Every year in March, it’s that time again: the dusty paragliders are taken from the cellar, the suitcase is packed, and we head to the weather-favored southern side of the Alps.

Many of our customers use the training after the long winter break to get back in shape and trained for the new flying season. And this makes perfect sense and brings joy at the same time.

A group of max. 14 pilots takes off, and the gathering/carpool of the traveling flyers usually starts from Munich. From there, we continue into the Inn Valley, over the Brenner Pass to Trento Nord, where we turn into the Valsugana Valley. We then follow the Brenta until we reach Borso del Grappa. And just like that, the first mountain range from the sea opens up, home to one of the best and weather-favored flying areas worldwide. MAGIC BASSANO!

Our students get accustomed to flying on the first afternoon. Everyone was able to safely launch and land, and we concluded the first day in Bassano all beaming with joy. 🙂

Our dear Wolfi Degreif has also participated in numerous paragliding trips…whether in Slovenia, Greece, or Tyrol, Bassano is a must-attend event every year. Thank you, Wolfi, for your loyalty!

After so much flying, a rest is also necessary. Furthermore, due to the west wind component, we had relatively challenging conditions and thermals at the Stella launch site, so we decided to take a break. We waited comfortably until things calmed down a bit. That was also the best decision, and in the meantime, I was able to practice ground handling and the correct reverse launch with Marie-Luise. From later afternoon, we had luck; the wind subsided, and Marie-Luise launched like a feather. 🙂

We all had a lot of fun with Heiko, as he contributed to us becoming a real tree recovery team. Don’t worry, Heiko didn’t fly into a tree, at least not at the launch site, but his canopy really wanted to launch, and Heiko, already clipped in forward, was unprepared for the oncoming gust, and just like that, half of the canopy was caught in the tree behind Heiko. Oh Heiko….:-)

It can happen, and all students learn from it that the reverse launch method is important in developing thermal conditions. 🙂

While Nora couldn’t resist the Limoncello… Wolfi wanted to sink into his warm chocolate cake filled with warm chocolate sauce. Well, to each their own desires… 🙂

On the last morning, before we started our journey home, we first drove up towards Cassette to get an idea of the wind situation. No sooner said than done, we were partly fogged in repeatedly, and the wind also came from the southeast due to thermals. So we went back down to Stella, where we productively used the waiting time until the fog cleared, and Christian used the time to practice reverse launching and ground handling exercises with launch aborts.

All steps were explained by me again, step by step, and recorded and provided via video for the students. (for practice at home) Christian was able to reverse launch the canopy multiple times and controlledly lay it down again. Until Peter meant well with us, the fog receded, and Christian promptly put his first reverse launch into practice. Congratulations!!!

See you next time in Bassano March 2026, when it’s time for “TAKE OFF”

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