Climbing Via Ferratas in Annecy Region

This will be a short compilation of days 6, 8 and 11 in Annecy France which were not flyable, but none the less stellar in appearance. They were overcast days filled with excitement and possibly terror if you're the one who had to follow Jeannine and climb these vertical Granite walls! Throw in a dark looking rain cloud and she moves twice as fast and is impossible to keep up with while climbing...

Un Oeil: Short flight chronicles

Since there's no way to try to keep up or compete with Mad Dog's awesome flights here in Annecy, here's a brief recap of my not so stellar but none the less satisfying flights over the last few days.

A 42 Mile Cruise around the Bauges Range

Just a short recap of yesterdays flight. The day started with low clouds everywhere in the valley and on the peaks as the front passed. It was freezing cold, which I was very excited about, knowing the lapse rate would be way better than the hot stable days we have had so far. By noon it was clearing as the report said, and by 2 pm, pilots were skying in every direction!

A Dream Come True: Flying from Annecy to Chamonix

Today started just like the previous days: a cool, clear sunny morning with no clouds. We drove together up to Plan Fait launch above Talloires, arriving to find very stable conditions. But some pilots were getting up by 3 pm, so we all launched into the blue as a couple cu nims were starting to materialize. I got lucky as usual, and after a slight struggle, I topped out on the Dents Lanfon. Then I thought I would wait for the boyz today, so I glided over to Lanfonnet.

Un Oeil Jim: First 5 Days of Annecy Flying

18 September 2012: Montmin Launch - Doussard LZ

First flight after long 23+ hour flight in from Hawaii. Both Flystrong Bill & I got very little sleep during travel, yet upon arrival and seeing the amazing mountains around Annecy we pushed through and decided to fly. After scoping out the launch at Montmin via foot we drove to check out the Doussard LZ, took a shuttle back up from there for 5 euro, set up in lots of traffic (tons of tandems and solos), flew a bit more than an hour in light thermic conditions, never got much higher than 500’ over launch, landed, met up with Mad Dog, Jeannine, Ike and Yolie. Toured our respective lodgings and had a great late evening dinner over in Bluffy.

Annecy Day 2 - Chasing a Dream!

Day two in Annecy started the same as the first: relaxing beautiful cool morning in Bluffy, totally clear skies and very stable conditions. We didn't launch Plan Fait till after 3 pm, and it was hard to get up at first, but by the time I reached the top of Dents Lanfon, One-Eye, Ike and FlyStrong were hot on my heels! Topping out at 6,809 feet, I started chasing my dreams, and off on the crossing to Le Parmelan I went...

Annecy Monkey Migration 2012 - Day 1

Perfect day to start with in Annecy - totally clear, no clouds, and hot-n-sunny! La Peste and I arrived at our chalet 12:30 pm, after a 3 hour drive from Dijon, to find Don and Yolie already settled in quite nicely next door to us and relaxing. We got Jim and Bill on the radio from the Col Forclaz MontMin launch, checking the site out after their arrival. I quickly unpacked and then Ike and I drove up to Plan Fait Launch, above Talliores by our place for our first flight of the Annecy Low Orbital Surveillance Team.