Alps Vol-Biv Expedition 2014

The Trip Was A Total Success!!! Nice to Slovenia to Nice, Yes!!

(sorry for the missing photos, I will replace them soon!)

We are back in the U.S. after an amazing summer in the Alps, having hiked and flown 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) across the entire Alps mountain range and back without any support or assistance of any kind! It took me 18 days of hiking and flying alone to make it from the beach in Nice, France, to arrive all the way in Slovenia at the eastern end of the Alps. Then Tawny came and met me with the lightweight tandem, and we turned around and flew back to Nice against the headwind and bad weather in another 42 days! Yay!

On this page as you scroll down you will (1) first read about the trip summary which described the expedition before we left, and then (2) you will then scroll through the (long) photo/video/update section of the entire trip as it unfolded. Enjoy.

The proposed route before the adventure started:

The actual route that I/we followed:

”Over The Alps and Back 2014”

Expedition-

During the Spring/Summer season of 2014, I will be flying my paraglider across the entire length of the Alps, from Nice to Slovenia, and then back to the starting point in Nice. This incredible voyage will be the longest ever vol-biv expedition, and will be entirely self-supported with no assistance of any kind. No trains, gondolas, lifts, or any help whatsoever. I will be flying solo to Slovenia, and then once there I will be switching to my Mag2Lite tandem glider, and my girlfriend Tawny Thomas and I will be making the return leg back to Nice together. My 2013 trip opened my eyes to long distance vol-biv flying in the Alps, and now I wish to take it to the next level.

What is vol-biv anyway?- Vol-biv is french for ‘flight camping’, and it’s when you pack all of your lightweight camping gear into your paragliding harness, then take off from a peak and climb high above the mountain tops in the rising thermals. You then set off on glide in the desired direction, and look for more thermals to continue your flight. Every time we find a thermal, it is like putting ‘gas in the tank’. Altitude is our friend, and we can travel long distances over the day if we can keep finding the thermals. When the day starts to cool down and the thermals weaken, then its time to land on top of the next summit or glide down to the valley and continue on foot. Through this process, it is possible to travel hundreds of miles by flying, camping, and hiking the length of the mountain range that you are exploring.

Route-

The route is approximately 2,500 km (1,500 miles) of straight line distance, but will almost certainly turn out to be a lot longer due to the actual path followed. It starts on the Medeteranian coast in Nice, France, and then heads north to Switzerland and Italy, before swinging east towards Austria and finally Slovenia.

To arrive in Slovenia solo and completely unassisted, will be an amazing triumph. But it doesn’t end there; this is an out-and-back adventure! I will summon the strength to turn it around, switch wings, join up with Tawny in Kobarid, and come back to the place in which I started. On the way back, I hope to take a completely different route, covering new ground the entire time.

Pilots-

My name is Dave Turner (32) from Mammoth Lakes, California. I am a paragliding and tandem instructor, and also the founder of Sierra Paragliding. Since finding flying in 2010, I’ve quit my job as a professional climber and mountain guide, and have been flying full time ever since. In 2011 I moved from living in Yosemite Valley, to the Eastern Sierra of California to pursue big adventure flying- because that’s where my heart is at. I have an extensive background in big, solo alpine climbing, and have transferred that ability and mental awareness now to XC and vol-biv flying with paragliders.

Tawny Thomas is my partner and co-pilot for the adventure, also from Mammoth Lakes. A pilot, climber, skydiver, and outdoor enthusiast, she is more than ready to take on this challenge as well.

Full photo/video report from start to finish-

June 3:

”I’m on my way to the Alps!! Leaving California this morning to start another adventure. And to top it off, my 31 pound pack made it on as a carry-on; no checked bags! Going ultra-lite has it’s benefits. Hanging in the airport, ready to go”

At this moment while leaving California, I was extremely eager to get to the Alps and into the air. I was so anxious and excited that I actually forgot my helmet and vario that morning, failing to grab it from my tandem kit after some family tandems the evening before. I had no idea I had forgotten them at this point, but would soon find out!

June 5-

After arriving at the airport in Nice, I shouldered my pack and stepped out of the front doors in the early afternoon. I immediately set out on foot towards Gourdon, but quickly got lost traversing through the small towns and countryside above the city. Instead of dropping by the Ozone office and saying hi to my heroes, I somehow instead wound up at Coursegouls.

”Today I got my first flight of the trip in, and got to sample some harsh west wind on my way from Coursegols to Greolieres. I had to land here because of the strong west wind up high mixing with the light to moderate SE valley flow. Bumpy stuff.

First dumb move of the trip- I forgot my helmet and Sonic vario. WTF. I think I left it in my tandem kit while taking my mom and sister for tandems on the coast, right before leaving. I didn’t realize this until I was up at launch getting ready.

I’m now trying to find a replacement lightweight helmet and tiny vario, by either buying or borrowing, but I’m having no luck.

The weather seems like it will be better tomorrow, according to a local PG guy here in town. So I’m just hanging out and relaxing now, looking forward to tomorrow’s flying.

A few shots from this mornings hike up to launch-

June 5 (evening)-

”Great day today. It started out rough- as I realized up at launch that I had forgotten my helmet and vario, and also because the flight today was rather short and bumpy. I was kind of bummed and embarrassed for forgetting my helmet/vario combo, but after I contacted the nearby Ozone headquarters and explained my problem to Russ Ogden, he personally came out to help!

He found me at the LZ in Greolieres, and brought me another lightweight helmet/vario combo of, get this- Luc Armant’s! I’m pretty sure it comes with super-powers, being that it’s Luc’s.

Then Russ proceeded to personally replace my broken brake line after he worked a full day at work. To sum it up, it’s basically the equivalent of Dale Earnhardt Jr stopping by to change your flat tire! Russ was one of the nicest, most helpful people I have come across. These guys get a big thumbs up from me for all of the help.

Although, he did play quite a good joke on me when he arrived. Once he said that he had a helmet for me, he pulled out a vintage helmet of some shitty sorts, painted totally like a big pink breast complete with big nipple and all! He had me convinced from the first moment that this really was going to be my helmet for the next three months- a big pink tit. I graciously accepted, but then as he busted out in laughter he pulled out the real ultra lite flying helmet. Hilarious.

He also laughed at my ‘map’, saying that it really wasn’t up to par. The photo below explains why he was not impressed with my high tech map (free from the airport).

Now I’m set up here at the small town of Greolieres, ready to hike up in the morning for some possible XC action towards St Andre and the north. Tomorrow’s forecast looks better than today’s, I hope their right!”

The generosity and assistance that I received from Russ Ogden and Luc Armant that day was incredible. These guys (as well as Dav Degault, Matt Gerdes, and Fred Pieri) are not only legendary in the PG world, but are also great people. Thanks guys!

After Russ played the joke on me with the ‘tit’ helmet, we replaced a broken brake line on the LM5 and he sent me on my way. Well, I didnt actually go far- I camped in the LZ that night.

