Maj Mackie took to the skies above the Snowdonia mountain range in his first paragliding ‘hike and fly’ race.
Held on the first good flying window of the year, the X-Eryri hike and fly adventure race promised an adventure across some of Wales’ most spectacular scenery. The Snowdonia or traditionally known Eryri mountain range is the perfect arena a hike and fly adventure race.
If anyone has ever run the Original Mountain Marathon (OMM) it is held in much the same way, except you have the option to tag checkpoints in the air. A map is given to all the competitors in advance with a series of waypoints scattered across the mountain range, with more points for those further away and bonus points for tagging all the waypoints in an area or travelling furthest East, West, South or North.
There are also some extra quirky bonuses for flying to Anglesey or flying outside the National Park boundary for example. So, fortune favours the adventurous spirit!
The first day of racing was forecast to be the best day for flying, although what promised to be a 5-star cross country day proved to be tricky. The sea breeze pushed in from the West, mixed with thermals and channelled around sharp-edged mountains unique to this area, making for some challenging conditions.
Testament to the skills of the pilots, significant distances were made in the air over the Eryri massive, the Carneddau, the Moelwyns and even further afield to the Arenigau and the Rhinogau.
After a long first day in the mountains some pilots opted to wild camp with bivvi gear, enjoying the views in true style, while others opted to retreat to camper vans or hard shelter for the night.
Day two was a mixed and windier forecast (but luckily no rain), with less opportunity for flying except for cross valley glides. So, it was mostly about ground skills, physical fitness and navigation to tick off as many checkpoints as possible before the 1600 cut off point, beyond which there were significant points penalties.
Careful judgement of flying conditions was required, the windier and more turbulent conditions meant decisions to fly were critical to safety, especially for tired pilots wanting to get to the finish line with as little hiking as possible!
Richard said of his first Hike and Fly race, ‘it was every part the adventure I hoped it to be. I enjoyed the learning and personal development immensely, as well as meeting new friends from across the world. My next race will be “the Dragon” in the Black Mountains of South Wales. It will be an “On Duty” event and given the direct military application of the skills required for races like these, it is the intent of the single service associations to make other Hike and Fly events such as the X-Eryri, X-Scotia and X-Lakes “On Duty” events as well.’
