Nick’s Whistle-Stop Week in Switzerland 04/07 - 11/07
“And the jet stream has realigned itself over Britain” the words of our local BBC weatherman Derek Brockway signalled the end of our blazing summer and the return of more familiar but unwelcome conditions. I had been enjoying a summer break at home doing all the usual stuff - flying, fishing and cycling but with another week of holiday left, it all looked like ending on a damp squib. Then, I received a text message from Dave T out in the Swiss Alps “weather good for next week, get yourself out here”. 24 hours later, I was putting my glider in the car and heading off for Heathrow and a plane to Geneva.
I arrived in Verbier, Switzerland in the afternoon to find the weather warm and rather cloudy and there were a few pilots flying but I was too tired to fly anyway. I spent the afternoon scouting out the launching and landing areas and then found some budget accommodation at a Backpackers Hostel known as “Le Stop” ; a converted cold war concrete Nuclear Shelter at Le Chable village at the bottom of the valley below Verbier and near the lower Gondola station which would whisk me up to the takeoff area.
The next morning, I met Dave and other guests staying at the Verbier Summits chalet including ex SWWSC members Geoff Moss and Paul Dixon up at the La Ruinette Launch above Verbier at 6800’amsl After a top to bottom flight for orientation, it was back up for the real thing in the afternoon. The conditions were great with blue skies ,light winds and fluffy clouds. It was easy to climb 2500’ above takeoff in “house” thermals and cross the valley commencing the spectacular valley circuit. Cloudbase was around 9500’ which was ideal for doing the valley circuit but not high enough to reach the majestic Petit Combin at 3672m(12047ft) which dominates the valley and presented a challenge to aim for if really good conditions ensued in the coming days. I enjoyed a super flight during which I took plenty of pictures and rediscovered the breathtaking beauty and scale of the high alps. In the evening, Dave and the others retired to the luxury of a catered chalet while for me, it was a late evening walk then back to “the bunker” for the night.
Tuesday - the forecast was good but the sky started to look changeable with some wind and high cirrus cloud coming over in the afternoon. In the air, conditions were rough and unsettling and after a couple of hours flying , we all threw in the towel and landed early. No matter, I took the opportunity to go for a nice hike on the mountainside near the head of the valley above a beautiful Nature Reserve near the quiet hamlet of Bonaschiesse.
Wednesday was a beautiful blue cloudless day and I eagerly anticipated the possibility of flying over the Petit Combin. We spent all afternoon flying in weak thermic conditions hoping for that “inversion buster” to get the altitude necessary but it was not to be, so at around 17:00, I glided to the landing field and set off for Fiesch, my next destination a couple of hours away to the east along the Rhone Valley and a mecca for alpine XC flying. The Verbier Valley is sheltered from the main valley wind that occurs in the Rhone Valley on a hot summers day and this soon became apparent as I drove into the main valley to be accompanied by a fierce valley wind that was still blowing as I neared Fiesch.
Upon arrival, there was no sign of a backpackers hostel so I splashed the cash on a hotel room then went walkabout to suss out the launch and landing options. I soon found the main landing field next to a good campsite and near the railway station and Gondola station - perfect! At the landing field, there was a notice board giving information about valley winds and how they can affect the flying conditions. Also, at the Gondola station there was a notice saying “If you throw your reserve and don’t need rescue assistance then please phone 144 to say helicopter not required” - “gulp! this place does indeed have a reputation for strong flying conditions” Flying is a major activity in Fiesch and the main street has a paragliding fashion store and a couple of shops offering tandem rides.
Thursday - having seen a good forecast, I couldn’t wait to get on the Gondola and up the mountainside to the main launch a short walk from the Fiescheralp lift station(7000ft). I joined a steady stream of pilots trooping through the village to the gondola station. Up on the takeoff area, I had plenty of time to soak up the panorama of famous mountains including the Matterhorn to the southwest. The launch faces south and it is possible to start as early as 10:30 by gliding around to a southeasterly face nearby and bobbing up and down in weak lift until the thermals rise high enough to make the first XC transition and this is certainly what the kilometre munchers were doing. Not familiar with the area, I preferred to bide my time until I could be fairly certain of climbing above launch. My first task was to climb above the rockwall behind launch and bag some pictures of the mighty Aletsch glacier - the longest in Europe before setting off east along the mountain range. I flew as far as the Grimsel Pass under a “motorway sky” the like of which I have not experienced since flying down the Pinzgau Valley in Austria a few years ago and topping this was the amazing high alpine landscape containing so many 4000m peaks.. Cloudbase was 3700m(12,100ft) and the sky was peppered with paragliders(including many Sigma 7’s!), hangliders, Atos’ and sailplanes. With plenty of thermal markers and every sunny mountain face working, it was easy to make the return leg and carry on to the west until I neared some airspace marked on the map that I had seen at the landing field. I then climbed to over 10,000’ and crossed the main valley to the south and made for the sunny, westerly facing slopes and returned east to Fiesch and beyond. After nearly five hours in the air and with some concern about possibly getting caught out somewhere by the dreaded valley winds, I glided back to Fiesch and descended to the landing field. Expecting a rough ride, I was pleasantly surprised and relieved to find hardly any wind in the landing field! I had flown about 90km and could have flown a good deal more……maybe tomorrow!
