Dates
Saturday, June 12th (arrival to Geneva) to Saturday, June 26th (departure from Geneva)
Locations
St. Hilaire, Annecy, Plain Joux, Chamonix, Mieussy, Verbier, Andrate, Les Saissis, Montlambert and others….
Organizers
Tour Leaders
Tour Descriptions and Commentaries
The French and Swiss Alps are where it all began in the 80’s! We will be taking you back to the Alps where paragliding has more history then anywhere else in the world!
The impressive beauty of the Alps is not a secret and many pilots consider this area to be the world’s “Mecca” of paragliding. We will be flying the heart of the Alps and will be surrounded by snow capped peaks, granite cliffs, and green forests with a patchwork of small fields and villages below. Mount Blanc, the highest peak in Europe, rises up to nearly 16,000 ft and seems to pierce the sky with its glacier covered peak when not surrounded by puffy cumulus clouds. Huge glacier carved valleys surround these majestic mountains and provide wide open landing sites next to small villages.
With local knowledge and weather forecasting we will guide you to the most favorable flying site in the area depending on the conditions. With our central location we will be able to spend at least one day flying in Switzerland and if conditions allow we will also travel through the Mount Blanc tunnel into Italy for one day as well!
This tour will accommodate pilots of all levels from P2’s to P4’s. Pilots will need good light wind launching skills. Most of the sites we will be flying provide light thermal soaring conditions. Advanced pilots will be able to climb up above the mountains and take in the impressive views of the snowy Alps from above. For those pilots who land early, we will be providing unlimited shuttles back to launch as long as pilots still want to fly! A few of the sites provide an opportunity for advanced pilots to fly some out and return and triangle flights. XC flying is not the focus of this trip though, and XC retrieval is not a part of the normal retrieval routes. Most of the sites we will be flying have over 2000 vertical feet and even sled runs last 20 minutes!
All the flying sites are less then 2 hours from where we will be staying in Megeve, a year around tourist destination just outside of Chamonix. Many of the sites we will be visiting are not only great flying sites, but are also world famous event locations such as St. Hilaire and Annecy. Mieussy is recognized as the birthplace of paragliding and will take us back to our roots! For those who want some extreme flying, we may also have the opportunity to fly off the “La Aguille du Midi” glacier on Mount Blanc at 12,540 ft or fly off the Petit Combin in Switzerland after flying up with a helicopter.In order to make this trip affordable due to the ever strengthening Euro we have chosen to base our tour from an apartment complex in Megeve instead of a hotel location. Our accommodation will include several rooms’ apartments and a shared kitchen, but will be without room service. Single rooms will be priced differently than double rooms. See our room pricing below.
We would also like to invite any non-pilots to join us on this tour! If we have at least 3 non-pilots we will have a female interpreter who will be available during part of the trip to guide anyone out to experience the beauties of France from the ground! Non-pilots will also be welcome to join us during the daily flying activities during the rest of the trip.
Our comfortable van transportation will be available for other attractions and activities as well when we are not flying. Some special occasions may include dinner at “La Ferme” after a day of flying in Annecy or a night out on the town in Chamonix or Geneva.
Luis has led and organized this trip every year since 2001. Groups have ranged between 14 and 35 pilots each trip and every year it seems to get bigger and better!
During edition 2007 (Todd’s first), 26 pilots flew from the La Aiguille du Midi, Mont Blanc, taking off towards the South face and flying above La Valle Blanche.We are here to fly, and that is what we will do! But during this tour we will also experience the French culture, eat some great food, and enjoy the magic of the French Alps!
The Price Includes
- Transfers from and to Geneva Airport before noon on June 12th & June 26th
- Accommodation in single or double room and shared kitchen apartments
- Transport to and from all flying sites
- Daily weather updates
- Site information and flying tips
- Launching supervision
- Radio communication with guides and drivers during flights
- Flight retrieval from LZ back to launch except La Aiguille du Midi
- Interpretive guided tours for non-pilots
- Free DVD movie of the trip
- Free T-shirt
Prices
- Pilots double room ( 3 - 4 rooms per apartment) $2,690
- Pilots single room (3 - 4 rooms per apartment) $2,990
- Partners (non-pilots) double room (1 king size bed) $2,490
- Only 7 nights (first or second week Saturday through Saturday) 60 % of above
- 1 Extra day $ 280
- Extra cost for transport to or from the Airport outside our group times $ 170
- Price may change anytime before receiving payment due to the Euro rate.
Payment Options
For either partial or total advance payments the following range of discounts will be
applied proportionally to the received amount.
- Before January 10th 15%
- Before February 10th 10%
- Before March 10th 5%
- After April 10th add 5 % to our price
- After May 1st add 10 % to our price
We accept cash, checks or credit cards
Requirements
To have completed P2 certification, VHF radio, DHV certified equipment, reserve
parachute and helmet.
Bookings or Questions
Click here to Send a message to Luis or Todd
Guide Information
Click here to See Guide Bios