Monday first weather day

I'm behind already on the blog so I'll try and get things up to date.... The first two days of the Pre-Euros were cancelled due to weather, although the first day ended up being beautiful and I think there was some remorse by the organizers for not taking us up the hill to give it a go..... Sue was happy, however, as a weather day means we can do stuff together so we took the opportunity to head into Salzburg and take in the sites and emerse ourselves in some serious history.... Festung Hohensalzburg castle was incredibly fascinating with over 1000 years of history evident and preserved within. We later enjoyed a carriage ride around the city and a walk though the summer quarters of Bishops from long ago which now boasts beautiful flower gardens.

This is a beautiful place and we are really enjoying our stay. Today was the best racing day I've ever experienced.... a 124k race to goalover the Austrian Alps. I'll post pics and more about it tomorrow.... We're getting some good video with the little GoPro camera but haven't figured out how to upload it yet.....
Jack

I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the competition.... however, I must admit that this place is just made for the sport... Here's how the day goes around Abtenau: Get up check the weather and head to the nearest ski resort located favorably for the forecast winds. Ride the gondola or tram up to the top of the mountain.... pick the grassy hillside launch that suits you for the day.... Have a bite to eat if you need it.... Thermal or fly xc to your hearts content and then land well, hmmm, maybe just about anywhere....more than likely near wherever it is that you're staying...

Sunday's flying

Well, as is typical at a comp anywhere but Valle de Bravo, Mexico, the weather just before the comp is great and then it goes down hill..... The warm up day here on Sunday was amazing..... everything I'd ever heard about flying the Alps and more.... Litterally paraglidng paradise..... I've posted a few pictures...
Jack

Sunday, May 17th

A couple of pics from our Hotel room balcony and the front of the resort. Sue is already off hiking and I'm getting ready to head up the hill for a warm up flight.

Hello from Abtenau, Austria!

Sue and I just finished a 24 hour journey to Abtenau, Austria, which is in the
Alps SE of Salzburg. The Austrian Nationals / Pre-Europeans 2009 kick off on
Monday with 150 pilots registered, with many top world pilots participating.

Not too bad.... 6 hours to Chicago from Anchorage.... 8+ hours to Frankfurt from Chicago.... 45 min to Munich from Frankfurt.... 3 hours via Eurorail train to Abtenau train station. Then after wandering the streets near the train station for a bit not really having any idea where we needed to go, a complete stranger, a German man who was out doing some yard work, litterally scooped us up with all of our gear and drove us 30 kilometers to the headquarters hotel!! There were no more busses running, and no taxis to be had.. Talk about hospitality!!

So basically what we saw in all directions this evening when we arrived under the puffy clouds were either 1000s of feet of granite rising above the treeline, grassy slopes as far as the eye can see on the hills below the treeline, or green grassy fields on the valley floor extending in all directions.... The headquarters hotel where we are staying is at the bottom of the ski lift with the lz out front.....

http://em2010.ikarus-abtenau.at/

I'll plan to keep up my blog with pics and possibly some GoPro video... Please everyone send good weather vibes this way.... I was initially excited just to be able to compete in this venue with this high octane pilot group.... now I'm getting excited just to fly in such a beautiful setting.... I was honestly expecting to see Julie Andrews come dancing down the grassy hillside behind the hotel singing the Sound of Music....

They are planning on doing live spot tracking for the top 10 pilots. I expect
that this effort will be a bit more successful than the recent effort made at
the US Nats in Dunlap.... I'll send links and instructions if it's a go...

Sue is excited to check out some of the great hiking spots, maybe some mountain biking, and if I know Sue, probably some river rafting.... We have nice high speed internet in our room so we will make the blog a priority so stay tuned!!

Jack & Sue

Boomerang 6 at US Nats April, 2009