From 18th till 28th of June I went to Semonzo at Monte Grappa in Italy. It is situated close to the city of Bassano del Grappa, Treviso and Venezia. The German paraglider manufacturer UP in Garmisch gave me the opportunity of testing a tandem wing (K2), a sportive wing (Kantega XC) and a brand new mini-wing (Xpress).
In Semonzo I stayed at the Camping Santa Felicita and if you don't like to make evening lunch in your camper, you can visit the wonderful restaurant Antica Abbazia, situated at the side of the camping. The office of the local paragliding school is called Monte Grappa Airpark and is located at the side of the official landing and the emergency landing. The office has a shop where you can buy paragliding attributes, but you can also buy your Flycard and shuttlecard... or at the end of the day a landingbeer... The shuttle service starts at the landing place and it drives to the different starting places, from the east-start in the morning to the south-start during the day to the west-start in the afternoon. The shuttle can even bring you to the highest start almost on top of the Monte Grappa, if it is not in the clouds. From there you have a difference in altitude of 1500m before you reach the landingfield. An amazing view awaits you up there. Flying at Monte Grappa can be done all year long, the Monte Grappa Airpark office is open the whole year, flying is possible in spring, summer, fall and winter. The flying area is so big that it is easy to understand why they call it Airpark... it is a big play ground for free flight addicts, not only for paragliders, but also for deltas and sailplanes. Patrick came from Nice to Semonzo to spend some nice airtime at the Monte Grappa. He specially wanted to test the Kantega XC, but he also flew with me as a passenger under the tandem wing. We had only one day of rain, the rest of our time there it was just flying. We'll be back soon at this beautiful, warm and welcoming place.
I wish to thank UP for testing the wings, thanks Emanuele and his team for the nice food, thanks Andi and the Airpark-team for the good service, thanks Patrick, Egle, Klaas & Daan for flying with me. Also many thanks to Walter, Hannes, Nikolas, Marc, Bartek, Gabriele, Julio for sharing your happiness, jokes and advices. Enjoy the pictures (click on picture to view Picasa-album).
Tibetan Uprising Day - 10th of March 2010 Brussels
Vrienden van Tibet, the Tibetan community,International Campaign Tibet, the Tibetan Youth Congress,
Les Amis du Tibetand Chusi Gangdruk will demonstrate on next 10th of March 2010 in the heart of Brussels against the illegal Chinese occupation of Tibet and to commemorate the first resistance from 10th March 1959.
Start demonstration: Kunstberg Brussels 10.00-10.30. Schumanplein12.00 en 14.00 speeches from Dalai Lama-representative and politicians from different parliaments. From 14.00 the demonstration will go through the Jubelpark in direction of Tervurenlaan to the Chinese Embassy where the demonstration will finish at 16.00 uur.
On 28 december 2009, the Tibetan cineast Dondhup Wangchen was convicted for 6 years detention for having made a documentary movie. His familly stays in Switzerland and anounced that he will take an appeal on his judgement. Friends of Tibet follow the case of the maker of the movie "Leaving Fear Behind", we all hope that Dondhup Wangchen will get an independent pleader and also get an honnest proces. Thanks for your support.
The documentary movie can be seen by clicking next picture.
Between 18 and 26 July 2009 I went to
Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval. Together with about 50 members of the Belgian Pickup-club, we stayed
on a camping at the far end of the Giffre-valley. In this part of the valley there are no houses, just a few mountain refuges and the Camping Municipal du
Pelly. It is located in a by nature formed dead end, shaped like a tremendous
amphitheatre. There are more than 30 waterfalls feeding the local
Giffre-river. The natural beauty is overwhelming here. Needless to say that
many hiking tours are possible in this amazing nature. But you also have to take
into account that sudden rainfall can swell up the side rivers as well as the
main river and that you have to be aware of finding shelter on higher grounds
very quickly.
In the village of Sixt you can hire some
mountainbikes or the more adventurous can find out about canyonning or
rafting.
