UP, UP AND AWAY
BY DAVID GREEN, THE RED FOX
In 2006 I was fortunate enough to get an invitation to travel with a hot air balloon team to Austria. What I saw and experienced was enough to get me hooked on hot air balloons.
I spent the next couple of years learning to fly and in 2008 I finally got my pilot’ s licence with a massive amount of support from Chris Sanger-Davies who was then working for Lindstrand Balloons.
For the past 10 years I have returned to Austria every January with Chris and his team to attend a balloon festival in a small town called Filzmoos which is about an hour’ s drive from Salzburg.
Running the Red Fox is full on, especially in December so the adage“ work hard, play hard” certainly applies. With that in mind, the first week in January I packed up my family and my snowboard and we once again headed off to the slopes of Austria.
Whilst we flew directly from Manchester to Salzburg, the rest of the“ team” were powering along the highways of France and Germany, towing a hot air balloon behind them, around a thirty hour drive in total. The“ team” is Lindstrand Media, who throughout the warmer months, fly hot air balloons and airships for corporate clients, promoting brands and attending events. January is their down time and the Alps are their playground.
Whilst we do fit in a bit of boarding, the focus of each day is flying above and sometimes across the Alpine ranges. There aren’ t enough words to describe the experience … breathtaking, extreme, challenging, exhilarating … and sometimes exhausting when you
land in deep powder snow and then have to pack the balloon back into the trailer!
As a pilot, I’ m slightly obsessed with the weather which needs to be perfect for flying. The saying“ It’ s better to be down on the ground wishing you were up there, rather than up there wishing you were down on the ground” certainly applies when flying in the Alps. Mountain winds can catch you out so quickly but we’ re a pretty experienced bunch and with four pilots in the team weather watching is a group sport!
I can’ t adequately describe how stunning it is, so this selection of images should give you a better picture. After each amazing flight, we usually find our way into an Austrian hostelry for food and drink- there’ s nothing quite so nice as a strudel and hot chocolate( mit Rum!) on a snowy day!
If you picked up the magazine hoping for my regular whisky column, then fear not, this month my go to is Highland Park‘ Dark Origins’.
Highland Park distillery is based in Kirkwall, Orkney and is the most northerly whisky distillery in Scotland. This latest addition to the core expressions uses twice as many first fill sherry casks than in the classic Highland Park 12 year old. The results are amazing, the whisky is naturally darker, richer in flavour with an exciting, spicy, chocolatey finish, slightly smokey but dried fruits and vanilla are predominant in this little cracker.
Available at The Red Fox or online at www. masterofmalt. com for £ 63.95.
24 wirrallife. com