June 6-

”The day has dawned clear and it’s time to hike up to launch”-

I hiked up to the very top of the ski resort above town, and prepared for launch. The cycles were not strong, and I ended up slowly bombing out and side-hill landed at the lower launch to wait for better conditions. A few visiting and local pilots were there, waiting for cycles as well, and I got to have some company until I re-launched.

From Brian Steele- ”Also, we met Dave Turner, an American pilot who is doing a solo fly and hike from here to Slovenia via the northern alps. He was a little unlucky to sink out having hiked up to the summit early on, but eventually he got away!”

Patiently waiting in the heat for the thermals but not exactly reliable feeling cycles coming through... hmm let's see what happens to Dave, who launched from the 700 on his vol bivouac mission.

I'm ready to go but not inspired by a plummeting but good pilot losing height above me.

(That evening he posted)- ”Nice to meet Dave Turner. After this slight hitch in plans he managed to climb out from Greolieres eventually. Conditions were a little bit disorganised so he did well.”- Brian S.

Nice to meet Dave Turner. After this slight hitch in plans he managed to climb out from Greolieres eventually. Conditions were a little bit disorganised so he did well.

Later that evening- ”Difficult day today. After two short flights, I’ve been hiking but I’ve gotten lost twice now. No worries, I’ll get there!”

June 7-

Conditions were not good for Col Blyne, so I hustled my way towards St Andre, expecting to find a good launch site somewhere between the two locations. I was not so lucky, and had to jog almost all the way to St Andre that morning. I didnt get in the air until past noon.

”Lots of hiking this morning, as each peak I come to I don’t really like so I keep going. A really nice one is coming up in another hour or two, I’m going to hustle my way up there to try and get the midday and afternoon flight. I am almost to St. Andre, I should be flying over it today on my way north.

Yesterday was a bit difficult because I hiked all the way to the summit (Greolieres) and then nearly bombed out trying to go cross country. I ended up sidehill landing at the lower launch and meeting up with the other guys. They were super nice and we waited there until conditions got better, then we all launched and barely got up. I was lucky enough to get one real thermal above the summit, and made a straight-line glide to the north. I did not make it far before having to land in a meadow and continue on foot.

Immediately upon landing I got lost and wasted almost an hour and had to backtrack. About two hours later I did the same exact thing but in a different spot, wasting another hour. Now I am paying for that as I am having to rush to the next launch above St. Andre just to the west.”

Here are some photos from the last day or two-

I never made it to St Andre, instead I launched from the very south end of the big ridge just east of the lake next to town. A great flight, I made it to Allos to land in town because the wind prevented me from making it further north that day.

June 7 (evening)-

”All right, I just made a 40 kilometer flight from Vergons to Allos! I had to hike my butt off this morning, hammering out almost 25 km’s just to get to a spot I liked for XC. Now I am relaxing here in town, about to eat a big meal and then hike back up to a summit (close) for tomorrow. Tomorrow I am going to have to decide if I will be taking the deep route to Briancon and Aosta, or keeping out front towards Grenoble and Chamonix.

Adventure!!!!”

I camped int he town park at the foot of the lift with a full belly of tasty French food.

June 8-

”Epic 80 mile (130 km) flight over the Alps today! Actually two flights, I had to top land and re-summit because of a windy pass. Yes!

Today’s cloud base above the Alps was well over 4,000 meters. Amazing day to be a paraglider pilot who likes to fly over big peaks!”

Such a great day to be a paraglider pilot! I launched from the Allos resort and quickly made progress north. I flew over a very high pass and headed for Vars. At col ‘d Vars there was a nice northern wind pumping through the pass that I couldn’t penetrate through, so I top landed and ran to the other (north) side of the pass. I re-launched and made it to a ski resort just past Modane, where I top landed right at a sanctioned PG site where I could re-launch in the morning.

June 9-

”Another great two flights today! I made about 50 miles (80km) from Modane in France, to land nearly at the base of the Matterhorn!”

I left my campsite that morning and hiked a few extra hundred meters above the launch just for ensured thermals. I had no problem getting up and out, and there were even about 10 other pilots in the air. None went XC, but I sure did. I flew to col ‘d Iseran but couldn’t get over it due to a low ceiling. I side hill landed, ran up and over the other side, and re-launched above Val ‘d Isere. Amazing second flight of the day, I landed past Aosta and Valpelline after flying directly above the summit of Gran Paradiso. Cloud base was at about 4,500 meters that day.

That evening- ”I just had a spectacular flight again today. I started off from close to Modane, France, and flew all the way into Italy to land just past Aosta. I started out early at 10 am to try and get through col Iseran before the wind kicked up, but I ended up having to top land just before the col, because the lift was not high enough to make it through the pass. I quickly hiked up over the pass to the other side and found a good place to launch again.

The second flight went extremely well and took me over Val d Isere and Paradiso national Park, on my way over Aosta to land in a small town close to the foot of the Matterhorn. The flights were about 80 km long, extremely beautiful mountains to flyover on that route. I actually landed in the wrong Valley, I’m going to have to walk back a mile or two to meet the main road. That’s how it goes when you have no map! Adventure is guaranteed!

Now is the most difficult route finding point of the entire eastward trip. I have to decide if I’m going to go north west to Martiney, Northeast over the Matterhorn, or due east around the south side of Mount Rosa. My preferred choice is to go over the Matterhorn, but tomorrow does not look like the best day for that because of the low cloudbase and afternoon thunder cells. If I would’ve been a little bit sooner today I could’ve made it over, but by the time I got to the Matterhorn it was raining and completely overdeveloped.

So, it looks like I will be heading over the pass (Gran Bernardo) the long way on my way to Martiny, Switzerland.”

June 10-

”Another great day. I couldn’t get over the Matterhorn yesterday, so I had to land just short of it in a beautiful little Italian valley. After getting some authentic pizza I then set off on foot to the grand Bernard col, where I took off this morning headed for Switzerland.”

”The main difficulty of the day was crossing the Rhone Valley and getting on the main chain of peaks that line the north side of the valley. I actually got very low while making this crossing and had to slowly climb my way back up onto the summits.

Once established on the high peaks it was beautiful flying all the way to Visp, where I got shut down for further progress due to a strong east wind flowing down the valley. I had to land in the strong wind in the town, no big deal but it was a little heads up.

Now I’m headed to the big peak just north of town where I will take off again tomorrow and head for Andermatt. I am already over one third of the way to Slovenia, the trip is going extremely well.”

”Getting it done!”

June 11th-

After launching from above Visp, I made my way towards the Furkapass-

Having just crossed the Furkapass, here I am on my way to cross the Oberalppass on the same flight-

Starting to OD-

As soon as I got close to Chur it was very obvious that the situation was becoming dangerous. The sky was starting to OD in front of me, and there were huge thunder cells threatening me. I tried to land in Chur but as I descended from cloudbase the wind changed from light and variable up high, to around 80km/h near the ground of harsh gust fronts pushing through. I got blown all the way back to Bonaduz as I descended into stronger wind, until the wing couldn’t handle anymore rotor and back flying, and it took a full frontal at around 80m height in the 70-80 km/h wind- the reserve had to come out. It opened fine (thanks High Adventure!!!) and I ‘landed’ at a very high horizontal speed in a field of wheat. Damn.

