding competition I have experienced.

It was the essence of racing paragliders, distilled into its purest form, and then delivered in overdoses day after day until we begged for the goodness to end.  

Frank Brown became Brazilian Champion for the 10th time.

http://www.cavl.com.br

Day 6

We had another glorious 80 km task, won in 1h 40 min by Washington. With shuddering risers, creaking pulleys, and tense grips, we navigated the course at full speed, blowing straight through any thermal that was not Grade A lift. Goal was at an airstrip at the edge of Rio Grande, which divides the state of Minas Gerais with that of Sao Paulo. Dry leaves  flew past us on final glide, warning us of turbulence and lift ahead. Most arrived at goal more than 1000 m above the ground. After reaching goal I decided to take a few pictures above the lake. When I was done I had gained another 600 m. It took forever to land.

Rio Grande is the liquid boundary between Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo

Day 5

Eighty kilometres in under two hours. Pulleys binding, risers wobbling, and lines screaming, the top Brazilian pilots felt no pain as they ambushed the task with 'faca nos dentes' (knife in teeth). There was no time to look around, every km/h was critical, and complete attention was required to keep your glider open. Bruno crossed the end-of-speed section with a time of 1:56:33.

http://www.cavl.com.br

The Lost Horizon ridge

Day 4

One hundred and twenty five kilometres of impossibility. We did our best but after 5.5 hours in the air, the headwind and lighter than predicted climbs left us 20 km short of goal. The flight took us over some dramatic terrain, a wide river with cloud reflections, and a hidden valley that was so beautiful that I was tempted to land there, instead of continuing the task. Frank and I landed in a coffee plantation. I learned two things today: 1. How to land in a coffee plantation 2. How coffee is made. Alfio killed the task, landing 20 km short of goal.

Junior, Vincenzo, myself
Photo credit: Zenilson Rocha

Day 3

Only nine pilots made the 110 km task today, which was won by Frank. With lots of ballast and lots of bar pushing I finished 11 s behind Frank and 15 min ahead the next group.

http://www.cavl.com.br

The goal bus waits for the sun to set before the trip back to headquarters

Day 2

A 90 km task took us into the flatlands to the northeast. Another classic Araxa day with EnZos and IP6s everywhere, whipping through the sky at 60 km/h. Felipe won in 2 h. Four reserves were thrown.

Tree, smoke, cloud

Day 1

We had an exciting full speed 80 km out-and-return in classic Araxa conditions. Climbing to 3800 m in 4 m/s steady climbs, Donizete won the task in 2 h. Tomorrow I will fly with more ballast.

A peaceful sunset in goal

I have wanted, for years, to fly the Lost Horizon in Araxa, Minas Gerais, Brasil. Today, I did. During a 60 km out-and-return  practice flight I climbed to 3200 m in the smoke of this bush fire. I will be filming during then next ten days, in an attempt to capture the magic of this place.

http://www.cavl.com.br

PWC Sun Valley

Day 2

An epic 200 km task was flown over immense and remote terrain. No pilot completed the task but many flew 150+km. We used oxygen systems and climbed to altitudes of up to 18,000 ft.

This video is a 3 min condensation of indescribable adventure.



Day 1

The 61 km partial out-and-return was stopped when pilots reported wind, rain, and hail. The task will not be scored.

I was already packing up near town when I heard the news on the safety frequency. The sky just did not look like it would main composure long enough for us to get through the course. It looked like it would hang on just long enough for us to arrive in the middle of it. I drove upwind and landed as close to town as possible. While packing up I watched the situation deteriorate and listened to the pilot reports becoming more anxious.

Despite finding a huge grassy area out in the open, it was full combat all the way to the ground. I was flying backwards in regular gusts and using most of my tricks to keep my glider open.

There seems to be a weakness in our competition paradigm for situations like this. Quite often a stopped task still results in one hundred pilots finding themselves flying in unsafe conditions. Unsafe to be in the air and equally unsafe to be trying to land. I have no idea was a practical solution to this would look like, but it would be a worthy discussion.

Our Sun

Our Sun descends behind a screen of smoke from forest fires in Idaho. En route to paragliding world cup, Sun Valley.

Into the Blue

Hanging from 1mm kevlar lines and ripstop nylon, I take my paraglider on an adventure deep into pure Canadian wilderness.. grizzly territory.

Grouse Revisited

Ninety seconds of visuals of the cliffs, waterfalls, lakes, and sea of evergreen over Grouse Mountain, North Vancouver, Canada.

http://www.grousemountain.com/

This. Is. Canada.

The 2012 Canadian Paragliding Nationals will be here! An idyllic alpine paragliding wonderland has been created by Jim and Corinne of Cayoosh Expeditions. After a chilled out evening soaring the tree covered slopes, vertical rock faces, and waterfalls of this valley, I cannot wait to be back for the competition.

http://www.paraglidenationals.com/

The Majestic Mount Currie      

 

Beyond Dream

I had a dream. It went something like this..

Paragliding in 60 Seconds

Paragliding World Cup Superfinal

News, results, photos, and live tracking: Paragliding World Cup Association



Task 11


The final task was 80 km of full bar racing within the classic Valle convergence zone. I witnessed a reserve throw and long ride to the ground, which eased my speed bar use slightly.

