speedy off the top 15-20 in a cloud

love'n it!

Will "Huck"

ready for flight

25+ soaring baldy on speedwings

coldsprings chairs back up

the doc in the field ER

where do you live?

blow out!

if your gonna have a blow out, you'd better end up w/ a view cause ya know its gonna be awhile.

test

lz

karel soar above LZ for a loooong time

feb 1 & going thermalling over baldy

www.rotarrun.org

crack monkeys rippin rotar

Sun Valley hot spot

grooming call @ sun Valley

finally some natural snow!

Captain Dano!

super hero!

oh god! dropping in!

feathery snow growth = bad base layer

if this is what we have as a base we all need to be very careful

snow making

retrieve

post turkey party nightmares

too much food & beer turns the nicest people into monsters

Dad & Benji's Corned Beef on Rye

donni landing

probable s&s. part 1

not so itsy bitsy spider man!

not so itsy bitsy spider, man!

Gondola Chairs Loaded

From Round House 10/15/09

SV Round House view

From Round House 10/15/09

skyridge

hike it

karel walking the walk

sunny peak 360

From 360 view from Sunny Peak 10.08.2009

deserted deck

now where is waldo

grinder breakfast action

heavy snows & grinder breakfast

skyridge

karel

USA Paragliding Nationals!

Check out the race at http://www.usparaglidingnats.com

Team USA takes 3rd

Honza threw down during the Xalps and focused on his main objective - Monaco. While we didn't have time to reach the beach, thanks to Criegel the Eagle, we did manage to stay off a British invasion and a Russian assault in the last hours of the race to take 3rd place! The best finish by an American yet! USA is showing it's stars & strips all over the International PG scene and Honza took us all to the podium standing next to the world's greatest pilots of all time. It was an awesome experience and adventure to be team mate to such a strength and flying talent. Many thanks to all of you who have made our participation in the Xalps possible. With out you all there would be no Team USA. Our deepest thanks. More to come as we re-enter the normal world and have fully recovered.

Dave

Fwd: RED BULL X-ALPS ATHLETES FLY OVER SALZBURG

Dave Hanning

801.641.7103

dave.hanning@gmail.com

Sun Valley Paragliding &

Ketchum Kites

208-806-0373

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Nick Warren" <nick.warren@zooom.at>
Date: July 16, 2009 6:04:53 PM GMT+02:00
To: davehanning@yahoo.com
Subject: RED BULL X-ALPS ATHLETES FLY OVER SALZBURG
Reply-To: "Nick Warren" <nick.warren@zooom.at>

JULY 16, 2009: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RED BULL X-ALPS ATHLETES FLY OVER SALZBURG

This morning, July 16, 2009, a squadron of six Red Bull X-Alps athletes flew a test flight directly over the city centre of Salzburg, Austria.

The flight was part of preparations leading up to the world's most spectacular adventure race, the Red Bull X-Alps which begins at 11:30 on July 19 in Salzburg.

The athletes will compete in the 818km event, where competitors must hike and fly through the Alps and negotiate seven turnpoints before reaching the goal in Monaco. Every competitor will have a GPS device which tracks their exact position and displays it on a Live Tracking map on the official event website.

Air traffic at busy Salzburg airport was diverted temporarily to allow the athletes to fly directly over the dramatic Festung Hohensalzburg castle. It's the first time permission has ever been granted from the control tower for such a stunning flight.

Heli Eichholzer (AUT1), Christian Amon (AUT2), Alex Hofer (SUI1), Martin Müller (SUI2), Christian Maurer (SUI3) and Michael Gebert (GER) launched from the Gaisberg mountain, glided across Salzburg's Old Town, circled the Castle overlooking the city and landed in the Henkerswiese just south of the world-famous fortress.

To download the full press release, (English and German text), with high and low resolution images click here:

http://media.z3om.net/RBX/RBX09_09.zip

All text and images are free for editorial usage. Visit www.redbull-photofiles.com for more high-resolution images from the Red Bull X-Alps. Please send a voucher copy or link to the published article to Nick Warren at the address below.