It took me over two hours to find my handle and bag, and then that entire afternoon was spent finding rubber bands and re-packing instructions for the Beamer3 Lite. I re-packed it, threw it back in the harness, and kept pushing east. No big deal (at least thats what I told myself in order to keep pushing on).

I didn’t want to worry my girlfriend and family about my dumb mistake of flying into a gust front, so this is what my message for the day said-

”The trip is going extremely well, I just knocked out another 80 mile flight today. I’m Over halfway to Slovenia, in only 7.5 days.”

Here is an update of my first 8 days that I posted online, after making it to Chur, Switzerland-

”I started out from the airport in Nice, France, on the 4th of June at 1 pm. I have now in the last 8 days, made it to Chur, Switzerland, which is just over halfway to Slovenia more or less. The flying conditions for the first week have been pretty ideal, I’ve been very happy with the flights so far. Here is how the first few days have gone-

1- Hiked from the airport in Nice, towards Coursegols. Camped halfway there.

2- Flew from Coursegols to Greolieres in a harsh west wind.

3- Took off from the summit of Greolieres but started bombing out. Side hill landed at the mid mountain launch and waited for stronger cycles. Re-launched and made it up over the back and landed halfway to Col Blyne.

4- Hiked towards St Andre and launched a peak SE of the lake, flew to Allos to land in town.

5- Took off from near the summit of the Allos ski resort, and flew to Col de Vars. Couldn’t get over the col due to strong wind, side hill landed and hiked over. Re-launched and flew past Briancon to land past Modane a few km’s up on the mountainside.

6- Flew to col Doite but couldn’t make it over. Had to side hill land and hike over the pass to launch again on the other side. Flew over Gran Paradiso and Aosta to land just past Valpelline because of over development. I was trying to go over the Matterhorn, but it was raining by the time I made it there. Started hiking up to col Grand Bernard instead.

7- Hiked up to col Grand Bernard on the Italian/Swiss border, and had a great flight to Visp. Got pretty low crossing from Verbier over the the Rhone Valley, but had great conditions once over there.

8- Hiked 1,500m above Visp and made a nice 130 km or so flight to Bonaduz, crossing the beautiful Furkapass.
Now I’m in Chur getting some food and such, and will be continuing towards Davos, Vipiteno, Lienz, and eventually Slovenia. I’m having such a great time out here, I just had to share.”

June 14-

After Chur, the weather went to crap for a day or two. But I kept pushing on by hiking and taking windy, stormy sled rides.

” I’ve got some bad weather now here in the Alps. Finishing up with Switzerland tomorrow morning, and entering Italy. I’ve had such an amazing time so far.

Yesterday I hiked out from the valley above Chur, to the pass that overlooks Davos. I took a top to bottom flight from the pass, over Davos, and continued on foot. It was too scary looking to try and fly today- big cumulus clouds OD’ing everywhere with some gusts down in the valleys.”

I was even invited to a family lunch in Sus, when a local young pilot saw me walking the streets looking for an open cafe-

June 14-

”About 2/3 the way to Slovenia! I’ll be back in Italy tomorrow for some tasty pizza and more peaks.”

June 15-

Another day of rain and clouds. No worries, that’s perfect hiking weather! This place is beautiful. Finishing Switzerland now, entering Italy in a few hours.

June 16-

After passing through the Swiss National Park, I launched from a random peak across the valley from Watles, and flew to Merano, Italy. Here is a clip up at cloudbase, as the sky fills in and the precip starts to fall. I managed to keep the wing dry-ish, and headed out to land not long after-

Deciding where to land-

”Italy! Nice 15-20 mile flight today between dark clouds and big thunder cells. Decided to land and continue on a few more km’s by foot. Yeah!”

That evening-

”Camped up on the peak overlooking Merano, Italy, such a beautiful sunset. There’s a nice looking launch right above me, of course.”

June 17th-

I made my way up to the launch site above Merano, where I was happily greeted by cappucinos and a perfect take off.

I flew north from this spot, and had to land at the bottom of the pass which leads over to Vipiteno.

Late morning- ”Some strong headwind over Giovo pass and black clouds shut me down before I could make it to Vipiteno, but nice flight anyway! Ughh!”

Evening- ”Hiked 1000m this morning and got a 12 mile flight in, hiked another 1500m up to a pass, and got another 30 mile flight to Dolomites!

Just landed at 8pm(!) from an XC flight! Epic!”

The second half of the day was amazing. After hiking up to the pass, I figured I would take a short sled ride down the backside, even though it wasnt going to be a big top to bottom. My legs were tired so I set up the wing. As I set up to launch, some evening cycles pushed through, and before I knew it, I was up at 3,000 meters on my way to Bruneck!

June 18-

The next morning I was feeling the previous days’ 2,500 vertical meters of hiking.

Morning time- ”Feeling worked and still tired this morning. Should have toplanded yesterday, instead now I get to hike another 1,000m on wobbly legs.”

Late afternoon- ”After yesterday’s amazing evening flight, I was tired from all of the previous days’ hiking and flying. My body was reluctant to get up and going this morning, but I can rest when the weather is bad or when I’m dead.

I hiked up to my ‘launch’ about 1,200 meters up the peak, above where I landed yesterday, but I made it less than 500m up the face before the clouds started blocking out the sun. I quickly set up and waited for a brief appearance from the sun, and forward launched into no cycles.

I was lucky enough to make cloud base just once, and took a long glide over Bruneck and got a few easy km’s in towards the east. The sky was at 90% cloud cover, so there were no more thermals. I landed and could barely pack away my wing before I fell asleep. I napped for over two hours until I needed food and water, so it was off to the next town.

Now I’ve got supplies for the night, and I’m on my way out of this tiny town to find a campsite for the night.”

At this point, I had less than 100 miles left to go to Slovenia.

June 19-

”Another short XC flight today here in the Sud Tirol region of Italy. I’m right on the border of Austria now, and need to decide if I head through the Dolomites or Austria. Tough life.”

June 20-

Instead of heading through Lienz like I did last year, I headed to the next valley south.

”Austria! I’m taking the south side of the Lienzer Dolomite Massif towards Hemagor and Slovenia. Awesome!”

June 21-

I was also choosing to be a little bit more conservative, because of the whole Bonaduz incident.

”Make conservative decisions 10% of the time, and you can eliminate 90% of bad incidents. North Föehn still lingering, hiking on…”

June 22-

Morning time- ”I can see Slovenia!!! Launching soon, high hopes.”

I was close and I could feel it. I still had a good chunk of milage to go until I made Slovenia, but the day looked good and I was in position to take advantage of it.

Afternoon- ”I just made a 45 mile (70+ km) flight right to the border of, get this- SLOVENIA!! Too windy to cross the pass by air, hiking it now.”

An amazing day of flying, just me and the sail planes. I flew to, and over, the border of Slovenia, but couldn’t land up on the pass due to high wind. I made the safe call, turned back to the Austrian side of the pass and glided down to the valley to land. I packed up with the hip-hop music on high volume, switched to fast techno, and stormed up over the pass into Slovenia at a near run.

