VON WEST NACH OST

SAC cabins are special. Mind boggling that our tribe has been building these works of art in the most inhospitable spots our country offers. The Albert-Heim-Hütte is a gem, staffed by an awesome team. The hut sits on a spur, looking out over what’s left of the Tiefen...

They’ve forecast thunderstorms as of noon. I get up to Moosfluh- above Riederalp- early. At 10:30 not a single glider is on the air. Strange, we’re in the Mekka of free flying. I launch. Right into a gentle morning thermal. As I arrive above Fiesch, others launch, only to...

I spend the day washing clothes, eating,  recharging , and catching up on my blog. In my video of today, I’ll review the instruments I’m carrying with me. Tomorrow I’ll be pushing East again, despite forecast thundershowers. And my live tracking device will be...

Weather predictions. Even after 27 years of flying I’m still a sucker for good forecast. And the forecast for Fiesch was looking very good, so I could not resist jumping west for a change to try to get in some points. You see, we have this online contest. Pilots from...

I wake up, lay out my tent in the sun to dry off the moisture. Not sure what to make of Slovenia COVID-blacklisting Switzerland. Stick to my goal? Change plans? I pack up my gear & get going. One last check that I didn’t forget anything? Let it be, don’t have anything to...

From Elm I hike up to Segnes Pass, at 2600 m asl. The first 500 m there’s a cable car, the rest is a grueling hike. When I finally arrive at the top, the north wind is howling. Wrong direction.  I hike down the other side, figuring eventually the north wind would be...

I get a text message from my friend Beat, “Rico, I know it’s a battle and unbelievable, but there’s an inversion. Sailplane pilots saying bad day for flying.” An inversion means the atmosphere is too stable for thermals to carry me upwards. I mentally prepare myself for a day...

Impressive, the monastery of Einsiedeln. I hike round it and over the back. Headed for Hummel, a popular site for soaring, with an unreliable lower launch, as well as a “your sweat earned you” upper launch. There’s more than 5 hPa pressure gradient north to south (pilot speak...

he rain started to ease towards noon. With the wind shifting to North East I gave up my hopes for the west oriented launch of Zugerberg and headed for the east oriented launch of Ramenegg; about a three hour hike away. On arrival we ducked into a tiny alpine hut for a simple...

Not a big fan of rain. It should stop sometime tomorrow though. I’ll get moving again once it does. Judging by the forecast, the wind will swing around to northeast during the course of tomorrow. And sunshine as of day after.  Fairly certain tomorrow will begin with a hike...

Some frustrations mounting…
Got off to an early start in Sihlbrugg. I skipped breakfast, figured with bad weather approaching