Photocredits: ©Red Bull Photofiles.

For all media enquiries, contact:
Nick Warren (zooom productions)
Felderstrasse 12
5330 Fuschl am See
Austria
nick.warren@zooom.at
Mobile: +43 664 544 9241

Intermountain League Races!

Found this posting on the pgforum! Don't miss out on these races!

The Intermountain League Meet xc races are going again this summer.

The idea is to keep the Meet races unsanctioned, informal and low cost, adding gps-based scoring so the results are legit. We will try to have a website up soon where pilots can sign up, see who is coming, and follow the scores. Most of all, the idea is to go racing with our buddies and do some great flights.

Schedule:
Jackson Hole: June 19, 20 and 21. This will coincide with the Jackson Hole Aerofest.
Salt Lake: July 9, 10, 11 and12. The site will be Inspo, where the US Nationals will be held the following month.
Sun Valley: Sept. 4, 5, 6 and 7. The Baldy chairlift will be open for Labor Day weekend.

Cost and Other Details:
$12 per pilot per day, which will go toward scoring, retrieve gas and beer. Anything left over will be returned to the pilots as prize money. All pilots will also need to buy a temporary membership to support the local club. An USHPA release will also be required for every pilot. Scoring and web hosting will be provided by Jugdeep Aggarwal, with support from USHPA.

More details and a website link will be posted here soon.
_________________
-Cliff

http://www.paraglidingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=25210

DUNLAP US Nats

I am off to Dunlap for the US NATIONALS. Flying fun with my friends in sunny warm CA. Racing via gps this event is offering live tracking using SPOT devices. Check out the action on their website,

http://www.santacruzparagliding.com/natshome.html

Blue Skies!
DH

Winter Paragliding with Dave Hanning — Plum TV

Winter Paragliding with Dave Hanning — Plum TV

Dave Hanning's Profile | Create Your Badge

office window

Launch

Nice one!

Birthday sun set

Happy Birthday!

Alpen glow on pioneers w/ moon

P Harper - baldy session

Team USA in Red Bull Xalps Again!

Help Honza & Dave return to Europe for their 2nd chance at racing in the worlds most incredible mountain extreme race. More info @ http://redbullxalps.com

Avalanche!

Too many have been caught this year already! protect yourself. Get a beacon. Get an Ortovox

2 fer 2 Sun Peak Hike N Fly fun w/ friends!

Sun Peak x2 from Dave Hanning on Vimeo.

Fall weather

It has been a bit warm here in Ketchum lately, so to settle my demons I occasionally get a hike and fly in for some leg training and a bit of wind in my face. Sun Peak is the best and simplest place to access right now. A short bike ride and about an hour hike puts you right up on top. A PERFECT LZ BELOW IN THE FORM OF A PUTTING GREEN owned by Sun Valley corp, so be sure not to anger that giant when landing. Room for some wanker moves makes losing altitude fun and sure saves my legs from the downhill jam. My only wish is that I would get around to hike n flying there more often. Not too many pilots up here so I am often alone. Hopefully that will change in the future.

Go True Blue!

Here is a letter i received recently because I live in a red state.

Dear Red States:

We've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and
we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't
aware, that includes California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington,
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all of the Northeast. We
believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to
the people of the new country of New California.

To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states.
We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of
Liberty. You get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get
WorldCom. We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss. We get 85 percent of
America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama. We get
two-thirds of the tax revenue; you get to make the red states pay
their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than
theChristian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a
bunch of single moms. Please be aware that Nuevo California will be
pro gay-rights, pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all
our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask
your evangelicals.
They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for
no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their
children's caskets coming home.

We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMDs turn up, but
we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's and McInsane's
Quagmire.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent
of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple
and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of
America's quality wines, 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the
high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living
redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools
plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.
With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope
with
88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care
costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the
tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern
Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh,
Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia. We get
Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.
Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah
was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred
unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44
percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam
was involved in
9/11 and 61 percent of you crazy b*stards believe you are the people
with higher morals than we lefties.

Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed
they grow in Mexico.

Peace out,
Blue States

Spot ON!

I was recently at a retailer show in Utah for Snowmobilers where I was working for ORTOVOX as a tech rep standing at the ready to sell & /or explain how beacons work. There is a lot of bad information being spread around by those guys who aren't staying on top of technology advances and in general are lying about the how and what is real within the avalanche beacon industry. While I was there, back aching from standing and throat hoarse from correcting lies and defamation spread by the competition I had the chance to connect with SPOT. As I am slow to buy gear, because it always costs more then I have, but I have been a huge fan of this technology since it was first released last year. Already I have benefited from my friends who use this tool when their wife called asking me to check on the where abouts of her husband, Honza, who was well on his way to setting the Idaho state open distance record (139.5 miles). It was a simple task of checking the live tracking and relaying the info to her so she could be johnny on the spot when he landed. Which she was, saving him much headache and hassle finding a ride from somewhere east of Kilgore, Idaho. Having been involved in the Red Bull XAlps in 2007 where live tracking gave me soo much information about the who is where and what might be the best route to follow, i can tell you that this spot tool is the best device any pilot choosing to go XC can have. The safety of having the ability to call in the emergency crew if injured upon reconnection with the earth manually or automatically, plus your significant other having the ability to check in on your where abouts from the computer relieving their concern about where you might be is huge! Now when u cut away and go for it, someone can always know where you are and come and find you if you get into trouble. Dare I say that those lost to the wilds would have been found almost immediately w/o extensive and costly searches if they had only been using this device.In a small handheld unit I now have the ability to "phone home" with the push of a button. It reminds me of the old EPIRB I carried during an extended canoe expedition, which was twice the size of a #10 tin can(coffee can) and when the button was pressed in came the royal canadian airforce to save the day. That was more then 20 years ago! Thankfully technology has come a long way since then.

It is safe to say that buying this unit and subscribing to its service will ultimate save your life, in the field or from the wife as she can no longer freak out not knowing where you are.

WHere its at!

politically oriented comedy

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Watch for me in this video!

west side boyz

Sun Valley Paragliding from Dave Hanning on Vimeo.

Happy Father's Day Phau Boyz

Photos of Pete's Big Day from Sebation

SVP flies PlumTV @ King Mt.

this short is to run on plumtv throughout the summer.

fall 07 pg ridge soaring in idaho

SkyRidge Fall 2007 from Dave Hanning on Vimeo.

Hmmm, fun stuff.

My First Sky Diving Experiences from Dave Hanning on Vimeo.

lil Pete's BIG day

lil Pete's BIG day from Dave Hanning on Vimeo.

What it takes to make the milk run in the spring is drive, determination and a lil weather advice. Elvis makes a few appearances on launch as the seriousness of this flight consumes LP. He handles it, flies away and scores a huge day of flying high above the Wasatch @ 13,000ft. What a view. Shiznit like that can change your life.

Congrats to LP for finally sending it all the way!

Just another milk run?

Oly Tandem Flight from Dave Hanning on Vimeo.

Nice job! I am hoping to see some of Sebation's photos. the preview I got had some over the top quality shots!

Sun Valley Tree removal services.

King Mountain Spring Flying

Aldo & I went for a ride on Sunday, landing out short after 3+hrs at altitude and more then 40+ miles into what turned into an epic record day for a few lucky pilots. Special thanks to LZaction & Mel for their awesome retrieve. We flew on sat. too and it was over cast, but fantastic thermaling. Sunday cleared for bluish skys with puffys popping everywhere early. We launched around 12:30 after a couple of sledders for some. With a lucky save we went up to 13ish and began the down range flying that was more cloud streets, convergence lines and epic gliding. Rock-n-Roll & Rodeo Kung Fu dominated the day as big giant awesome lift kept it alive thru snow storms (lost count how many) a lil rain and epic bone chilling cold. Screaming barffies all around for anyone who was able to get past Borah. Special thanks to Aldo who played a perfect meat popsicle piece of ballest for me for longer then he should have. Where we went and what we saw is here in a few shots, special outtakesbecause we were both to cold to shoot too many pictures.