”After 18 days and 4 hours, and over 1,200 km’s later, I’ve made it to Slovenia! No support, no assistance, all fun. Good times. Ugh!!”

After hanging out at the border, I made my way down to Kranjksa for some food and a campsite. Hell yeah.

June 23-

”After lots of hard work, I have finally made it to Slovenia. It has taken me 18 days and 4 hours since stepping off the plane and out of the Nice airport, to make it here.

I arrived at Kranjska Gora yesterday, with a big smile. I’m actually ahead of schedule, so I’m taking the grand tour around the Slovenian Alps, using Mt Triglav as a big turn point. I’m entering the park now, and hiking for Sorica and then eventually Tolmim and the Soća Valley.

I have had amazing times so far on this trip, and some difficult ones as well. I’ve encountered more difficult conditions than last year, but I haven’t let it get me down. I’ve had some exciting landings, beautiful cloud bases, and long alpine flights. The Alps are beautiful, that’s for sure.”

June 23rd-

Tawny Thomas-

”So here is the update for me and Dave Turner’s trip across the alps: My flight leaves to Ljubljana, Slovenia on Thursday June 26th. After that 20 hour plane ride, it is still another 3 hour train ride and an hour bus ride to get to the tiny town of Koabarid, Slovenia which will be our meeting point. Dave should be arriving there very soon and may do some pleasure flying while waiting for me if he is ahead of schedule. From there will will make our crossing back to Nice, France. We are still only hiking or paragliding across the alps with no assistance of any kind. We have until August 29th to complete this task and tag the beautiful blue ocean as our finish line. Hopefully we will get done a little sooner so we can go climbing in the Verdon Gorge!”

Hiking through Triglav National Park-

Evening time- (Me) ”I’m 800 meters below the summit of Triglav, hiding in the tent while an epic storm rages on outside. Hoping to tag the top tomorrow.”

The lightning storm that I experienced that night was one of the most dangerous and scary moments of my life.

June 24-

”I’ve made it around Triglav, and am almost in the Soča Valley now. Just one more pass to cross, in crappy weather.

Last night was horrible, I was camped about 800m below the summit of Triglav. The worst lightning storm I have ever seen, broke out all around me. Thousands of lightning bolts were hitting all around me, and my tent was crackling loud and angry.

After over an hour of this, I freaked out, and scrambled down the peak for 400 meters, making it to the emergency hut. I grabbed only my sleeping bag and food, and abandoned the rest high on the peak.

This morning I made my way back up to the kit in a light storm, collected it all quickly, and traversed up and over the pass to descend down the other side. Dang.

Now I’m at the beautiful Bohinjsko Lake, ready to cross the last pass which leads into the Soča Valley. I’ll meet up with Tawny there, either in Tolmin or Kobarid, and we will cruise back west together. Without any more lightning. Please.”

June 25th-

After the epic storm on Triglav, I made my way down to Bohinskjo Jezerro and blew the budget. I rented a nice private room and ate tons of great Slovenian food. I felt like roughing it for the previous three weeks while flying across the Alps, well it seemed like I deserved it.

”For the first time since leaving California, I got to sleep in a bed last night! It’s raining very hard here in Slovenia these days, so I broke down and got a room. Pretty nice though- it gives me a chance to dry things out, charge the electronics, catch up on Internet, and just relax.

It’s still raining here now, so I’ve just extended my room for another night, getting spoiled!”

I keep this in my pocket during every flight, to remind me what’s important and to not go too hard in the danger zone-

June 26-

”Ok, time to leave my all too comfortable room here at Bojinsko Jezero and get back in the trail and in the air. I’m headed up and over the crest of the peaks one last time this morning, and will be headed for the Tawny meet up in Kobarid.

But first, one more cappuccino!”

I left my all too comfortable hotel room and started up the final pass on the way to Kobarid.

When I arrived up on the top of the peaks, I was in the clouds. The cloudbase was just at summit/ridge height when I was climbing up the backside, but descended onto the slopes before I could get my harness on and kit packed up. I knew what direction I had to go, and what peaks were where, but would have to fly throug the clouds for a few minutes to get out to the valley. They were not sucking up too hard, so I launched with my DeLorme InReach in my lap, telling me what direction I was heading. Yep, straight up deep into the cloud. Shit.

Just like I thought, it was intense. I kept to the plan of flying the instrument, and popped out quite a long distance from where I had launched from! Here is a clip of the moment the cloud let me out-

I thermalled my way out to Tolmin and on towards Kobarid. I arrived above Kobarid with plenty of altitude, and could have made Italy that day, but Tawny was on her way and would be arriving quite soon. I boated around and then landed at the cafe.

”I’ve made it to Kobarid!! Amazing!! So psyched to have made it here, Tawny Thomas will be here tomorrow with the tandem. Game on! Looking down from final launch-”

It was great to arrive a day ahead of schedule, as it gave me a full rest day to do absolutely nothing but eat and hang with friends. One of the nicest local Slovenian pilots, Simon, came and met up with me and showed me around town. We went out to dinners, met up with other awesome locals and pilots, and generally had a great time while I waited for Tawny to arrive.

Tawny Thomas-

”Sitting at the airport ready to head off to Slovenia to meet Dave !! Paragliding and hiking for two months over the alps. Hell yeahhhhh!!! It’s only a short 33 hour commute by car, plane, train, and bus ride to get there! Ready, set, go…”

The trip started catching some attention at this point-

OZONE > PARAGLIDERS > NEWS > DAVE TURNER IS CROSSING THE ALPS, TWICE

DAVE TURNER IS CROSSING THE ALPS, TWICE

After completing the first ever Sierra Vol-Biv Traverse in the western USA, Ozone Team Pilot Dave Turner has moved on to the Alps. He flew into Nice, France, and 18 days, 4 hours after walking out of the airport door, he arrived in Slovenia having used only his own two feet and his LM5/Ozium. Dave traveled SOLO, UNSUPPORTED, for the entire 1300km vol-biv journey from the Nice airport to the Slovenian border.

When Dave planned this trip originally, he decided that traversing the entire length of the Alps sounded like fun, but traversing it twice, back and forth, would be even more fun. And better than that, he decided to bring along his girlfriend for a tandem vol-biv return journey. His partner, Tawny, has just arrived in Slovenia with their new Mag2Lite, and the pair now intend to return to Nice across the entire length of the Alps again, unsupported.

An impressive majority of the world’s biggest vol-biv adventures have been completed on Ozone wings, so we have heard a few stories about long vol-biv adventures. Dave’s double alpine traverse is one of the more ambitious and also one of the fastest traverses that we have read about. Congrats Dave, and good luck to you and Tawny for the return journey!

read more about Dave’s traverse here, on his website. He is also posting regular updates on his facebook page, add him here.
Cheers, from all the Team.

