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x-pyr - Part 2

The Race begins.....

By KAVU

September 11^th, 2018

and so it begins...

After Dustin and I picked up Huntley at the airport, we got to work on some of the last minute prep, getting supplies and going to the pre-race meetings where we learned about the route and some of the rules from the main organizer of the X-Pyr Race, Íñigo Redín. It was obvious how much effort Íñigo had put in to make this race both fun and, as safe as it could be for the international field of competitors.

day 1

We started on the beach at the Bay of Biscay in Hondarribia. The first task was to run with our kits approximately 27 kilometers to the first turn point..... a mountains called Larun which, would also serve as our first opportunity to launch and make progress via paraglider.

signing the board on the summit

After running in the hot sun, I had a great flight with some of the other pilots, landing high on a ridge line which led to another opportunity to get in the air. The best strategy is to stay in the air to cover distance at all cost since, flying requires so much less energy. Often, if at all possible, I'd try to land high and walk to another launch to continue flying.

Day one had slow and challenging conditions in the air but it was amazing to get to work together with some of the other pilots to make progress toward turnpoint 2.

Unfortunately, toward the end of Day 1, I flew toward the top of a peak that I planned to top-land on but because of strong and tricky turbulence, I ended up landing hard and badly bruising my heel. I was able to hike and re-launch but, I knew the rest of my race would involve some discomfort;-)

day 2

The next morning, I hiked around 5 hours up to the second turn point and a launch that marked the beginning of the Pyrenees.

Dustin hiked the last stretch with me and we arrived to super light winds on launch but strong wind just above us from the north. I needed to get high before flying over what I was told was the second largest forest in Europe to reach a ridge line that allowed progress around restricted airspace toward turn point 3.

Unfortunately, cloudbase was below our launch making the crossing tricky at best.

I ended up flying further to the east while looking for enough lift to get across the forest. After launching, Dustin landed at the van and was pulled off his feet in a strong venturi, causing some damage to his wing on some near-by barbwire. The wind was still "over the back" and the clouds still below peak tops, so I ended up landing high on a mountain and running down to be in good position for Day 3.

day 3

This ended up being a very tough day for me, even though the forecast promised potential for us to fly a long way.

We hiked for 5 hours in the morning to a beautiful launch and as it developed, launched under forming clouds. I jumped from thermal to thermal down a perfect highway of limestone but was unable to get high due to the time of day and low cloudbase. Along the way, unable to clear a high pass, I made the poor decision to fly out toward the valley to climb with a group of circling birds. Unfortunately, they all flew away upon reaching them and I didn't find the lift I was after. Long story short, I made a few more decisions that didn't work out and simply landed....low in the valley bottom; a monumental strategic mistake that would cost me time and distance in a big way.

With Huntley and Dustin's help, I ran as fast as I could to another launch slope and got back into the air. But, by that time of the day, the other competitors I had been flying with were now 40+ kilometers in front of me and the sky was overdeveloping in the mountains toward the 3rd turnpoint.....where I needed to go.

I launched, went straight to cloudbase, and flew my way toward the turnpoint under darkening skies in strong lift but, as I got deeper into the mountains, the shade from the clouds had caused all the available energy to disappear. I found no wind, no lift and perfectly smooth air but couldn't make efficient progress over the mountains I needed to cross to get to the turnpoint.

I landed high when I couldn't cross a pass, wrapped up my wing and ran 100+ meters up hill to give me altitude I needed and couldn't find from the atmosphere. I re-launched and flew my glider through a notch in the ridgeline and into the next alpine cirque. Try as I might, I was unable to find lift to climb out of that cirque and I landed, at 7:30 pm with more than 1000 meters of mountain between me and the turnpoint. I was seriously bummed.

But, the beauty of the place I found myself in and the adventure I was on exceeded any expectations! It had been a tough day but, a KAVU day non-the-less!!