And Matt Keefe shot photos from launch. Hey is that Bad Bones smiling?

Fall 07 action

Fall 07 King Mt

speedflying gimlet

RedBull Xalps 2007 photos

RedBullXalps2007

Ortovox Blogger established

ORTOVOX Blogger with videos, catalog and more

Al Roker goes HG

SLC League Meet CHANGE

The league meet for SLC has been changed to the last weekend in September. 28/29 The beauty of the league meet is it can change at the last moment to take advantage of the weather, which looks bad for this wekend. See you all there!

King Mountain IM League meet

King Mountain delivers! I watched the weather and knew I was missing some big action over in Moore, ID as the gang went to town and flew far amny times. After hearing the great reports from Sat. with such a great glass off and the stories of distance from Sunday's Big Southern Butte epic plus the forecasted Monday weather. It was obvious I was driving to KING late on Sun nite or early Mon morning. I am glade I did as the winds were just right, with promised hights of 18,000ft, altough we never got there. We did come close. Along the Lost River Mountain range we flew, epic views and easy retrieves are just a few of the reasons to love flying KING. Cheers to all who made it for a flight or two, cheers to Mike who drove lots and to Neil our thoughts are with you as you heal.

Wet Idaho

It is raining in SV today, which is a good thing, if you have been watching the fire that has burned up our summers end here in Sun Valley you understand that for 2 & 1/2 weeks we have been under smoke and threat of flames. Finally we can say it is over. Our little national disaster has disipated. Fall colors have also popped and the temps have dropped. Schools back in session and fall is fully here. With winter around the corner it will be easy to move on after being nearly burned out.



Here are some good links from the fire.

http://blainecounty.org/
http://www.inciweb.org/incident/952
http://sunvalley.plumtv.com/

YMCA

The Ketchum YMCA is opening soon and I will be a part of their rock climbing program. Here is a quick flix of it.

FIRE!

Idaho burns and it burns hard.
http://blainecounty.org/
For many days now the smoke has choked the valley. All around Baldy the fire has scorced the lands. North to Griffin Butte is still smoking charred in black. Last weekend coming home from JH IM league meet I saw a column of smoke carried west on the winds covering all of the lost river range and smogging Arco in. I hope that this weekend the fires and winds work in our favor. King mountain here it comes. See you there.