Peter Neuenschwander won the task again, thus holding his lead to become World Cup Champion.

Photo: Nick Greece

Task 10


A 120 km task, the longest task called in the history of Valle de Bravo. I was in the air for 6 hours, including pre start and post end-of-speed section flying.

Ulrich Prinz won the task.

The sun sets over Valle once again

Task 9


A 100 km task in the roughest air this trip has had to offer. It was great fun.

The highlight of this flight for me was narrowly avoiding landing on course by climbing out from 50 m, in the shade, between a hill and high tension power lines.

Marco Littame won the task.

Bumpy air

Task 8


Cancelled when near 100% cirrus cover created insufficiently soarable conditions for a suitable task. There was light lift around which many pilots took advantage of for some relaxed free flying, some even making it back to Valle.




Task 7


Full cirrus cloud cover arrived mid task preventing any pilot from completing the task. Charles Cazaux flew the furthest to win the task with a distance of about 80 km.

I was feeling kind of down after sinking out in the shade until these kids came and cheered me up. I realized that I had no reason to be unhappy.

New friends

Task 6


After an extended discussion the task committee declared today the obligatory rest day.


Task 5


The morning welcomed us with a completely overcast sky. We were surprised.

After much waiting and the creation of an A and B provisional task, the task committee sent us on our way. There was almost no wind on launch and the sky was dim but despite this there were light and smooth climbs to 3300 m.

By the time we left on course, however, the sky had somehow changed. We could barely stay in the air. It was so dark that I removed my shades to be able to see better. The furthest distance flown was 26 km by Pepe Malecki (to be confirmed).

The last 30 minutes of my flight was spent thermaling at 150 m over a town with Josh Cohn before landing in a football stadium in the centre of town. Soon after landing we were surrounded by a mob of more than 50 friendly children.

Leaving cloudbase

Task 4


Once again we had an epic task. A 120 km task flown at full bar. There was a reserve toss, and many full bar whacks. It was rough. I finished with the leading gaggle with a time of 3h 37 min.

Luc Armant crossed the ESS first. Once the leading bonuses are applied we will know if he won the task.

Lead gaggle on course

Task 3


Our task was 104 km long with numerous turnpoints, including a far turn point that brought us close to the volcano, before returning to goal in Valle de Bravo.

Somehow I programmed the start at 12:30 pm, instead of the correct 12:15 pm. I noticed something was wrong when most of the gaggle left the mesa to setup for the start on the other side of the valley.. but they were actually leaving on course. I spent the next 15 min staring at my notes, trying to understand what was happening, then started as planned at 12:30 pm. Along the first leg I realized that most likely the start was at 12:15, despite having written down 12:30 pm.

It took me half an hour to stop thinking about the mistake that I had made, then another half an hour to stop being mad. Finally I just let go and took in the most beautiful task that I have ever flown in Valle.

I had to fly into the lee of Cerro Gordo to reach the ESS and just cleared the forest along the shallow ridge down to the lake. This was not pleasant.

In goal I soon realized that my little setback was minor compared to what happened to many other pilots.

Luc Armant and Luca Donini tied for today's task win.

Luc Armant reaches base

Task 2

We flew nearly 100 km today. Juan Becerra of Venezuela won the task by 4 min, approximately. Three pilots had to deploy their parachutes. No injuries. It was a rough day indeed.

I felt the length of the task was better chosen and the course guided us through varying terrain and conditions in the area. Some high cloud arrived later in the flight, which complicated things for many pilots.

It was a fully satisfying day of racing.

The prominent gliders at this competition are the Icepeak6, BoomX, and EnZo. The BoomX seems to require the least active piloting, the EnZo the most. The Icepeak6 in between. The sink rate and glide performance seems to go in the same order, from lower to higher. Top speeds seem to be similar.

Waiting for the start gate

Task 1


My alarm was set for 7 am but I woke up at 6 am, eager for the day to begin. Day one had arrived.

We were given a 70 km task over interesting terrain and in strong conditions.. 3700 m base, up to 7 m/s thermals, and enough turbulence to demand most of your attention and skill. Most of the flight was fast but the glide into the last turn point on a mountain became tricky as we flew against a headwind, rising ground, and into the lee. Using a clever line was critical to be able to fly into the lee, get the turn point, and get out with enough height to continue on final glide.

Hans Bollinger of Switzerland, flying a Gin Boom X, won the task with a time of 1:41:54.

The growing start gaggle

Prelude

It is 5 am. Outside -32 C air blows across frozen Alberta. As I sip on a fresh cup of Gala coffee, I smile and continue folding my surf shorts and sunscreen. I won't be here much longer.

Valle de Bravo, Mexico, will be my home for the next two weeks. I have missed my friends and now we will be sharing the skies high over central Mexico as we battle for the World Cup Champion title.

The time has come.

Climbing the face of El Penon

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Brett Hazlett
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Canada

How would I describe Canada?

In lieu of adequate words let me use an image that I captured while walking along the Bow river this morning.

Canadian geese defy winter