Red Bull X-Alps 2009 - Racing over the Alps by paraglider and on foot

[ricki]

From: http://www.daylife.com/photo/018B1772wGclN

Just received this, wonder if we could work something out flying along the Florida Ridge?

"Just nine days, 23 hours and 54 minutes after leaving the centre of Salzburg, Austria, Swiss athlete Christian Maurer stood on a blue float off the coast of Monaco and lifted his arms in triumph.

He was first to complete the 2009 Red Bull X-Alps, an adventure race where the only permitted forms of transport are hiking and flying with a paraglider.

Measured over a straight line, the route is 818km but throw in difficult alpine passes, glaciers and inclement weather systems and the actual distance covered by Maurer was 1379km.

The 27-year-old Swiss athlete was one of 30 participants from 23 different nations that began the race on July 19, 2009. Negotiating seven mountain turnpoints in Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France before landing on the float in Monaco, the event is for experienced paragliders and hardened endurance athletes only.

Usual tactics involve hiking to high mountain take off positions and using thermals to stay aloft and paraglide long distances.

When unable to fly, they must carry their entire kit, which weighs up to 12kg. No motorised transport is allowed but they can have one supporter each to provide food, supplies and navigational advice.

Such a challenging race means the athletes are on the edge 24 hours a day, and that extreme decisions and exploits have to be made in order to stay ahead of the opposition.

One such decision was a daring crossing by Maurer and his supporter Thomas Theurillat of the dangerous Monte Rosa glacier in Switzerland on the way to the Matterhorn turnpoint.

Maurer and Theurillat, a mountain guide and psychology student, roped themselves together, and climbed up to 3600m, where they performed the most extraordinary take off in Red Bull X-Alps history.

Since the glacier was relatively flat at the top, Theurillat tied his climbing rope to Maurer’s glider harness and towed him into the air like a kite.

The move sparked debate among fans and the Race Committee alike, but there is nothing in the rules forbidding such a take off. Watching from the race helicopter was Red Bull Photofiles photographer Dean Treml, who described it as “one of the most remarkable things I’ve ever seen.”"

Continued with photos at:
http://www.redbull-photofiles.com/Ph...450-1152544655


You can see the Red Bull overview of the race at:



and one dealing with some great shots of the winner, Maurer at:
http://paraglidetv.com/videos/paragl...an-maurer.html

[kiteboardinggear]

Awesome, this is gonna be fun!