Flying conditions were good in the beginning
and at the end of our holiday. We mostly flew from two local
starting places in Samoëns, Les Saix and La Bourgeoise on the Col de Joux Plane,
a famous ascension in the Tour de France. At the end of the week conditions
were really great and thermal activity gave us the chance to reach cloudbase. Some happy
few made beautiful crosses and others were lucky
to do some great flights in the alpine village of Les Gets. Due to rainfall
and some severe thunderstorms we were grounded for 3 days. During one of these
days we went with a little group to the Col d'Arâches to watch one of the laps
of the Tour de France. Near the road, where the whole cycling-circus would
drive by, I found a nice field where I unfolded my wing. There were about 8
(!!!!) choppers in the air following the riders, overmediatized and sponsored
by European products made in China, this was the ideal event to get into
action. A local administrator asked if I could remove the wing, it was laying
under a giant bikers-shirt that mentionned Vive le Tour and the name of the
village. This person told me the village had paid 15.000 Euro for broadcasting
an air view of the village together with this giant shirt. To avoid
trouble and to prevent the confiscation of the wing I moved it about 10 metres.
The advertising caravan and the bicycle racers rushed through the village
escorted by the choppers
at the end of the day I got the confirmation that the wing was
seen during the life broadcast, mission accomplished.
From 6 to 10 July 2009 I
engaged in an amiable paragliding competition with bivouac, called the
Crossfly. The aim of this competition is to fly every day from a bivouac
to a certain goal. If the defined goal can't be reached by flying, the competitors
can also hike to the finish. 92 paragliders - mostly French - signed in
for the Crossfly. Besides the French pilots, there were also some Swiss
and Austrian pilots and even a Belgian delegation of 8 motivated paragliders,
ready to discover the beautiful Haute Savoie.
On Saturday 4 July we were
expected at Passy for pilot registration and first briefing. On Sunday we
were transfered with a chartered bus to Gresse-en-Vercors where our first
bivouac would be installed. A first prologue flight in the afternoon was
cancelled because of bad meteorological conditions, a summer
thunderstorm. Prior to the dinner the mayor of Gresse offered us the
aperitif.
On Monday 6th we were told
on the briefing that weather conditions were better but that we had to walk to
a certain goal. Too much wind was grounding us and only giving us the
possibility of hiking up the mountain and go down on the other side
again. From there we were brought to Saint Hilaire. Here a second attempt to fly was again cancelled because of bad weather conditions. Our camping place was installed in Lumbin near the landing place of Saint Hilaire.
On Tuesday we could finally fly for the first time in this competition, we took the Funiculaire to the starting place of Saint Hilaire and the goal of this day was Barraux, about 15km further north. I didn't managed to reach the goal and was forced to land in La Frette. After packing my stuff in the bag I reached the goal on foot some 10km further. Before going to this competition, Steven had helped me out by lending me a reversible harness/backpack and light-reserve. Compared with my own harness this was about 6kg less to carry on my back. Very thankfull for that, but I still had 15kg to carry anyway, I was glad I reached this goal. A transfer to the second part of this stage brought me to the foot of a hill with 800m height difference. It started raining and I decided to abandon for today, I had only a rain jacket but nothing to protect my backpack. As there were some more stages the following days it was also a tactical decision, save energy for the next days to come. Our bivouac was situated in Aillon-le-jeune. Many competitors arrived totally wet, exhausted and only some happy few managed to reach the goal flying.
On Wednesday we were transfered to the village of La Féclaz. Goal to reach today is Talloires at the lake of Annecy. From La Féclaz we had to walk 7km up to the start of Le Revard, together with Bart and Laurent I hiked the climb at hight speed, after an hour the 3 Belgians reached the top as first. Leaving the rest far behind, on the little start we had time to prepare our wings for take off. Conditions were good and Bart, Laurent and I took off. Bart landed in a field and I would finally join him in the same field, just before the famous Semnoz in Les Mièges. Bart and I didn't wanted going up hiking the mountain again for another flight, we started walking in the direction of our goal, not sure if we would reach it. The stage ended that day at 18:30 and we didn't reached the goal, finally Bart was walking a bit faster than me and I just kept my own walking rythm. I just reached Annecy after a walk of 21km. That evening I needed my first massage, my shoulders and feet were hurting. Just as the two other bivouacs before, we received also in Talloires a warm welcome. Local paragliding clubs, schools and shops organised a great evening meal and provided cosy camping place.