RedBull Xalps memories

The main event has come and gone. My travels to distant lands finished and with the many new friends that I found along the way I am encouraged to return and spend some more time gypsying across the landscape. The event was intense with many great moments. It was full of the whole range of emotions, suffice to say there was never a dull moment. I foundly remember my hours at the cafe or bar waiting down the road for Honza as very relaxing and most enjoyable. I had many laughs, a few crys & much fun drinking more redbull the I'd ever though possible driving thru the alps. So many fantastic mountains and valleys filled with the kindest people in the most amazing villages. The rythem of life changed from region to region with as much characture & spice as the local brew or wine. Everywhere people where happy, friendly and nice to us as we gypsy wagoned across the whole of the alps. The sickness was a disapointment at the start, but opened many doors to spend more time enjoying the ride, especially since we were operating in the old school, with no real gps support or advanced mapping in place. I found a few internet locations and made the most of the live tracking systme making sms messages to Nate & Honza about route, location of others and weather. Plus with so many friends helping out we were able to be very well informed. The racing ahead for local detailed maps that also had the bike paths and hiking trails was hard. We were all blessed that every town had a free water fountain and usually it also had a map board that we could take a digi picturre of the aid our route selection. Many times Honza cursed the Hanning compass. My hat is off to Honza as he recovered quickly from an incredibly violent reaction to something????sq sausage??? He charged ahead, marching in the rain. Eventually he sprinted forward leaving the last pack behind. He charged each mountain with controlled speeds and rested each night for a min of 4 hours. Preventively Honza cared for his feet after hearing the stories of torn up heels and blisters for the frantic pace of the leaders. In the end this saved him much pain and suffering. He lost 15 pounds or so over the course of the race, but was constantly eating, with much thanks to CLIFBAR for suuporting the USA teams, Nate and Honza. The final days were all about eating right to keep an around the clock sprinters pace. When Honza did finally fly for his first time he was late up to the ridge, which made it better for the flight he had to make over the mountains and ontowards Lienz and the Dolomites. He landed and called and said he had had a serious REDBULL moment as he crossed over with just a few inches to spare. Looking at his track log it was obvious he had barely squecked by! From that first flight on Honza rallied against bad weather, when the leaders had good flying honza walked or ridge hopped. For the next couple of days we walks and flew with many teams at the back. It became fun to hang and chat about our different experiences all the while thinking about who was next to get axed from the pack. Joining forces with team slovak, Peter and Martin helped Honza gain confidence and after flight and a long walk thru the night Honza strided on, leaving them all behind. He flew deep into the marmolatta and then landed high behind a couple of ridges, climbing over the first he had to hike down to the hut, get a cheese sandwich all the while walking in the rain and then up another pass to a possible late afternoon flight. I heard him shouting as he leaped into the sky, the valley echcoing his voice. He flew right to the trailhead where I was parked with a big smile for having just passed the first turn point. A couple of flight the next day got him to the edge of Bolzano where late afternoon OD forced risky flying into potage stamp LZ. I was impressed at the size of his... It was here that many got stuck and slowed down, but Honza marched hard. He walked past Bolzano and Messner's castle up the valley that most flew to a mountain launch, where he leaped into the sky calling me while in the air to ask what the ceiling was, how high could he fly? He made me call the race director to confirm he could go as high as he wanted. I think he may have been close to the Approach pattern for Innsbruck, but who cared he skied it out and went a good distance. When he landed locals came and met him. It turned out that Nate had landed there more then 24hrs earlier. Friendly people who were tracking us online. Way cool to see the fans show up and help us out. Marching into Davos was and long night, but the idea of flying the valleys beyound into the Eiger turn point was enough to keep honza focused on his prize. Ealry in the am he went up the hill and I found pay to play internet at a 5 star hotel. Super cool! I drove around to Chur when he was ready to fly hoping to see him in the sky. His white wing did not offer much contrasting colors to see. I spent some time in Chur checking out the old boheimian corner. I sprinted to Arosa and called an old friend with no answer, Then I spoke to Honza who was already across the valley and parked up high waiting for the late afternoon cycle so he could ride down range. I parked it in a small town and motored up to a hill top with a church. I had such the shot lined up, and before I could press record, he had flown by! Up valley I went after him, only to miss his landing by a minute. He walked to Flims that night and ate dinner in a nice resturant, the arena bar, resturant and hotel, a most excellent place. Honza walked on after dinner into the night with fire owrks going off everywhere as it was Swiss independance night. As the world around us partied into the night we bivied in the van park at some road side urban bivauc site. The eiger was so close and we were so far behind, it was hard not to join in the celebration! We preyed for good weather and got none, walking much of what other had flown. Glacier crossings, and ridge running in cloud capped mountains, it was like being lost in another time. Somehow we always connected to resupply the Honza with walking power. His diet grew from soups and rice into sandwiches, eggs and speck and whole chickens from the butcher shop roasted up nice. He was always able to eat the clif gel bloks and drank