This "self interview" was a pivotal moment for me in this year's X-Pyr. I still had serious motivation and a lot of "try hard" left but my perspective changed in a positive way which, in the end was a helpful lesson.

crew

I hiked downhill for 30 mins or so and met up with my team that evening. Dustin pulled out his sewing machine and fixed my pack which had blown out due to running with the load I was carrying while Huntley cooked dinner.

Those guys were amazing and although we were now far behind the leaders, morale was still high!

Day4

We had one option....hike the peak behind where we'd camped and fly off the backside toward the turn point.

I'd flown myself into a tough spot and I simply needed to fly my way out.

The hike was long and steep and we ended up getting to a saddle with a steep couloir on the other side. Conditions that early were basically perfect and even though there was barely enough room to lay out a paraglider..... and the snow/ice on the other side was steep and exposed.....Dustin helped me lay my wing out and I was able to fly off the mountain in the direction I needed to go.

I landed with a no-stepper right at a beautiful ski area (Astún) at the base of turn point 3. It was still early and if I hiked hard, I could get the turn point in time to re-launch and hopefully have a big flight to catch up a bit.

My landing zone at Astún

going for it

I got turn point three on foot and after launching from the peak's top, I climbed out under my glider, going straight to cloudbase.

As I started connecting the dots and making efficient distance, I got a confident hope that I was beginning a big flight and would possibly make up distance and catch up to some of the competitors ahead of me.

Unfortunately, after only an hour or so in the air, the sky exploded with over-development and as I flew out of the mountains, I noticed white caps on a near-by lake, signifying a lot of wind and most likely, a gust front from one of the many storm clouds that were now dropping rain from there black bases.

I landed in high winds and turbulent conditions going backwards in my paraglider, managing to put 'er down in a field in front of some high tension power lines. As soon as my wing fell to the ground after landing safely, thunder cracked above me. Soon, I had my glider packed up and as I started to run down the road, it began to hail and rain. I ended up running between 20 and 30 more kilometers in the rain and under stormy skies. What an adventure!!

day 5, repeat

The next morning and day were almost a repeat of day 4. I hiked hard for a few hours to a launch, got off the hill at the right time and, with my friend and fellow competitor, Alister Andrews flying from a ridge line nearby, climbed again to cloudbase.

After making good progress for an hour and a half, I ran smack into more storms and had to land to avoid another gust front and more rain. I ran behind Alister for the remainder of the day, another 40 + kilometers, in the rain and gusty winds. The X-Pyr was living up to its reputation as a tough race, indeed!

We were still having fun though and that's... what it's all about!

no tunnels allowed;-)

day 6

I woke up well rested and ready for a big day. The weather forecast sites were down and no one could get a forecast but, we expected over development and ran toward a launch accordingly. Unfortunately, we arrived a bit too late and found very high winds.

I ended up running a long day through the mountains, accompanied by Dustin for some of the legs, to arrive late in the evening at turn point 4, the mighty Turbon.

This was an area that I'd had previous experience flying through so I was psyched for the next day and hopeful I would make progress toward turn point 5.

last day

Because Chrigel Mauer had already won the race, we knew this would be our last day and opportunity to make progress and secure our place in the results for this year's X-Pyr.

I launched from Turbon as soon as I felt confident I could find thermals and flew across the valley and into Castejon de Sos.

Unfortunately, later in the day, I landed high on a pass in high winds and was unable to re-launch. Huntley met me at a trail head and we hiked hard to pass a couple competitors before the mandatory cut off time and the official end of the race.

epic adventure

Our X-Pyr was over and it was fun to re-live the adventure and hear stories at the awards ceremony the next day. Although we didn't do as well as we had wanted in the competition, we tried hard, learned a ton, had an epic experience and gained a lot of perspective that will serve us in the next race.

I have memories that I literally couldn't make up! It was indeed a life highlight and I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity. I can honestly say that as soon as this race ended, I couldn't wait to do another like it! It was tough, there was suffering, but it was also so much fun and an experience I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. I'll be back to try again in 2020 and feel like the lessons learned can do nothing but help. I can't wait!!