PARAGLIDING IN SA  |   FLYING SITES  |   REVIEWS  |   AIRLORE  |   STORIES  |   GALLERY |   CARTOONS PARAGLIDING WORLD CUP FIESCH 6-12 AUGUST 2006 report by Greg Hamerton (www.greghamerton.com) The sun busts into the valley, and finally the cloudbase lifts above the launch site. After 3 days of waiting in the rain, and one practice day that wasn't any practice at all, the Fiesch PWC is on! I snap away capturing the action as pilots leap into the dramatic chasm, with the panoramic backdrop of the highest peaks in the Alps. Even in midsummer, the jagged tips of these monstrous mountains are white. Big plumes of cloud pull away from the lee side of the slopes, driven by an upper NW wind. The valleys are insanely deep, pines blanket their sides and white rivers thunder down the many gorges. Everywhere around, there is so much sheer rock it feels like you're falling even when you're standing still. A cat's cradle task is set, with turnpoints on both sides of the valley and to the E and W of launch. But even though there's a big group at the start and many pilots look like they will complete the course, the task is cancelled. Says Steve Cox of Team Advance, "It wasn't too bad near take-off, but once we'd gone to the first turnpoint and returned, the West wind had increased. When you went to the end of the first ridge you hit a serious headwind. We were going forwards at maybe 5km/h on speedbar, and if you got low you were in very bad lee. It was very rough, just like the last time we had a champs here in '98. Some of the guys came back along the valley at 85km/h with the tailwind. So the organisers made a safety call and cancelled the task." Later I find out that one of the world's best female pilots (2005 PWC Women's Winner) has gone down - Ewa Wisnierska crashed and has gone off to hospital. This is a bad turn of events. Tough conditions indeed.Setting up to land is a challenge, as the valley wind comes hammering through, producing some nasty turbulence low down. Some of the guys get smacked and lose sections of their wings, but most pilots gets down safely. Then the wind begins to switch and finally blows hard from the NW, down from the glacier. The forecast is for worse weather, leading to rain. Will we have another task? Is that it?   On Thursday we have the first valid task, a race against the building clouds and bad weather prediction. It's a 56km race back and forwards, with a closing time of 2:15pm to ensure that everyone is on the ground when the strong wind comes through. "What happens if the wind comes through before that?" asks one nervous pilot. "Then we cancel the task," replies the meet director. A fair decision, based on the weather prediction. The idea is that a closing time will ensure that pilots are fairly positioned at 2:15pm, the best pilot low and out in front. This is better than having to take the positions of pilots when the task is suddenly stopped by the meet director, a time which may find some pilots up high in stronger positions but not leading in distance. The start gate is a mass start, with pilots doing spirals and big-ears to avoid being sucked up into the low clouds, which loom only 200m above the launch site. The first turnpoint is easy, with most pilots rounding it on glide from the start gate, but then almost everyone falls into the trap of racing to the far turnpoint, which makes it a glide of about 10km from 1000m above the valley, and there are very few thermals in the shade. Says Joerg Ewald : 'I went down, with everyone else. Only four pilots managed to get up again after the valley crossing, and Christian Tamegger (Boomerang) was the lead pilot when the closing time of 2:15pm was reached. He still had a part of the course to complete. Marina Olexina (Boomerang) came in close second.' They get applause from the pilots in the landing field, most of whom have landed there on the first big glide - they know how hard it was to fly this task. Joerg tells me that Eva Wisnierska is okay, apparently she has a minor fracture of the pelvis, which is painful but will heal up pretty quickly. "She's a fighter, she's already up on her crutches." It's a relief to know she'll be flying again soon. The good facilities from the local club Fluggruppe Aletsch and the experienced Technical Team from the Swiss League (Martin Scheel and Joerg Ewald) make the event a pleasure to attend, but the weather has let everyone down in a big way. Someone should invent an Official PWC Sun Dance. It's Friday, and it is raining again. Martin Scheel studies the bad forecasts and decides to cancel the remaining two days. And so we have: (1) Christian Tamegger (GIN Boomerang 4) Austria (2) Marina Olexina (GIN Boomerang 4) Russia (3) Martin Pacejka (GRADIENT Avax RSF) Czech Republic Quick ! They're specking out already ... Steep-sided valleys and lots of altitude The gaggle climbs up for the start gate Ready .. steady .. Charge!