On Thursday we got the choice to start at the 300m higher start of Planfait or at the 1000m higher start of Col des Fretes. The last one was my destination for the flight of today. The hike was very steep and physically hard, my shoulders were still hurting from the stage the day before. I reached the Col, the view is one the most beautiful I saw at the lake of Annecy. The flight was nice, I reached cloudbase, was ready to transfer but a wrong decision forced me to land somewhere in the dry part of a river bed. Lost some time to take the glider out of some little bushes. After folding I had to cross the wet part of the river... Again lost of some precious time. I walked some 8km until the stage ended at 18:30. The goal was only 4km further. Our bivouac is in La Clusaz, we are camping at 1400m, it is humid, cold, there are no showers in the surroundings, neither toilets, we need to walk down to the village to find them. Lights go out very soon today, everybody is glad to find his tent and warm theirselves in their sleeping bags.
Friday, already the last day, last hike of the week I hope, the climb is about 800m up, starting at 2200 on the Col du Merle. Wind is weak but good to start, we fly around the mountain and arriving at the leeside most of the pilots are flying down. The expected thermals at this side are as weak as the wind on the other side of the mountain. I try to catch a weak thermal that already attracted some other pilots, but it's turbulent and the heightgain is not interesting. I choose to land in Le Plan. I still have time. End of the stage is foreseen at 16:30. It is 14:00 and I start another hike up the mountain, again 800m going up, today I am decided to reach the goal flying, even if I don't make it in time. I arrive at the Petit Croise Baulet at 16:10. My second flight of the day will bring me at the goal at the lake of Passy. I am very satisfied I reached it, only 15min after closing time.
The blameless organisation of this second edition of the Cross Fly makes me already decide to participate again next year. Special thanks to Arnaud, Caro and all the volunteers, the catering and the pilots for making this a never forgetting and wonderful adventure.
Sand mandala of the Green Tara - "Bruges 17-30 August"
Three monks of the Gaden Shartse
monastery in Mundgod (South India) are coming to Bruges to
make a sand mandala of the Green Tara. The sand mandala is organised
by the new v.z.w. Mandala. Entrance fees will go to the monastery, to
Tibetan refugees and Tibetan schools in India.
The sand mandala of the
Green Tara can be visited from 17 to 30 August 2009 in the brewery "De Halve Maan" at the
Walplein nr. 26 in Bruges.
Opening ceremony will start on 17
August at 14.00 o'clock (free entrance). From 18 till 29 August doors are open from 10.00 till 12.00 and from 14.00 till 18.00 o'clock ( 2,00
entrance, no entrance fee for children). Closing ceremony will start on 30 August at 14.00 o'clock
(free entrance).
The first weekend of June I went to the wonderful village of Kochel am see. It is situated in the south of Bavaria, approximatively 70 km south of Munich and 30km north of Garmisch Partenkirchen. When arriving here you can see that it is here where the alps begin... or where the alps end... depending from your point of view of course. The village is known for his beautiful lake and for his museum of the German expressionist Franz Marc. In Kochel you find many hiking and biking possibilities and in summertime you can visit the Trimini swimming and recreation centre, it is located at the side of the lake. There are lot`s of further attractions that can be reached by only a
one to two hours drive: the cities Munich, Garmisch-Partenkirchen,
Innsbruck (Austria) or the world-famous castles of King Ludwig II,
"Neuschwanstein" and "Linderhof", are only a few examples.
Of course where there are mountains there are also paragliders. Those who want to fly from the Jochberg will first have to be prepared with a good breakfast, a good physical condition and be informed about good meteorological conditions. You can find the landing field at the lake side near the Kesselberg camping place. The village of Kochel is situated around 600m above sea level and the top of the Jochberg is at 1570m. You can drive towards Urfeld and the Walchensee and at the highest point (860m) of the road, you can leave your car on a parkingplace nearby. There is also a bus that can drive you to this point. The 700m high climb starts steep and it leads you to the magnificent top of the Jochberg. From this wonderful peak, you have an impressive view over the two lakes Walchensee and Kochelsee, the alps and when visibility is good, you can even see Munich.