alot of the powder to rehydrate. Adding protien powder and colorie shacks to his diet. Fresh apples and fruit always found there way into his pocket/diet. Arriving at the Eiger was painfully slow with the bad weather keeping us grounded. From a climbers campground we came to the site "First" and from there Honza made a great series of flights. He was steadily motoring thru the ranks hiking and flying his way forward. From First he flew with the Austrian Chris making excellent distance in critical moments. He landed high and hiked again always faster& strong with each kilometer. As the other racers slowed, drained from exhaustion and pained feet, Honza charged on becoming primal in his actions and thought processes. He claimed to be hunting mammoths. From the Eiger on Honza was racing at top speed and gaining. He charged along the more western route avoiding the air space and the long epic walk of the Sion valley. I watched it all in Interlachen at thefunnyfarm.com where I got internet access, schnitzels, biers and tons of entertainment. When night came after an amazing series of flights from near the Eiger I raced up into the valley to meet Honza for Dinner and sleep. We found a parking area where we pulled a silent and invisible night. Early he left and walked to a pass, when the German Peter went straight up to the rigde tops above town. Honza made it in time for the first lift and an early vally crossing. Tactically he leaped from ridge to ridge making a series of good solid flights. Now he was in real fighting shape. His last flight came into the Martigney valley thru the gap that ventures with serious force. I raced along the high way at top speed trying to catch him, but he went faster then I and ended up loanding going backwards. Definately antother memorable "redbull" moment. We walked again, but now Honza knew he would catch Nate before the race end. We met a fan at the pass that night and he gave good advice on where to go for the early, best flight. Honza walked away from me in the early AM stressed from the miles and sleep little nights. Yet he was determined to pass Mont Blanc and cross on towards Nate when was at least a valley ahead. I saw him coming above Chamonix and make a top landing as the arly cycles died out, Then relaunch and fly strong up into the sky, then away from Chamonix and off after him I went. Eventually I found my way up into the mountains where I found a McDonald's,which of course has gratuitus wireless internet. It is quite fashinoable to hang at McD's and thru Europe I did always find the arches for just that reason. And I can say with authority, The beef ain't the same over there! When Honza caught Nate that night it was a suprise for Nate to see us so soon. His feet where road kill and he carried a gimp of a gait as he kept charging forward. Honza made a flight out of clouds to the pass where we found each other and then he caught up to Nate. It was a good reunion of friends and for that night and into the next morning their friendship and the enjoyment of the adventure carried them forward into Bourge-St. Maurice. In the dawn light Honza stepped into the rain pouring down and showered, but not with any soap. Then the two of them walked up hill, hoping for a break in the weather when they reached the pass, maybe they could fly some. Honza left Nate after a time striding his way into the rain. He was a man possed now, and he was prepared for his final day and night. I stayed close to him now to provide instant energy and the security of the van close by kept him charging. Up hill he climbed to the pass from where he made a great flight into the valley that time forgot. Thru the clouds he went as I laughed, he had just jumped from a cliff side flying into the rainy clouds of the am. I found him in good spirits, the flight having saved him. Now he was really psyched to run. Up the road he marched as I found supplies along the way. Chicken and bier for me...Honza marched a long way and then up hill. We stopped for a meal at a small lake on the pass, by then the Hanning compass was deeply buried in insults, although I had gotten him uphill and thru the best section, saving him great distance....He was already very tired. With tapioca for brains he marched into the night. The brave soilder was brain dead at 2am, but by 4 am he was getting some thinking skills back. He was awakening the zomie within. Down hill he walked into a small Italian town and at predawn he sprinted thru it's streets reaching the hill he would have to climb earlier then he anticipated. He smelled the backery and tried to send me back for some tasty treats, but we were, he was committed beyound retreat to charging as far as fast as he could. I had been going 2ks in front all night long so he could pace himself in time and distance, but at this point I was always just ahead or just behind as I lead him along the switchback short cuts up to the pass where hours earlier Ulrich had been. Honza ran up the hill wasting almost all of his resources, but managed a brilliant last flight down from the pass into morning clouds. The final hour was upon us and I drove down valley after him. I found him running down the road going for it all up to the very last minute. I even had to call the race director for confirmation that the race was truely over. He was reluctent to get in the van and found it hard to believe it was over, and just as he found his real race rythm. We drove a short distance to the river where he washed and I packed, then with fresh chicken and biers we drove towards the race party with 5 hours to be there. Honza babbled for an hour or so and then crashed hard, while I raced along the roads as fast as I could. I was tired, but ready to be done with the whole affair. I had just witnessed the most amazing preformance by an athlete I could remeber in all ways and at all levels. But after all that driving I was ready for some party action. They BBQ'd us into a stuppor then we drank oursleves silly and late into the night I recall a near miss on a sushi effort by the giant who out raced them all. It was a brilliant bang to the end of an amazing event. And we thank you all for following with interest as we gypsy'd across europe. I can't wait to go back just to fly some vol bivouac! See you in the skies! Cheers