Here is another update that I sent out to my family and friends from the morning of June 27th, letting them know how things have been going-

”June 27th Update!-

Great news- I have made it to Slovenia and around Triglav, and now I am in Kobarid to meet up with Tawny today. She is bringing our new Ozone Mag2Lite with her from California, and we will be switching to tandem for the return back to southern France.

I have had an amazing solo trip so far, of approximately over 1300 km from France to Slovenia. It took me 18 days and four hours from the moment I stepped out of the airport in Nice, until I arrived at the Slovenian border at Kranjska Gora. From there, I used Triglav, Slovenia’s highest mountain, as a turn point and proceeded to hike and fly around the eastern side of the peak to ensure I got every bit of the Alps before I start heading back west. It has now been almost 23 days since leaving the airport in France, I’m very excited about the progress and the speed in which I have crossed the Alps.

The return voyage, flying as a duo on our tandem, will take longer because we will be fighting against the west wind and the tandem does not quite have the performance of my LM5 XC glider. We gladly accept and embrace this added challenge, we are not afraid to give it our best. Tawny will be arriving here in Kobarid this evening and we will proceed to continue west as soon as possible. The weather over the next few days looks not so good, but we will be ready to hike and fly no matter what the conditions provide us. We hope to get some good flights back into Italy and the Western Alps, but when conditions are not flyable we will continue on foot so that we can still cover ground even when not in the air.”

June 27-

Tawny arrived in the evening without too much difficulty, and we proceeded to have a BBQ at Simon’s cabin to celebrate the occasion. We re-packed the kit from the solo XC glider to the full on tandem kit. We went to the post office in town on our way out, and sent home the trusty LM5 glider and the one person tent. From there we headed on up the trail to Stol.

”Tawny is here, and we are about to hike up to launch! Sweet! France here we come…”

Once we got up top, it started to rain. The extended forecast was bad, so staying up there and trying to fly the next day was not an option. We set up in the light rain and flew out from launch on some ridge lift, making it out from the storm cloud and onto the next village.

Here we are after landing in a farmers field, after taking off from Stol-

Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate much that week, actually not at all that month. The end of June and July were absolutely horrible for flying weather; we were getting reports that it was the wettest July in the last 50 years. This poor weather pattern slowed us down quite a bit.

June 29-

”Tawny and I left Slovenia yesterday with a nice short flight, and this morning we finished the hike across the Italian border. West!”

June 30-

”Two days of rain and storm since we flew from Kobarid, so we are on foot heading for Tolmezzo and hopefully some better XC weather.”

July 1-

”Getting it done!

Poor Tawny arrived in some of the worst weather that I’ve had this entire trip so far, but spirits are high and we are pushing on. Yesterday almost got good enough for flying, and today was supposed to be decent but it’s raining now.

We are entering the dolomite region now, headed towards Cortina de Ampezzo. Some of the most beautiful scenery in the Alps coming up.”

July 1-

Tawny Thomas-

”Update from Tolmezzo, Italy:

Well I have about 6 huge blisters on my feet. Found about a dozen ticks in me. Got a rash on my stomach. And my deodorant seems to be completely nonfunctional in every way. Poor Dave Turner having to hike behind me. To top it all off the weather has been rainy and overcast since I got here. We have had to hike the entire way thus far, with the exception of a very tiny flight through some rain day 1.

And you know the messed up thing about all of this? I wouldn’t have my life any other way! Can’t wait to keep crushing these miles…some by paraglider would be nice though.”

We pushed on in the bad weather, making short flights whenever possible, and hiking on when it wasn’t.

July 2-

”On and off rain- not good for flying but hiking through beautiful peaks is always nice. Headed toward Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Dolomites

Which way to go!? Cappuccinos and route finding from the free tourist maps”

Tawny Thomas-

”The sky looks angry but we are still smiling! The bad news is the rash on my stomach and my blisters continue to grow in numbers. The good news is I bought new deodorant and we are in a place without any more ticks!

And of course FINALLY good weather tomorrow!! Early morning hiking up a peak and getting off the ground!

Also on a side note: I decided that Dave is going to give all you pilots out there the technical description of where and what we are flying. And I will give you the real deal shit of what it’s like embarking on this crazy journey. The funny, dirty, smelly, tiring reality of it all.”

July 3-

The weather improved and we took advantage of it. We hiked up into a beautiful valley in the eastern Dolomites, and found a suitable peak to fly from. We took off from this seldom travelled peak, but the lift just wasnt enough. We made it a few miles but had to land near a peak top in order to wait for the thermals to build. We waited over an hour but nothing really happened.

”Short XC flight just now, but we had to top/side hill land due to low, light lift. Re launching soon, once the clouds fill in.”

We re-launched and made another few miles but had to quickly land due to lack of lift. Once we packed up, something strange started to unfold…

”D.T.- Great day today, even though the flights were not huge. We started out at mt Tam at 11:45 this morning and got about a 8-10km mini XC flight in. But we were not getting very high, and we had a gap coming up, so we side hill landed up high on the peak, in an extremely steep grass slope above a cliff.

We waited until 1 pm to take off again, but it was no better than before. We squeezed out another 8km or so, but had to land in a tiny grass strip between the forest below. The good news is that we landed right at a cafe with great food and espressos. The bad news was that all of our ‘rescue personnel’ were starting to arrive at the cafe!

Unknown to us, when we landed up high someone thought we crashed into the mountain and proceeded to call a rescue! We were actually having a snack and relaxing in the sun, waiting for stronger thermals. When the thermals never came, we continued on as far as we could.

Once we were eating lunch two hours later at the cafe, about eight local men showed up ready to jump into action! They were amazed at what we were doing once I explained to them the details of our trip, and we had a big laugh about the whole epic. They could not believe that we were crossing the Alps like this, and had just stopped for a snack way the heck up on the peak above a huge cliff face.

After lunch we continued on by hiking, and have now arrived in giant, amazing Dolomite peaks. We are taking a direct line straight through the heart of the Dolomites, even though it will be a lot tougher and intricate than going around to the north or south. We are headed straight for Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Cortina de Ampezzo, and the Marmolada. Some of the most amazing peaks the Alps has to offer.”

A few pics from the ultra-steep side hill landing location, that made someone think that we had crashed.

July 4-

”The Dolomites are amazing!

Things are going well, we are moving right along. Tawny had to get a new smaller pack, a bright shiny orange one. The black one did not fit her correctly, so when she got the new pack she was super happy!

We are now hiking along a beautiful lake, headed for Cortina de Ampezzo.
The weather looks decent for flying tomorrow, we will see what happens.”

”We met the nicest guy who owned the local gear shop in the eastern Dolomites, he helped us with all of our questions and got Tawny Thomas a properly fitted pack. Anyone going through this zone should stop in and say hi to these fantastic people.

And they even gave us new shirts! I guess that’s a sign that our old ones smelled bad!”

