Joe, I've always thought Alex Hofer, after winning in 2007 and placing second in 2009, might have beaten Christian Maurer in 2011 if he hadn't broken his back during the race after a frontal collapse. They forgot to mention poor old Alex, I think. I regard the X-Alps as one of the greatest and most dangerous races ever conceived. It shows exactly what paragliders are capable of. Unfortunately, the glory of the 2011 X-Alps got lost ten days later in the death of Paragliding World Cup founder Xavier Murillo in a collapse in South America, followed by the deaths of two of South America's best paraglider racers at the World Cup in Spain the following week when they also got caught by frontal collapses. CIVL then shut down the World Cup and it was a big embarressment for all involved. Aside from the 92 soaring parachutists who died in 2011 (that I know of), it was a bad, bad year for bragging rights among those competitors still living as it showed that the people who win in paragliding are not necessarily the best, but just the ones who are left. Paragliders are funny things. The faster they fly, the more likely they are to collapse and kill their operators. There's nothing like it. Some people even think it's stupid.
Paragliders have said they will continue taking to the Elgeyo Marakwet skies despite tragic parachute crashes that have left three people dead over the last two weeks. Two foreign paragliders died on Tuesday morning in the latest accident. A sombre mood engulfed the Kerio View Resort following news of the death of Kimberly Ann (39) and Tomas Lednik (46). The resort in Iten accommodates the paragliders and also serves as the take-off point. Ann and Lednik are citizens of the US and Czech Republic respectively. Yesterday, several paragliders took to the skies despite the deaths.
A Russian paraglider, who only identified himself Vrajumir, said flying parachutes is addictive. He said many many lovers of the leisure will not hesitate to fly despite the risks. The 47-year-old, who is also a light aircraft pilot, said safety depends on proper equipment, piloting conditions and the mental state.
“When you fly under the clouds, you feel the power of nature. That is why it is difficult to stop paragliding,” Vrajumir said. ----------- Gosh. If only paragliding had been invented when I was flying hang gliders on XC flights over 150 miles at altitudes over 17,000 feet! Then I could have flown under clouds! Then I could have felt the power of nature - about to collapse my canopy... no, thanks. Why do soaring parachutists always think of paragliding as the only way to fly? The alternatives are spectacular. Its like they have horse blinders on.
JoeF wrote:A cousin to PDMC is mentioned in the video.
Good observation Joe. They explicitly started above the PDMC.
Join a National Hang Gliding Organization:US Hawks at ushawks.org View my rating at:US Hang Gliding Rating System Every human at every point in history has an opportunity to choose courage over cowardice. Look around and you will find that opportunity in your own time.
Yes, they start from 120 meters, or 394 feet. Note that the minimum height for emergency reserve deployment from a paraglider in the PDMC chart is very close at 366 feet. In the video, the jumper free-fell for exactly 5 seconds from release to the opening of his parachute. Falling at 9.8 m/s squared for 5 seconds results in a vertical distance traveled of 122 meters, or 400 feet. It doesn't look like that much, does it? He could have deployed his skydiving parachute a little earlier but he waited until his vertical speed would ensure a good opening. Beccause a paraglider in collapse does not fall as quickly as a skydiver in free fall, emergency deployment is often not as effective and takes longer.
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by Rick Masters » Sat Jan 20, 2018 1:45 pm 