On saturday a first flying attempt was cancelled because of the bad weather, hiking down again with the heavy bag was the only option. But on sunday the 1h30min walk up was rewarded with a large and clear view over lower Bavaria, the lakes, the mountains, cloud streets and good flying conditions... a stranger under his Aircross wing was inviting to join him into the air and share the soft thermals. The little start on the Jochberg is easy when you have a bit of wind. Hikers observe while I'm preparing my wing... and I know that today I'm privileged... I don't have to hike down... this time I won't find rocks or trees on my path... now it is blue and covered with clouds.
Together with friends I went to Slovenia at the end
of April. Our destination was Dreznica and it is situated near
Kobarid.
Along with an Austrian paraglidingschool
(Airsport.at) and a mix of German and Austrian pilots, we stayed at the Jelkin
Hram guesthouse. Our guide was Daniel Loritz, he is designer, constructor and
testpilot from Team5.
Daniel made us discover the starting places of
Kobariski Stol and Matajur near Kobarid, Kobala near Tolmin and Lijak near Nova
Gorica. We found plenty of spacy landing fields and wonderful opportunities for
XC-flyers in this beautiful country.
For those who wish not to fly there are multiple activities like kayak, rafting, hydrospeed, mountainbiking,
mountain excursions or speleology. I won't tell more about this wonderful
European region, I'll just let you discover the Slovenian beauty with some
pictures.
Thank you to Airsport for their impeccable
organisation, thank you to Claudio (Jelkin Hram) for their hospitality and thank
you to the whole group for the amazing atmosphere that week. Hope to see you soon, somewhere in the air.
On
Saturday
25th April 2009
a candle vigil for all the victims
of the Chinese repression in Tibet
is organised in the city of Gent (Belgium).
That day is the 20th birthday of the 11th Panchen Lama, the youngest
political prisoner ever.
We
meet at 17.00
o'clock
on the Sint-Baafs-square in
Gent and walk during a peaceful march with candles and Tibetan prayers towards the Woodrow
Wilson square (Zuid). During
this candle vigil we commemorate all victims of 60 years Chinese occupation. We
also pay special attention to the 11th
Panchen Lama and to all Tibetan
political prisoners. Very often they are arrested only because of their
participation in a peaceful demonstration.
Gedhun
Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, was kidnapped by the Chinese authorities in
1995, shortly after his recognition by H.H. the Dalai Lama. At that time the
Panchen Lama was only 6 years old.
He and his parents disappeared without a trace, and until now no one knows if
they are still alive or where they are. Afterwards the Chinese government has
installed their own Panchen Lama.
Thanks for your support and we hope to see you at the candle vigil.
50th anniversary of Tibetan uprising: European Parliament urges China
to negotiate
12-03-2009
In a resolution adopted by MEPs on Thursday to mark
the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, the Chinese
Government is urged to resume talks with the Dalai Lama's representatives with
a view to "positive, meaningful change in Tibet",
not ruling out autonomy for the region, a solution that MEPs believe need not
compromise China's
territorial integrity.
The EP's call for talks to resume came as Tibetans in
many countries commemorated the 50th anniversary of the 1959 revolt against China, which led to the flight of the Dalai Lama
and the beginning of his exile in India. Eight rounds of
dialogue in recent years between the Dalai Lama's envoys and Chinese Government
representatives have produced no breakthrough and no further talks are
planned. In recent days the Chinese authorities have tightened security
in Tibet,
banning journalists and foreigners from visiting the region.
Autonomy, not independence, for
Tibet
In its key demand, Parliament urges the Chinese Government "to consider
the Memorandum for Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People of November 2008 as
a basis for substantive discussion leading towards positive, meaningful change
in Tibet, consistent with the principles outlined in the Constitution and laws
of the Peoples Republic of China". The resolution calls on the EU Council
Presidency to adopt a declaration on the same lines.
The Memorandum, produced at the request of the Chinese Government and presented
by envoys of the Dalai Lama at the eighth round of talks in November 2008 in
Beijing, respects the principles underpinning the Chinese Constitution and the
territorial integrity of the Peoples Republic of China, but was rejected by
the Chinese Government as an attempt at 'semi-independence' and 'independence
in disguise'.
