| Paragliding Sites I've flown |
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Westlake, San Francisco
+ world class soaring site; very steady, calm flights
+ can see dolphins cruising in the waves
- dangerous in fog, too many pilots on dope
- when blown-back, the only emergency LZ is a small patch of grass...
+ ...but right in front of the hospital
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Stables, San Francisco
+ flyable when Westlake is too strong
+ acceptable toplanding
- hungry lawyers
- brushes and sand in the glider
- horses think your glider is a flying predatory dinosaur
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Highway 1, South of Carmel
+ very beautiful
- few thermals ever
- land owners with guns
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Haleakala, Maui
+ ultra scenic
+ 10.000 feet altitude difference
- bad winds starts the minute the sun rises
- dangerous launch, unpredictable clouds forming out of nowhere
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Torrey Pines, La Jolla
+ works in very weak wind
+ great view over La Jolla bay
- lots of air traffic
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The Great Sand Dunes, Colorado
+ HIGH altitude
+ can see the Dunes from above
+ friendly rangers
- minus 30° centigrade in the winter
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Coombe Gibbet, UK
- limited thermal activity...
+ ...but pretty good for England
+ easy launch
- city slickers might mistake you when shooting geese
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The Long Mynd, Wales
+ BIG
+ fantastic in NW winds
+ safe in blow-back conditions
- far away from everywhere
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Lamledra, Cornwall
+ can chase sheep from air
- only usable in South Westerlies, otherwise deadly rotors (!)
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Lagalb, Bernina Pass, Switzerland
+ Beautiful
- cold as hell
- can be windy in the pass
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Grossglockner/Kaprun, Austria
+ sea of stone
+ can fly over Grossglockner dam
- burning trains
- violent thermals in the summer
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Westendorf, Austria
+ not as busy as Kössen
- ugly icy launch in winter
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Hochfelln, Germany
+ can launch into any direction
- requires high performance glider to reach LZ
- tourists stepping on your glider
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Rotes Kliff, Kampen/Sylt, Germany
+ unexpectedly good ridge soaring
+ can throw garbage in SL500 convertible from above
- idiotic people
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Idra, Greece
- very difficult launch on the rocks
- only available landing zone is sports stadium in town
- problematic when they play soccer
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Local Hill, Somewhere in Bavaria
+ well, it's illegal but nobody cares
+ the place where it all started in 1987
- frozen cow shit to stumble over
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On the Launch
+ taming an animal with 26m2 of wingarea is quite an experience
- sometimes the animal wins
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Over the Ocean
+ tranquil
+ can see wind patterns on water
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Down to Earth
+ safe on the ground feels _good_
- birds need to fly
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Kössen, Austria
+ relatively benign mountain
+ easy launch and LZ
- very busy (2000 launches per weekend at peak times)
Hochries, Germany
- steep launch next to BIG cable car
- problematic winds from Inn valley even in the morning
- more a hang glider site
- regulation-happy Germans
- cursing farmers run after you
Gamsknogel, Austria
+ beautiful
- difficult launch
Kampenwand, Germany
- dangerous in east winds (the typical fair-weather pattern)
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