Rain Rain go away

Rain has fallen hard in this valley that Honza now walks, but soon the weather will break and he will be able to make some good flights before the winner arrives in Monaco. After such a stuggle against such a vicious stomach bug he has finally gotten strong and is moving well. He made a great flight in windy conditions over Chur, which is good as the Arosa valley would have been hateful to walk down. also Chur would have been a tough walk, although the city itself has an impressive old part of town, a bit midevil. Now Honza heads for a couple of big passes before getting to the Eiger and we are enjoying this incredible adventure. This is the only way to experience the ALPS!

Lastly it was the Swiss independance day last night and there were so many fireworks. Such a celebration I want badly to leave the race and join the party. Flims was going off with much celebration. A shame to be sleeping in the car when we should have been dancing and drinking the night away. The rain this AM has sobered our thoughts of festivals and walking has ended the romance of the sunny weather, but it will return and now that Honza is well we will charge onward as far and as fast as we can.

RedBull X-Alps start prep and anticipation...

To see more info on Teams USA in the RedBull X-Alps click the logo!



We are in the alps in Austria in Obertraun where the race HQ is based for the start. Lots of action. Yesterday was a photo shoot/video interview and a chance to fly a bit. Now we are consumed with briefings and classes on how to use all the tech gear we have as well as safety and race issues. Lots of free RedBull has us all amp'ed up all the time. We will even have runners collecting video tapes we make and delivering all the redbull we can consume. This is thus far the most well organized paragliding event ever. We have a rented van from Prague which with the seats removed is fantastic. Power and recharging will remain an issue thru out the event, just one of my many challenges. In all we are all a great big group of friends involved in a "challenge" that has been labeled a race. With so much distance to cover and so many mountains to fly or hike around this daunting challenge has us all worried about personal performance in the ultimate test of endurance, both physical and mentally emotional. After all we have done to get here everyone's greatest fear is that they will fail early and be cut from the race. One of the new rules is that after the first 72 hours the last team gets cut, kind of two races going at once, one in the lead and another to not be last. This has everyone talking and discussing what is or is not fair. We anticipate a start on Monday, unless the weather goes bad and then we will start on Tuesday. Hopefull Mother nature works with us this year by giving great weather for flying conditions. Soon we will have our phones in operation and be able to get text messages at any time and when we have all that sorted out I will post the number so you all can send us a hello or a cheers.

You will be able to see exactly where we are at all times on the website http://redbullxalps.com, also we will be posting to a diary daily on the RedBull website.

Big epic flights got done this summer already and now the rest of us have to play catch up. Here I am in Prague drink cheq beer and preping for the Xalps just now hearing about some of the sweet flying that got done back in the states. Congrats to Matt Dadam who flew big wind and weather to set a new site record and pinoneered a new route choice. Seems like it was epic. Track log can be viewed at this url

http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/search.php?Cat=0

then seaqrch for the user name "xcaction" and you'll see some other cool flights along with Dadam's damn fine flight.
Also a big congrats to Chipper who sent the cody route, one that has been eyed for a long time by the locals in the know.

I'll be posting more in the near future, but for now back to beers, cheq bettys and preping to keep Honza on track while he treks and flys to monaco! Go team USA. Watch us starting on the 23rd with live tracking and diary videos, pictures and blah, blah, blah postings.