Hang Gliding and Paragliding Volume 44 / Issue 12:December 2014 | Page 47

of the forest below.
Nowadays, however,
the site delivers recordbreaking flights, like
the 180-mile triangle
flown by my British
pilot friend Mark
Haycraft earlier this
year, and the flights
of the pilots who
launched from here
and overflew Mont
Blanc—at over 16,500
feet—two years ago.
Of course, shortpacking your rig and shipping it halfway around the world for
a flying trip to France is a big undertaking, but when given a
bit of time to play with, Laragne makes it worth considering.
The terrain, climate and infrastructure ensure that this is a
place where hang pilots can improve their abilities and convert
those skills into kilometers.
And the journey needn’t be that difficult. Manufacturers
and schools in the region may be persuaded to rent you a
glider, but don’t expect them to hand over the keys to an Atos.
(If you are persuasive, they are only likely to part with a lowerend school glider.) But it’s worth a call to Ellipse, a nearby
hang glider manufacturer, or Bernard Kurtz at Delta Sud, a
well-respected local instructor who runs progression courses
in French and English. Prevol at St Hilaire is also worth contacting. Some will need a letter of medical fitness from your
doctor to keep their insurers happy, so check what they need.
Keep in mind that doctors are much cheaper in France, so it
might be worth getting a checkup after you arrive.
The Southern Alps is a relatively low range of mountains.
It’s a dishevelled collection of valleys and peaks around
4-5000 feet high. From launch at Laragne, you can spot the
higher snowy peaks that spread down from Mont Blanc.
The valley floors are wide and flat, with seasonal agriculture,
meaning you can always find a comfortable place to put down,
even in light conditions. The farmers are friendly and the local
culture of hitchhiking in the area makes it incredibly easy to
catch a ride back to collect your car. The result is an extensive
playground perfect for free flying, buts it’s technical, too,
requiring some local knowledge of conditions. And although

conditions are never
scary or unpredictable,
they do sometimes
behave in totally
counter-intuitive ways.

Weather
The Ecrin Mountains
to the east act as such
a big draw of air as the
day builds that small
valley systems are overwhelmed, causing wind
to blow down a valley
instead of up. This
westerly airflow can make launching and conditions down
low on the Laragne launch uncomfortable, but the site starts
working before the usual daily switch.
The other major meteorological condition to be aware of is
the mistral. This is a strong northerly wind caused by extreme
pressure differential between the Bay of Biscay and the Gulf
of Genoa, and which blows out most of the sites in the region.
But despite these weather conditions, the site and region
can deliver 90+mile flights from as early as March, when the
drive up to takeoff is still snowed in. The big selling point of
Laragne, though, has been its bulletproof consistency for the
whole of June, July and August. If you can stretch your stay
to the end of September, the flying gets mellower but less reliable. But at that time, you can take in the famous Coupe Icare
flying festival just up the road at St Hilaire.
Unfortunately, over the last three years, conditions at
Laragne haven’t lived up to their reliable reputation, perhaps a sign of a changing climate or maybe just bad luck.
Nonetheless, when using Laragne as a base, you can find a
number of other accessible takeoffs within a one-hour radius,
meaning you won’t ever be grounded for long by the weather.

Out to Launch
The launch at Laragne is a long ridge that runs east-west.
A couple of good ramps are situated on either side, so the
regular north or south winds make for comfortable takeoffs.
Locals advise pilots to get off as soon as it’s working, because
not long after, the wind will switch west, making takeoff and
climbing out miserable at best, and at worst, dangerous. In

LEFT Banking it up in Laragne | photo by Jeff Shapiro. ABOVE Jeff Shapiro in France | photo by Zac Majors.

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