Faced again with tricky conditions and the now already familiar low cloud layer on the north side we had no choice but to cover distance on the ground. Two very efficient glides, one with some soaring were at least some relieve and helped us get further than expected – with the south side only one hike away.
After the awesome day of flying the north side of the Pyrenees was not that kind on us. Cloud cover and strong winds at the Pic du Midi turnpoint had Simon spend a lot of time waiting for feasible conditions. He battled very turbulent air and ended the day trapped on a mountain pass in a thunderstorm.
Rob Curran tells us about his past few days and his adventure sleeping on the mountain.
With paragliding being a conditions-dependent sport, days four and five of the X-Pyr were pretty hike-centric. Rob was faced with strong headwinds both days, making it tricky to fly, but he was able to cover a good distance on the ground. He was ushered into camp at the end of day four by a booming thunderstorm with some pretty dramatic lightning strikes. We posted up near Yesera, Spain, where we enjoyed some tasty pizza that was generously delivered by Keith’s friend Alex, a wingsuit athlete local to the area.
By mid-afternoon on day five, Rob had walked and run a good portion of the day, taken a short flight and charged through the town of Ainsa towards Peña Montañesa, which is TP3. The decision was made as Rob approached Peña to rally up a very direct trail with a lot of vert and tag the TP on foot, with the idea that we would make it back down to camp and set out east the next day to a different launch. Rob was able to tag the TP before the cutoff time for the day, but we didn’t make it back down to the car. Keith was a champ and hiked food, water, and camping gear up to Rob, and I made an out and back run to the car to grab more gear and join him for the night up on the side of the mountain, which was actually quite nice.
Rob has been playing leapfrog with a few other athletes chugging along in the same zone; it’s been fun to run into and chat with them and their teams, including Rich Binstead and co. Rob has been working really hard, never stopping, and has done a good job of putting himself in a good position to utilize XC conditions on day six. ‘Til next time!
Here are the back of the race we are fighting for every mile of distance. Getting served with rain, cloud and wind. Walking up high peaks only to find stable layers beneath it, or risky wind flows that force a long walk down. Now we are in Spain and hopes are high for a big flight. I’ve updated the X-PYR coverage with some live streams during the race. Enjoy an inside look at racing life. X-PYR 2022 here.
Another withdrawal: Tanguy Renaud-Goud who was the winner of UAE Hike & Fly Championships and current leader of the Hike & Fly World Cup. He hiked 40km yesterday and he has a damaged knee and ankle. We are so sorry to hear this and wish him a swift and complete recovery.
News from the head of the race…
This morning we met Maxime Pinot in the cold, rain and miserable weather and he wasn’t looking forward to the day. He hiked across to Spain following a similar route to Chrigel Maurer. We also headed to Spain and the weather was totally different beyond the border and the tunnel of Vielha. The sun was shining and there was high cloud.
Chrigel Maurer and Maxime Pinot pushed hard towards TP 6, but Pierre Remy, who lives near TP5, Midi de Bigorre, took a different route, heading for Castejon de Sos. He got the turn point first and is currently 17 km beyond the turnpoint. Pinot and Maurer are 8 km short of the turn point. So we have a new leader. Pierre has 78.8km go to the next turn point at the Pic dels Morros and 177.3 km to go to the end of speed section at St Helena de Rodes.
The forecast is great for tomorrow and there will be a westerly wind helping them along so they could theoretically get to goal tomorrow. It’s going to be a nail-biter. Three things about this…
1) Chrigel has won this competition three times before and the final turn points are always somewhere along this area. He knows it well.
2) Maxime went to school in Font Romeu, where paragliding is an elective. The take-off at Targassonne is at the turnpoint. Maxime knows this area between Andorra and east of Targassone well and should feel right at home.
3) For the first time, it is possible to fly all the way to the final TP at Santa Helena. In previous editions, due to the CTR of Girona Airport and the drop zone at Empuria Brava, pilots had to walk the final 30+ km to the final turn point. This year it is possible to fly there, under a certain altitude.
Keep watching to see if the first pilots arrive tomorrow!
Last night we had 10 pilots between TP 4 Arras and TP5 Midi du Bigorre, after the leading 4 Maurer, Pinot, Remy and Oberrauner had tagged the turn point and headed for 6.
Today only more 2 pilots managed to get past the big bad mountain – Tim Alongi and Jordi Vilalta, leaving Noe Court, Lars Meerstetter, Tomas Matera, James Elliot, David Corpas, Fabian Umbricht, Andreas Viehbock and Logan Walters closing in on the point but yet to round it.
The large number of pilots who experienced poor weather and were unable to progress much beyond TP2 at Accous yesterday were rewarded today with much better conditions and a number are overnighting close to TP3 Peña Montañesa, including Rob Curran.
The exciting race was actually at the back today. Keep tuned to that one tomorrow as well, as a lot of pilots are neck-and-neck and will leap frog each other for sure.
The forecast on the course leading to TP4 does look interesting. Winds are light but swinging from WSW, through N to ENE.
Two quick bits of team news…
Kinga has been biviing every night and we met her in a hurry to get to the village of Campo by this evening. The motivator was a night in a hotel, so she was determined to get there before 9pm so as not to miss the chance to have a comfortable bed.
And Rob Curran, he decided to climb Pena Montanesa to tag the turn point and thought he had enough time to get down again. In his words, he worked hard but didn’t think smart and didn’t make it back down the hill. He now has to sleep on a ledge as he is stuck there until 7am. His supporters will bring him a bivi bag and food, but he has a long, uncomfortable night ahead.
Tomorrow could be the day we have our first pilots in goal… or maybe Saturday. Keep tuned and enjoy the race.
News about the leaders, the rest, tomorrow and some of the teams.
Day 3 was a really great day for team Canada. At the end of day 2, James ended up in a really good position that allowed him to hike into Spain early in the morning and get a flight early in the day, allowing him to make the most of the day.
6 hours and 20 minutes in the air had James way too stoked to be off the ground and not walking, flying over some of the craziest terrain in the Pyrenees!
Day 4 is looking promising weather-wise so we’re looking to hike up early in the morning and try to make the most of the day, landing on mountains and avoiding valley bottoms until the day turns on.
Ross Desmond, Kinga Masztalerz supporter, talks us though their race so far, how it’s going and the plan for tomorrow.
Day 4 started out looking promising with a blue sky. James woke up just south of the France border and was looking to tag turnpoint 4, Arbas, by at least the end of the day. When he got in the air he quickly realized that the air was rather stable and decided to hike and sledder from ridge to ridge until finally, late afternoon, he was able to get a short thermic flight and land at the base of the backside of the ridge just south of Arbas. Unfortunately it was a little late in the day when he tagged the waypoint, and had to finish the day in the middle of a forest. Team Canada is really pleased with James’ performance and how he’s placing on the scoreboard. If he does his best to continue to be consistent as well as take care care of his health, then he should place well by the end of the race.
The weather for day 5 doesn’t look so promising and James is not looking forward to hiking down the road all day, so hopefully the weather won’t be absolutely terrible.
Noé Court has could to launch during the fifth day.
And then, after running in the rain, a bit of relax before tomorrow.
David’s summary of the day.
On the way…