In addition, Parliament's resolution "condemns all acts of violence,
whether they are the work of demonstrators or disproportionate repression by
the forces of law and order". It calls on the Chinese Government "to
release immediately and unconditionally all those detained solely for engaging
in peaceful protest and account for all those who have been killed or gone
missing".
MEPs ask the Chinese authorities "to provide foreign media access to Tibet, including the Tibetan areas outside the
Tibet Autonomous Region" and "to grant UN human rights experts and
recognised international NGOs unimpeded access to Tibet so that they can investigate
the situation there".
The resolution was adopted by 338 votes to 131 with 14 abstentions.
Previous EP action on Tibet
The European Parliament has followed events in Tibet closely over the years. After
the repression of demonstrations by Tibetans a year ago, the EP adopted a
resolution condemning "all acts of violence from whichever
source". EP President Hans-Gert Pöttering then announced on 10 July
that he would not attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games last August
because talks between China
and the Dalai Lama had made no progress. The Dalai Lama himself addressed
the European Parliament on 4
December 2008 as part of Year of Intercultural Dialogue.
REF. :
20090311IPR51592
(See attachment for extra info about the EU-resolution)
End February 2009 we went to the Vosges for a flying weekend. Base camp was the "Auberge du Grieb" where we had a comfortable lodging and sweet food for democratic prices. Like most of the other mountain areas in central Europe this winter, the Vosges were also covered with lots of snow. On Fridaymorning we went for a meteo-check to the Aerotec landing field in Oderen and decided to climb up to the Siebach starting place, 250m higher up. The youngest one of the pack (Jyves) reached the top after only 30 minutes march, leaving the rest far behind. Wind was not too strong, there was a small window for a little bit of dynamic soaring... only for a few... wind was decreasing. In the afternoon we went all the way up to the Markstein top, all was white, view was great, lots of people enjoying their last day of skiing. Going down the mountain again we noticed that a smooth evening flight from the Treh would be possible. Jyves, Stéph and Jean took off in the deep snow, flying toward the setting sun.
On Saturday we've met some other Belgian pilots at the Aerotec and together with them we drove to the Ballon d'Alsace. Sky was blue, wind was okay, so we had wonderful conditions for a day full of flying joy. Starting place was at 1247m, landing place 700m lower between two lakes just before the small village of Sewen. Wonderful flights, save landings and joyful socializing with Geff & co, a day to remember.
On Sunday the wind was blowing hard. On our last day some of us were going for a walk, others stayed at the Aerotec landing field for some serious groundhandling... or no activity at all... Wind was blowing in different directions and it wouldn't be a flying day, at the Treh the wind was even getting 60km/h. We were hoping the wind would calm down in the late afternoon, but weather didn't improved. The wonderful weekend was over and it was time to pack our gear. Enjoy the pictures below.
March 10th is Tibetan Uprising Day. Every year the uprising from Lhasa March 10th 1959 is commemorated. It was then, 50 years
ago, that there was the biggest demonstration against the illegal Chinese
occupation of Tibet. During the uprising 80.000 people were killed.
Worldwide there are annual peaceful demonstrations, also in Belgium. All victims are commemorated on that day.
Today Tuesday March 10th 2009 was a big demonstration in Brussels, a
joint initiative of the Tibetan Community in Belgium, the Tibetan Youth
Congress Belgium, International Campaign for Tibet, Vrienden van Tibet
and Les Amis du Tibet. At 10.30 oclock we demonstrated in front of the
European Commission at the Square Schuman. From 12.00 oclock there was a march in Brussels to the Chinese embassy at the Avenue de Tervueren
where we demonstrated till 15.00 oclock.
This year is a very important year for Tibet and its future. In 2009
Tibet is exactly 60 years occupied by China and we commemorate the 50th
anniversary of the Uprising Day. We cannot accept any longer that our politicians excuse theirselves at the Chinese embassy after receiving the Dalai Lama in audience. We cannot accept any longer that China is taking hostage 6 Million Tibetans. We cannot accept any longer that China is importing Chinese immigrants to Tibet. We cannot accept any longer that China is occupating and colonizing Tibet illegaly. We cannot accept any longer that the world and the big enterprises are getting down on their knees for their economic interests in China. Act now, FREE TIBET!