Dallo YOSEMITE IN CALIFORNIA per una attraversata da RECORD!<br /><br /> Partenza da MONACO IN COSTA AZZURRA camminando e sorvolando con un PARAPENDIO TANDEM tutte le ALPI fino in FRIULI e ritorno...!<br /><br /> IERI TAPPA OBBLIGATA DA NOI all'Alpstation Lavaredo !<br /><br /> ... poi avanti verso le Tre Cime e Cortina...<br /><br /> un passaggio in auto?<br /><br /> nemmeno per sogno!... tutto e solo a piedi e volando !!!!<br /><br /> ..anche con voli di 100/150 km !</p><br /> <p>21 giorni per l'andata con vento a favore...il ritorno è più duro!</p><br /> <p>GOOD LUCK<br /><br /> Dave Turner & Tawny Thomas !</p><br /> <p>ecco i link per seguirli..passo dopo passo...volo dopo volo...</p><br /> <p>http://sierraparagliding.com/alps-vol-biv-expedition-2014/<br /><br /> https://www.facebook.com/dave.turner.98434

Alpstation Lavaredo

Dallo YOSEMITE IN CALIFORNIA per una attraversata da RECORD!
Partenza da MONACO IN COSTA AZZURRA camminando e sorvolando con un PARAPENDIO TANDEM tutte le ALPI fino in FRIULI e ritorno…!
IERI TAPPA OBBLIGATA DA NOI all’Alpstation Lavaredo !
… poi avanti verso le Tre Cime e Cortina…
un passaggio in auto?
nemmeno per sogno!… tutto e solo a piedi e volando !!!!
..anche con voli di 100/150 km !

21 giorni per l’andata con vento a favore…il ritorno è più duro!

GOOD LUCK
Dave Turner & Tawny Thomas !

ecco i link per seguirli..passo dopo passo…volo dopo volo…

July 5-

”Made it to Cortina de Ampezzo! It was raining and overcast this morning, so we were unable to glide into town, having to hike down from the col instead.

Having some cappuccinos now with Tawny , and will be pushing on soon enough. Very tough weather the last few days, not much flying but mostly hiking. Hoping for better conditions soon, poor tawny still thinks this trip is all about hiking!”

Tawny Thomas-

Update from cortina d’ampezzo:

”Somehow the story hasn’t changed much. Still overcast and rainy every day. Hiking like crazy and no real flying. I have 10 blisters on my feet right now. This morning at 7am I had to pound some wine just to be able to walk without limping. Only in the backpacking world is it socially acceptable to cut cheese with the same knife you popped blisters with the night before. And how do I get all fancy and dressed up for my man? I baby wipe bathe myself. Pretty damn sexy. The ticks continue but in smaller numbers.

But on the bright side I am in love with the Dolomites!! Again!! I would move here in a heartbeat. Every way you turn just takes your breath away. I want to come back with climbing gear as soon as possible. Dave thinks it’s funny that my motivation to finish this trip quickly is so we can go climbing and kayaking in the verdon gorge in France. This girl knows what she likes!”

Here is Tawny hitting the wine at 7:30am to take the edge off of her blistered feet. You can see I’m pretty psyched about that!

July 6-

”We are up at 2,300 meters at a beautiful Refugio, waiting for the clouds to part so we can launch. Sipping red wine, watching the clouds pass over the peaks- not a bad life. With Tawny Thomas.”

The clouds never left that afternoon, and we had to hike down from yet another launch. Ugh.

July 9-

”Is this some kind of cruel, bad weather joke being played on us by Mother Nature? Can’t she just give us something?

Yesterday we had to hike down from our launch at Passo Pordoi due to rain and clouds. The day before we had to hike down from two launches for bad weather as well. The day before that, we hiked down from another launch above Cortina.

Not giving up, never. Just taking it slow until conditions improve, and we can get back into the air.”

July 9th-

Jesse Williams-

Snow on the mountains, cloudy skies, let’s get croissants!

— with Tawny Thomas and Dave Turner at Campitello di Fassa.

July 10-

”Yep. Tawny Thomas loves the playground equipment.

We have left the Dolomites and have entered the Sud Tirol region of Italy.”

July 11-

”Strong north Föehn wind today, 30+ km/hr. So we went on a date day and evening- pool and spa time in Merano, followed by a night out with food, drinks, and gelato! Finally a day to relax and enjoy the Alps in style, well after we hiked our mandatory 30 kilometers today. Well deserved!”

”On our way back to France!”

July 12-

Tawny Thomas-

”We’re going to fly!! We’re going to fly!!! We are in Merano, Italy at a launch about to fly! Hallelujah everyone it’s finally happening! Please don’t bomb out. Please don’t bomb out. May the thermals be ever in our favor.”

And we did fly! The Merano launch that I had used on my way east, worked yet again, but this time we were headed west. We climbed on up to cloudbase, and got out of there-

Looking down from the Merano launch-

We're going to fly!! We're going to fly!!! We are in Merano, Italy at a launch about to fly! Hallelujah everyone it's finally happening! Please don't bomb out. Please don't bomb out. May the thermals be ever in our favor.

”Finally, some decent XC conditions today! By decent I mean raining on us most of the time, no real LZ’s, and big clouds. But we sent!

Only about 30 km’s by air today, but Tawny was psyched to not be hiking! And she got her first experience of the ‘white room’ today.

Finally, some decent XC conditions today! By decent I mean raining on us most of the time, no real LZ’s, and big clouds. But we sent!”

We flew towards Watles, but had to finish up the last few km’s by foot.

July 14-

”We are at the flying site of Watles, heading up now to try for an afternoon flight. If not, then we will camp and fly in the morning.”

July 15-

”Two flights today, felt good to get back in the air with Tawny. We took off from Watles in Italy, and flew up north. Landed at a big lake, hiked up another peak and landed in Austria. Now we are hiking across the border into Switzerland, such a great day!”

After landing, we made our way over towards Scuol, Switzerland, where our next flight would take place. We flew the next day, but there were not enough thermals. But the following day was great.

July 17-

On this day we launched from a summit that was a few peaks east of Scuol, and made it past Zernez and into the St Moritz Valley. We needed it, as all the walking was getting boring.

”Great XC flight today over the Swiss Alps! Made great progress towards St Moritz, beautiful cloud flying on the tandem with Tawny.”

The camera ran out of juice while in the air, but I got to record this clip of Tawny once we landed. She was very happy for not having to walk this section!

Tawny Thomas-

”Big flight today!! FINALLY good weather! Never been so happy! Now sitting down to food. Dave is psyched with his salad bar. But dang Switzerland is crazy expensive. Moving on to things you care about…one week since my last shower or bathing of any kind. My hair is so greasy it holds itself back without a hair tie making it like a helmet. Finally got to wash my underwear in the stream this evening. I figured one day of reversing the underwear was enough. We still can’t find camp fuel anywhere for the last week. Eating salami and cheese sandwiches for breakfast and dinner everyday. And we have occasionally run out of food and water entirely. But none of this matters at all. None of it. It was all worth it…BECAUSE WE FLEW A PARAGLIDER ACROSS THE GOD DAMN SWISS ALPS TODAY!!!!!!”

Tawny Thomas's photo.

