I decided to head a bit further east today. I scanned and printed off a great magazine from a paragliding friend in Victoria, Annelies, and having perused the local sites, I chose to go for a place called “La Clusaz”. It was only 25 km from Annecy as the crow flies (so who knows how long it will take Betty to get there!). The drive was lovely and the town is primarily a ski town but you could tell that they were trying to promote the summer sports. They had mountain biking trails, trampolines, mini-golf and equestrian riding all in a close vicinity to one another. I eventually found the chairlift that would take me up to launch, actually it would take two and also found a parking spot for Betty that was not only free but on a slope so if she didn’t start later, no problem.
Taking a chairlift to launch is absolutely fabulous. This was my first experience doing so. Back in Canada, we always have to worry about car retrievals after a flight....this was much more civilized. Just me and my paraglider backpack heading up to launch. I was slightly concerned when I first got to the launch area as the wind was blowing quite cross (and I don’t mean it was angry). I set up anyways and sure enough some good cycles came through. I took off and immediately headed up. I cruised back and forth a few times to get above the chairlift lines and some power lines and then was greeted by the smoothest and most solid thermal I’ve had since I’ve been on the continent. I gained 800 meters in ten minutes and was close to the top of the mountain with a fabulous view of the peak of Mt. Blanc. I was concerned about rotor since the wind seemed to be coming from the east but most of the time it wasn’t an issue. I noticed a paraglider coming along the rocky face in some areas I wouldn’t have considered safe but he seemed to be doing alright. I didn’t stray too far from where I was and after half an hour or so I decided to head a bit south, towards a valley crossing to a mountain called Aravis. Well, I sank a fair bit and chose the safe option and headed back towards the town of La Crusaz. I then made my way towards the landing zone and as I approached I noticed a guy taking photos of my landing. After safely landing, he came over and showed me the pictures he had taken. He was an older British fellow with his wife in his convertible Mercedes. Nice guy and we chatted for a bit before I began the 20 minute walk back to Betty.
Taking the chair lift:
Kicking Mount Aravis:
Mont Blanc (the little white thing way in the background...I tell you, it looks way more impressive in real life!):
My approval rating of the flight:
Looking down on the down of La Clusaz:
I looked on my SatNav for a nearby campsite and opted for a municipal campsite about 15 km away as I knew the other nearby ones were not cheap (4 stars and 25 Euros). Before reaching my destination I noticed an area by a river that already had a camper parked there. I pulled in and while leaving Betty running, I asked this older couple if it was okay to stay here for the night. The claimed that sure, any place that you can pull over, it’s good to go. If the authorities don’t want you staying somewhere, there will be a barrier. It was a gorgeous little location so I set up for the night. The guy came by Betty later and asked if I wanted to join them for coffee. I thanked him for the invite but mentioned that I first needed to make some dinner. Later I ventured over to their motorhome and the couple, Marie and Christian were wonderful hosts. We had a few drinks while we chatted. They were from Switzerland and were both previously married but weren’t married to each other yet together for 8 years. I told them my antics with Betty as best as I could in French and we had a lovely evening. In the morning they left a note on my windshield that they were moving on but they had had a “sympathique” night with me. I had to look up in my French/English dictionary what they meant as a sympathetic evening didn’t sound right but in French it really means pleasant. I also appreciated their company and I hope they have a fantastic holiday.
The free camping spot for a few nights:
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