On Octobre 30th I went for a long week-end to Marlens in France, it is situated not far from the Lake Annecy. I stayed at the Auberge des Aravis, formerly known as Espace Marlens Parapente. The gîte has a big landingfield next-door. Due to bad weather conditions on the first day, it wasn't ideal for any flying activities (quite normal for this time of the year, see first picture). But on Friday 31st of Octobre the conditions were much better than the day before and as a result I made 3 flights from the Col de l'Epine above Marlens. On that day I also met a dozen of sympathetic paragliders from the north of France, the 'Champagne Vol Libre'-club. On Novembre 1st, All Saints Day, the weather was delightful. For the first flight of the day on the Col de l'Epine I meet again the same amiable club from the north of France. At the landing field we meet Patrick Berod, the 2001 Paragliding World Cup Champion. He's authorised dealer of Gin- and U-Turn gliders and he tells us that conditions are also good at some other interesting spots in the area. We decide to leave Marlens and drive in the direction of Saint Jean De La Porte where we will find the MontLambert. On this site resides the club of 'Les Indiens de Montlambair', they have a magnificent totem on their startingfield and the view on the valley is sensational. We meet the members of the club while they are cleaning up their startingfield. Conditions are quiet good, we let the Indians continue their good work and take off into the air. This site is most interesting and needs another visit in better conditions, we'll see how it flies in Springtime! After landing and packing all our gear we decide to leave the area and head for Chamoux Sur Gelon. Here's another flying site with a difference in altitude of almost 1000m. Conditions are also good here, wind direction is okay and we take off for a long flight down. You can't see the landingfield from the startingfield because you must fly out of a small valley first. The landingfield is close to the village of Chamoux and can be found easily. When flying out of the small valley you have a fascinating and wide view of the area. This is our last flight of the day and we are invited for dinner at the gîte of the 'Champagne Vol Libre'-club. The French hospitality and warm-heartedness of these guys is natural and spontaneous. Paragliding brings people together, for sure! On Sunday the weather is still favourable and as it is our last day, we go up early to the startingfield of Marlens. The weather is sunny and stable, we fly a lot, I'm practising some steering manoevres and the day ends with a big banana on my face. We take leave of the club 'Champagne Vol Libre', we will see them again some day. Thank you Sylvain, Davye, Bibsi, Patrick Berod, the Club Champagne Vol Libre and the Indians of Montlambair for this unforgettable week-end. (link to Youtube-movie at the end of the picture-list)
 Bijlagen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNVdDcgt30o
11-11-2008, 00:00 geschreven door Primaxx 
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