”Words cannot describe how beautiful this place is. But this photo helps-”

”Two flights today in Switzerland, gettin’ it done. Monaco here we come! Here is the link to our live tracker-”

Tawny Thomas-

”So all nasty gross jokes aside that I tend to focus on, I just wanted to take a moment to express how deeply thrilled I am to have Dave Turner as my partner. I don’t understand how he does it but that man can find his way around foreign countries like no other, from the ground or the air. He pilots a wing like a boss when I am freaking out every minute asking if we are alright. The things this man can do continue to astound me day after day. He is an absolute beast.”

July 18

An all too common scenario-

”The north wind would not allow us passage through this high south-to-north pass, hiking now and hoping to re-launch on the other side”

We got a few short flights in during this time, but nothing great.

July 23-

”We are over halfway back to Monaco/Nice from Slovenia, and the trip has now surpassed the 1,800km (1,115 mile) mark! The weather has been challenging over the last few weeks, but we are getting flights in and pushing ahead. We crossed the Oberalp pass this morning, and are now headed for Furkapass and the Rhone valley. Great times!”

July 25-

After crossing back over the Furkapass, the weather started to get better. Not great, but better. So we hurried up and crossed the pass into the Rhone Valley, and got just past the Grimselpass and launched from the next peak west. We scored an amazing, long XC flight all the way to the Zermatt Valley, flying high above the Rhone Valley and it’s scenic peaks-

Flying high above the Swiss Alps-

A great view of the big glacier-

Gliding over the Rhone Valley on our way to the Zermatt area-

Having found no lift in the Zermatt Valley, we had to land in a tight spot in this lady’s yard-

Here are a few shots from the flight from Grimselpass area to Zermatt Valley-

Even in challenging weather conditions, we are still hiking and flying onward! Passing through Aosta now, and heading towards Bourg St Maurice, France. Just racking up the km's, we are well over 2,000 now and counting. Not all flights have led to XC progress, but we take them anyway. </p><br /> <p>Lots of rain yesterday and last night, but it's clearing enough right now to press on. Cappuccinos here we come. </p><br /> <p>Here are a few shots from the flight a few days ago, from Grimselpass area to Zermatt Valley-

”Amazing, long-ish tandem XC flight today over the Swiss Alps with Tawny Thomas on our 2,500km trip across the Alps and back. We just landed in the Zermatt Valley after taking off from the peak next to Grimselpass, and we are psyched!

It seems now we are headed directly towards the Matterhorn, and will most likely be trying to fly from one of its high passes down into the Aosta Valley tomorrow or the next day. Does anyone know if it’s difficult to get up to those high passes, that head up to either of the two cols that head over to Bruel/Cervina or Valpelline? Any info or suggestions would be great.

We are super happy to have some flying weather after all the bad weather the last few days. Making progress!”

July 26-

After spending a day in Zermatt, we had to climb up to 3,300 meters, cross a big glacier, and fly from the backside of the Matterhorn.

”Leaving Zermatt now, heading up the Matterhorn!

This little town is super cool. Lots of active outdoor people roaming the streets and trails, lots of outdoor shops, and a great vibe. And to top it off- I got a real Swiss Army knife! With Tawny Thomas”

Yes sir, our last name is Alps! Ha! We love our little Swiss Army knife.

”Wow, what a day! Tawny and I got up early this morning at our campsite just above Zermatt, and headed up to the high pass above the glacier with our running shoes and Paraglider. We left camp at 6am and made our way up to the base of the glacier as the clouds were closing in. Luckily we were in some dreamscape conditions, with clouds above and below, but as we crossed the pass it opened up for us.

All of the alpine skiers and mountaineers were looking at us funny as we passed them with running shoes and t-shirts; they were head to toe in fancy mountain gear. After a few hours we made our way to the pass, but could not launch there due to strong N wind pushing through the col. So we hiked down the Italian side until the upslope cycles were strong enough to launch in, and we took the magic flight down.

We encountered just scraps of lift in the mostly cloudy sky, but were able to glide past Brueil-Cervina to land in some nice grass. What a day.”

Here is a clip of us having some fun while making a landing in Cervina-

”Now we are back in Italy, and out of ultra-expensive Switzerland. We are sitting in a cafe now, about to get some authentic pizzas before we press on tomorrow for more adventure. Game on.”

”Today I had a great day with Tawny Thomas for our third anniversary, an amazing day in the mountains with an amazing woman. How lucky I am…

Next stop, Monaco.”

Tawny Thomas-

”3 years with this man! 3 whole freaking years! My life has led me in directions that I never could have even imagined. I never thought I would spend my 3 year anniversary hiking around the Matterhorn in Switzerland followed by paragliding down into town. The night is summed up with beer and pizza in Italy. My mind is blown every day with you, Dave Turner. Happy anniversary and let the adventures continue…”

We have crossed over the glacier and high pass of the Matterhorn, and are now back in Italy! Val Aosta here we come.

July 28-

”Even in challenging weather conditions, we are still hiking and flying onward! Passing through Aosta now, and heading towards Bourg St Maurice, France. Just racking up the km’s, we are well over 2,000 now and counting. Not all flights have led to XC progress, but we take them anyway.

Lots of rain yesterday and last night, but it’s clearing enough right now to press on. Cappuccinos here we come.”

July 29-

”I went for full Euro-status with my new shoes! When in Rome….”

July 30-

”Entering France tomorrow, getting closer to the finish!

We have left Val d Aosta today, and are headed up towards La Thuile this afternoon to cross the pass to Bourg St Maurice. Italy has been great to us, but France here we come!”

July 31-

We hiked over the Paso Petit Bernardo and flew from the ski resort. We made it up the valley a short ways, past Les Arcs, but could not make it all the way to Val ‘d Isere. We had to land in a small field on the side of a hill. It worked out, no problem.

”Nice little flight today from close to the Italy/France border to the valley of Val D’ Isere. Hiking to the town now, great day!”

Here is our landing from that day-

August 1-

”The Alps are amazing! I love this place.”

August 5-

”Amazing day today- it started with some rock climbing, then via ferrata, and ended with an amazing tandem XC flight over the French Alps! Action packed day for sure.

This morning we woke up in Italy at the head of the Susa valley, and then started hiking up over the pass to the French border to find a launch. The forecast looked good, so we had high hopes. On our way through this amazing limestone canyon we found a bunch of nice sport climbs, but we had no gear with us. But a nice bolted 5.8 looked great to me, and it had a walk off descent from the top, so I soloed up it in my running shoes. Great start to the morning.

But then it got better. The canyon totally tightened down and became a via ferrata, which we had no idea that was going to happen. Again, we didn’t have any gear for that, but we did it anyway. Tawny and I are both comfortable at climbing and with heights, and that was a good thing! The maze of walkways and ladders were way above the canyon floor and river, simply amazing. At first it seemed like it would be no big deal, but after nearly a kilometer of via ferrata our minds were blown. We didn’t take many photos, as we were busy with our hands holding on, but we got a few.

Once the climbing was over, we crossed the border into France, ate some brie and baguette, and hiked up a ski resort to find a launch. And we found a great one. At the top of the peak was a perfect spot to lay out the wing above a mega steep slope, right under the fast growing cumulus clouds that were beckoning us up to play with them.