On Saturday 21st February 2009 I went to Fumay with Jean-Yves and Jean. Flying conditions were also good on sites at the sea-side in north of France and the soaring dune of Zoutelande in The Netherlands. As for soaring at the sea-side, that day we should had to wait until the evening to get interesting windforce, so we decided to go to Fumay. The wind here was also very weak but we didn't mind about that. It's good to practice starts and landings in calm weather conditions in the beginning of the new flying season. In the afternoon we have met a local pilot (Jean-Luc) who's been cleaning up the start at Revin the same morning. I don't know if he was involved but the Fumay start has also been cleaned not so long ago. So no obstacles and no branches at this starting place. Look for yourself, enjoy the pictures.
On Sunday 8 Februari 2009 I went to Zoutelande in the Netherlands for some wintersoaring. Conditions in the morning were quite excellent, but temperatures were freezing. While some early birds were already flying, most of us were still doubting if it would be worthwhile making the trip to the coast. Around noon, as the wind blowed harder and forced the wings to land, some delta pilots showed up and were dancing on invisible winds together with the glorious seagulls. Together with Patrick and Bart we arrived at 13:00 in Zoutelande, some good flying already in the morning (isn't it Hans?) and it looks like the weathergods aren't happy to see us. Half an hour later we greet Jean-Yves, Steph and Jean and a whole bunch of colleague Pickupclub-members Seppe, Steven, Carl, Ronny, Frank, Bart and new member Danny... I bet I have forgotten to mention some other members, sorry for that and thank you for being there, this was a great gathering! Winds were blowing hard, more than 40km/h and no possibility for taking-off. Grey clouds approaching the coast, they soon delivered some strong wind and melting snow, most of us flee in the direction of the beachrestaurant "De Zeeuwse Riviera". Thank you for giving us the chance to take a pauze in the warmth, time to chat with one another, drink a "Belgian" beer and ask the wind to take away the bad weather from the seaside. Prayers were answered around 16:00, some impatient ones were already taking-off from the beach. Others were taking their bags to the official start on top of the dune. Clouds break and behind these fluffy curtains blue sky still exists, sun finally showed up. One by one taking-off, more and more sunbathing wings swoop above Zoutelande-beach. Around 20 wings were airborne. Windforce is decreasing and goes under 30km/h, Bart is giving a helping hand at most starts on the dune, thanks for your help Bart. Most impressive and divergent colored airballet, earth turned, sun disappeared behind the horizon, full moon showing up behind the dunes, this was a day full of wonders. Enjoy the pictures.
It has been 2 months that theres been no
flying with the wing.Weatherconditions
were not ideal for flying on the Belgian sites, neither on the sites over the
border.Except a day or two of groundhandling
and a reserve-throwing-exercise, the wing has been kept folded in the bag,
waiting for real flights.
Then, all of a sudden, it was last week
that Ive got this question from a colleague at work.He told me about his plan to organize a
cyclo-cross race in his hometown, Loonbeek.He wondered about the Free Tibet-paraglider flying nearby, as an
additional attraction during the race.As there are no big hills in the area and that thermals at this period
of the year hardly develop, I
said that this only would be possible if someone would fly the wing with a
paramotor.The idea was born and I found
someone who could borrow us a paramotor.As Jean-Yves has some paramotor-experience he was ready to fly with it.
On Sundaymorning we had some slight
battery-problems but we finally managed to get the wing into the air.As the wing took-off late in the morning,
there was already some wind blowing. Because of this, the bumpy flight only
took about 20 minutes with afterwards a safe landing.In any case the action was a great success. I would like to thank Jacques for bringing up the idea, Olivier from Easy
Flying for using the paramotor, Jean-Yves for flying, Patrick for the pictures
and Lena for supporting.Enjoy the snowy pictures below.
Again lost of some precious time. I walked some 8km until the stage ended at 18:30. The goal was only 4km further. Our bivouac is in La Clusaz, we are camping at 1400m, it is humid, cold, there are no showers in the surroundings, neither toilets, we need to walk down to the village to find them. Lights go out very soon today, everybody is glad to find his tent and warm theirselves in their sleeping bags.
){kind=link}