SAFA Skysailor Magazine

29 SPRING 2025 | September-October-November SKY SAILOR I hiked 1200m up with a plan to get above an inversion. If we have an inversion in Australia, it’s pretty tough to get above it, but it’s different in Europe. You can often hike above them, and then flying is pretty easy, but trying to launch below and punch through is really difficult. As I walked up, I saw an athlete flying a few mountains back. I rushed, figuring, if he was flying, I should be flying! So I launched from where I was, and got stuck under the inversion for two hours while I watched others who’d launched higher fly overhead. Eventually, I had to go back to where I’d started, to a good trigger point to break the inversion. By the time I’d done that, I’d lost two positions. Those last 30km took me four hours – I could have walked it faster! It was a frustratingly slow flight and I was ready for the finish! What about a high point? Taking a completely different route into Switzerland to avoid storms in Italy. We knew the weather on the Italian side was going to be nasty – big storms, and if you had to land and walk it was really com- mitting terrain. My remote supporter in Japan, Rick, was doing all my weather and strategy. He suggested I cross back into Switzerland and try for the Rhône Valley. It was longer, but much safer, and if the others got stuck by storms, my walking would be much quicker. The catch: It added about 55km, so I had to pull my night pass and walk all night to make up the distance. I covered roughly 60km on foot overnight, then hiked back up in the morning. Rick had found two possible passes, one lower but longer, one at about 3600m. The forecast had Photos: Shane Tighe