We launched just after noon, and shot straight up. I was worried at first because we had two big valley crossings to pass, but they went well and we stayed high. Real high. After crossing over Briançon we got some turbulence at the converging valleys but pushed on through. The clouds were great and let us keep going. We flew for maybe two and a half hours at a good pace with over 30 sail planes and no other gliders, but as we approached Guillestre the wind really picked up- big time. It was obvious that we were not going to make it any further and I scouted out a spot to try and put it down safely. Conditions were at the max, and as we descended into this notoriously windy valley it was not good. The wind gradient was increasing as we sank down, and as I piloted us over the LZ our last 500 feet of descending saw us flying over a half mile (1 km) backwards! I was facing forwards while flying but was looking behind me, as that was the way we were actually flying. We had to deviate to another landing zone of course, but we sent it no problem.”

”Now we are at an amazing camp/lake/outdoor center and loving it. Showers, food, and some relaxing for the afternoon. Life is good.”

The via ferrata with Tawny Thomas was amazing. Here is a shot of us starting the first span over the canyon-

Yesterday's via ferrata with Tawny Thomas was amazing. Here is a shot of us starting the first span over the canyon-

August 6-

”Yesterday was supposed to be light wind, but definitely wasn’t. Today was forecasted for strong wind but wasn’t. WTF!? Darn weather.”

August 7-

”Nice little flight down from Col d Vars- no big thermals, but enough to get past the town and get some good progress in. Yay!”

Here is our landing from the Col d Vars flight-

Tawny Thomas-

”76 miles to Nice, France!!! Holy shit I can’t believe it!!!”

August 8-

” Another nice day on our way to Nice! We camped outside of Jausiers in a farmers field, and got an early start this morning to cross the high Bonette Pass. It’s actually ‘the highest’ roadway pass in the Alps they say, at over 2,800 meters. It’s also in the Mercantour national park, where paragliding is illegal.

Once we got up to the pass, we traversed around the south side looking for a launch out of the park-ish, but the clouds and west wind kicked up before we could get into the air. We ended up hiking all the way down to the town on the other side of the massif and had a nice lunch of Nutella, bread, dates, and other goodies.

We are now in Saint Etienne de Tineé for dinner and probably the campground with hot showers.

Another great day, and we are closing in on Nice!”

Tawny Thomas-

”If anyone knew how much Miley Cyrus we sing on this trip it would blow your mind. Enough to where we wildly butchered the lyrics, looked up the lyrics so we could get them right, watched the music video, and have still continued to butcher the lyrics, then proceeded to analyze the true underlying meaning to them. I’m not outwardly saying that spending 42 straight days with the same person while hiking 20 miles a day is enough to drive someone crazy. So I’ll let this post speak for itself.”

August 9-

”Well, this is totally coincidental! We arrived here in Isola on ‘American Day’!!

Enjoying a great meal, can’t beat this-”

”A few more funny shots from ‘American Day’ here in Isola, France-”

August 10-

”Yes folks, that’s right- this is the view of the LAST PEAK of the Alps! Almost to Nice.”

At this point, we were so close to the sea we could literally smell it!

August 11-

MISSION COMPLETE!!

”We have made it to the beach on the French Mediterranean after 2,500 km’s (1,550 miles) of vol biv hiking and flying, with no assistance or support along the way! We are ecstatic to be here now, so glad the entire trip went well and without any major incidents. Tawny Thomas and I are now hanging out on the beach, and about to check into our hotel room that we are rewarding ourselves with.”

”The first portion of the trip was flown solo by me on my LM5 in 18 days from Nice to Slovenia in record time, flying over 75% of the distance. It took 45 days to return on the tandem into the headwind with Tawny. It was one of the wettest Julys on record here in the Alps, we really had to fight for it and not lose heart or give up. We are proud of our adventure, it took everything we had.

There were many difficult and amazing moments along the way- from the multiple 100+ km flights, high wind landings, remote sketchy take offs, and other great flying moments, to meeting new helpful people and new vistas along the way. To call this an adventure of a lifetime would be correct, but somehow even that does not do it justice.

At times the trip was difficult and trying, at other times it just seemed to flow in a natural way. Sometimes the weather and terrain lent itself to big days of progress, and at other times is was disheartening. But above all, we made it out safe and sound, and that’s what’s most important. Hats off to tawny for leaving her comfort level and pushing hard to be a great partner on the return leg of the voyage.

So now here we are relaxing on the beach in Nice, with no where else to hike or fly to- the land in front of us is gone and all we see is water. Such a great sight, just the beautiful sea extending to the horizon. No more launches, hiking, flying, or wet campsites. No more epic ascents, ripping climbs to cloud base, low saves, or scary LZ’s. Just the sea and the two of us. We made it.

And speaking of making it to the sea- here is our final clip from the adventure, the two of us finally hitting the water and the end of our mission. Yes!”

Tawny Thomas-

”45 days of my life. 45 amazing, challenging, mind-blowing, terrifying, difficult, spectacular, painful, inspiring, disgusting, dirty, wild days to make it 800 miles across the alps, solely by means of hiking and paragliding. My life will never be the same. This drink in hand goes out to all of you who have followed along with us on this truly epic adventure. Cheers, everyone! And let more climbing and flying commence…”

Well, we did it. We made the double Alps traverse. Never give up, never.

Thank you for reading along about our journey, safe travels!

-Dave Turner & Tawny Thomas

Mammoth Lakes, California 2014

NEWS

DAVE TURNER’S DOUBLE X-ALPS JOURNEY COMPLETE!

A few months ago, Dave Turner contacted us and said that he had some rather ambitious plans. He told us that he was planning to first complete a solo-unsupported crossing and traverse of the Sierra Mountains, from the California coast to the northern NV desert. And after that, he said, he planned to traverse the entire length of the Alps from Nice, France, to the Slovenian border, solo and unsupported. Then, without even resting, he said that he was going to fly all the way back to Nice, France… tandem with his partner, Tawny Thomas. Well, he did.
Dave has now done it all in a spectacular way. the Sierra Vol-biv route that he chose was daunting, crossing serious terrain. And his double Alps-traverse, completed in the middle of the rainiest summer we can remember, required some intense wet-weather walking and a lot of flying in less than perfect conditions.

Congratulations, Dave, hats off to you for an incredible amount of ambition, courage, and commitment. And to Tawny as well, who braved a long and difficult trip back across the Alps.

Dave’s Alpine traverse was around 2500km in total, if you want to see a crazy tracklog, visit his DeLorme map page: https://share.delorme.com/DaveTurner

For more info and photos / video of his adventures, visit his facebook page.

and his website is here.

Alps Vol-Biv Expedition 2014

The Trip Was A Total Success!!! Nice to Slovenia to Nice, Yes!!

”Over The Alps and Back 2014”

Full photo/video report from start to finish-

DAVE TURNER IS CROSSING THE ALPS, TWICE

MISSION COMPLETE!!

DAVE TURNER’S DOUBLE X-ALPS JOURNEY COMPLETE!

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