Friday turned out to be hot and sunny again but slightly hazy and cloudless and I did not know what to expect but there were more people on launch than the previous day and I saw someone with a BHPA sticker on his helmet who turned out to be a chap named Robert Smith whom I had met flying in the UK some time probably more than ten years back. We had a good chat as he knew our past club chairman Dan and he told me that the day was good with thermals possibly rising to 4200m(13800ft). The XC hounds launched early but again, I chose to wait a while. Launching nearer midday, I made the first transition to the east comfortably and despite hazy cloudless skies, the thermals were strong and good and there were plenty of gliders up ahead to point the way. Just before the Grimsel Pass where I had turned around the previous day, some were turning around but others were going on to the east. I was in a weak thermal weighing up the options when I espied Rob whom I ‘d been chatting to on the takeoff. I flew across to his thermal and waved and he shouted across that he was going to fly on eastwards to Andermatt so, decision made, I followed! We had to negotiate a couple of potentially tricky transitions across the Grimsel Pass and the Furka Pass but at our altitude they were comfortably managed. We did see a few gliders low down whom I prayed for! A little further on, with Rob a little further to the south, I latched onto a line of lift which culminated in a climb to 4055m(13,304ft) - the highest I’ve ever been in the Alps! I could see Andermatt up ahead but given the conditions, I fancied flying on towards the town of Chur at the end of the mountain chain and some 125km from Fiesch. Unfortunately, all the time we been flying, cloud cover was spreading over from the northwest and by the time I reached the next Pass at Oberalp, everywhere was shaded out and switched off so I glided back to Andermatt and landed at 50km in the valley in a horribly turbulent valley breeze. I had wondered why I had seen someone landing high up on the Pass : now I knew why! I walked the short distance to the railway station and hopped on the train back to Fiesch. I had lost sight of Rob and don’t know where he ended up! On the train, I received a text from Dave back in Verbier saying that he had flown over the Petit Combin - a great day in the Alps!
Saturday - my last day. Localised storms were forecast for the afternoon but my plan was to drive 2 hours around the mountains to Grindelwald and see if I could make the classic flight down to Interlaken before the storms hit….
I left Fiesch early and arrived at the railway station in Interlaken at 10:00. I parked the car and 30minutes later, I was on a train up to Grindelwald. I followed a line of pilots heading for the Firstbahn gondola station. 32 CHF one way - ouch, that’s a years membership of SWWSC!. There were plenty of pilots waiting on launch for the thermals to rise. I waited too : not for me a top to bottom at that price! The thermals were slow to start due to some cloud cover intermittently shading out the valley below but at about 13:00, I noticed clouds behind the mountains to the south starting to grow vertically : time to get going! I launched and made a beeline to where lift was generating over the trees and spent about ten minutes getting established at a decent height to take in the amazing scenery. To my horror, the clouds that I had seen growing vertically before takeoff were now going ballistic. I could see that a few pilots were going off along the mountain range towards Interlaken so I wasted no time in thermalling up above the Faulhorn ridge and heading off to join them. It would have been great to spend a few hours flying around in such spectacular surroundings but with the storm approaching, it was out of the question. I made one further climb to about 9300’ from where I could see the beauty of the lakes and commence the glorious, triumphant glide to Interlaken below. Just after landing in the park, the sun went in and there was just enough time to pack away before the first spots of rain followed by thunder and lightening! I had made the classic Grindelwald flight and it was a great way to round off a great week of flying in the Alps. 18 hours of quality flying over 6 days and Fiesch is my new favourite place to fly! I am already dreaming of next year when I hope to bring my own car and tent and stay for longer. Club trip anyone?
Nick Roberts
With thanks to Dave Thompson for that text message
