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By wingthai
#385110
Hi folks!
is there anybody around here who has experience of doing sky camping with a hang glider? Hike&fly/vol biv is becoming a big thing in paragliding, but I can't stop wanting to make it work even with a hang glider... obviously, there are some logistical challenges... still, experiences? thoughts?
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By miraclepieco
#385219
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=33377

"One rainy day I found myself face to face with a human specimen I once was. Not long ago, at 44 years old, I burned all the files, business plans and contracts that had enslaved me, to start a life from scratch. My stubble, silly red cap, bermuda shorts, walking boots, and flower in mouth had nothing in common with his businessman's mask. Poor, hurried prisoner of time..."

So Didier Favre abandoned his life as a corporate attorney to begin an adventure of traversing the entire 1200 km length of the Alps, only "by foot or by flight," the origin of what paragliders today refer to as "vol-biv." But mostly his writings contain the essence of what once made hang gliding great - the adventure, the mystery, the romance. What he termed "the cultivation of a new art of living."

"Thanks to the dreadful weather, I took the time to discover life around me," he said. "Had it not been for the Mistral (adverse wind) I would never have known this fabulous region except as a black number on a map. I owe my best discoveries to bad weather. Flight is the vehicle which takes me to the essential - friendship, nature and life."

The article attached (Cross Country, Jan 1993) will introduce some to Didier Favre and answer practical questions such as, "How did he carry his wing up to the loft Alpine takeoffs?" and "How did he sleep inside his glider?"

Read more: http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.ph ... z43cI7J7y1
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By miraclepieco
#385220
It may be cheating, but this PVC cart makes schlepping an Atos easy and actually inspires me to seek out hike-in sites:
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By paicolman
#385221
Can you take it with you in-flight?
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By kukailimoku
#385285
I don't know if such things are archived but there was a great "Sky Mountaineering" article in HG mag back in the late 80's or early 90's. The pilots were touring spots in the Owens Valley and camping out. The whole thing made for a great read, especially when one of them needed a downtube and a friend managed to get above them and drop it!

Look out below...
#385354
You Know I think about when I return, return to flying my Predator. Well I think it would be great to launch from asay a site up in the Sierra's called Wolf's Peak. Some of you have no idea where Wolf's Peak is. Well think of Sonora Pass Califprnia. I think it would be way Cool to fly either North, or fly South from Wolf's Peak. But, when I get to fly this flight, actually it will be Two flights. I hope to pack food, and something light weight in which I could sleep. Then, the next Day, I could fly Back to Wolf's Peak. Where I would I hope to Land, Pack up my Gear and then Drive Home.
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By jirlbeck
#385950
Great thread!
Have often wondered about this as well.
The re-post Vagabond of the Sky, very inspiring..

--Jon I
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By butchpeachy
#385980
In July of 1979 I was forced down in high winds on to Pilaster Flats 12,800 msl north of White Mountain Peak on the Whites in Owens Valley.

The winds on the grouind was over 55 mph indicated on my Hall wind gauge. It dropped to 32 degrees at night.

The next morning I flew away when the wind dropped to 15 mph and landed at Benton Station 6:30 am.

I was told I was the first HG to sky camp. Maybe.
Butch
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By Erik Boehm
#386544
paicolman wrote:Can you take it with you in-flight?
When I was flying in Zürich, the guy I flew with had made a lighter version of that which basically was two A-frames, and cross pieces, some small wheels (like ones you might put on the basetube of a glider- not training wheels though), and a few straps. It was easy enough to pack away into the harness.
I should have taken pictures of it, it was a good setup.
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By DAVE 858
#386551
I think this would need to be a contingency plan if anyone were to ever attempt "The Crossing" in the future.
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By miraclepieco
#386595
Eric Raymond may have invented "hang camping" in the European Alps. I remember reading about how he flew alone with his camping gear and would disappear into the back country for two weeks at a time. Ironically, the European pilots condemned his actions as unsafe - this before Didier Favre popularized the sport of "bivouac flying" with the Cap 444.



.
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By DAVE 858
#386608
The safety police.... "STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING! I HAVE DEEMED IT AN UNSAFE ACTIVITY!!!"
By Dreamweaver
#388857
Great question. I have often wondered the same thing. Good
advice here as well.