PLAN YOUR ESCAPE Ok so I handed in my notice and leave work in April…but then where? A lot of people can’t believe I don’t have a plan set in stone yet. In December I went to the Kendal mountain festival. It was a week long event which sadly I couldn’t make all of, but I Was there for opening night. It was so exciting, so many outdoors men, travelers, adventurers and pilots all gatherd together in the freezing streets of Kendal to celebrate the films and adventures of the great explorers. I picked this night on purpose as that was the night the free flight films were being viewed. Following a few short films and a couple pints of cider we had the pleasure of a presentation by Clement Latour and Antoine Girard who placed second and third in the 2013 Redbull XC alps. The toughest race on earth. For those non pilots it’s a race from Salzburg to Monaco over several days by foot and paraglider. It looked incredibly demanding both physically and emotionally. To climb so high and fly so far in a short window of time, I have a lot of respect for these pilots. However I was blinded to the truths of the tortures these pilots faced, blinded by the pictures and videos displayed in front of us. The mountains so big, the thermals strong, the lakes so blue and the cumulous so fluffy! I wanted to fly these routes! I wanted to fly the Alps. Something about these men flying above the summits of these giant mountains seems empowering. Something inside me was awakened. After the presentation I got talking to some other pilots and blagged me a free copy of “Classic Routes” by XC magazine. Inside are guides to some of the worlds best cross country flying. There are so many amazing potential flying sites across the world but I hear Europe is the real land of opportunity. I already have my heart set on a few key places I must fly. Piedrahita – Spain, Annecy – France, Le dune du Pyla – France and of course..the routes taken by the XC Alps pilots. These are the big famous sites and give me some sense of direction but one thing I learnt in my early flying days… only by talking to local pilots will I learn where the real action happens. The best advice I have received so far is “you don’t need advice….just explore.” So the real truth is I wont plan too much because a lot of the adventure will happen along the way. If I script my journey I might miss the real adventures. I know very little about where I’m going or where I will end up but what I saw in Kendal that night gave me some direction. I’m going to fly the big mountains just like those great pilots. This is why I have chosen Europe as a starting point…but after that who knows where else where my journey will take me.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 05:53:42 +0000
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