Pierwsze szeลฤ dni opisane jest tylko w jฤzyku angielskim. Od siรณdmego do koลca jest rรณwnieลผ polski.
First six days are described in English only. From the seventh till the end its also Polish.
Day 1
I’m after two nights with two hours of sleep. Long and hard zombie walk today. I had to lay down and take a hour long nap three times. My feet are ok. I’m tricky, kinesiotape and sudocrem between toes. It’s easier to prevent blisters than to heal them. Tomorrow I’m having 400m uphill to the takeoff site. I am at Greolieres takeoff. Two ridges behind me there’s the takeoff from last year. Tricky too. Unfortunately rain is forecasted at 12…I had some problems with tracking. It’ll work now with this link: https://eur-share.inreach.garmin.com/SRU
Day 2
Fkin grasshoppers ate my merino wool longsleeve. I have twenty holes in it! I took off from Jerusalem hill which is above the famous Greolieres. Two hours of flying left and right… After some time the cloudbase started getting lower and lower so I decided to perform a jump of the last chance. Tomorrow’s weather is not promising. It’ll be overcasted and western wind will be too strong to fly. So I decided to make two days of a long and slow paced hike to the lake connecting with Saint Andre Les Alpes. Kasia told me it’s too early to go to camp and take it’s luxuries, but I found a great place for the night. I smell good, I feel good and I can walk some more days… Somehow I enjoy this.
Day 3
Today I had no chance to fly to the west because of a strong wind so I woke up late. Another 30km of walking. Tomorrow’s weather forecast says the same. Today a gadfly bit me. My left arm is swollen and I can’t bend it. Luckily my mom gave me some ibuprofenum. I threw my merino longsleeve into trash bin. Unfortunately it was the lightest one. I have two more, because I decided to get three of those and a light windproof jacket instead of heavier hoodies. Another ‘disaster’ is that I forgot to take out my socks from stream washing machine.Do you know Zientos? He’s the guy with awesome attitude to life and flying. He’s always happy. Ten hour ride and three of hiking on the hill to miss weather and just fly down to Antholz lake? For him it’s as cool as flying a big triangle. Crazy guy. I don’t understand competitive flying. Isn’t it the way to be always unhappy? A lot of X-Alps pilots stop their journey immediately after elimination instead of continuing it. Why? It looks like everyone is looking for winning in every case, after every single take off. It’s not paragliding, it’s paramasochism 
I’m gonna walk tomorrow. And the weather for next days doesn’t even look promising. But I don’t care. I have fat food, water, good body condition and I can focus on making best decisions to have fun and make progress. Crying about bad flying weather won’t help so I need to enjoy walking. I’ll take it easy and I’ll walk slowly not to overtrain my body at the beginning. It’s not necessary to walk a lot every day if I can fly five times faster on a good day.Today I’m sleeping at a lake shore. One meter from water. It’s quite warm. Many vantravellers are here. I even found a bottle with a small amount of bio lemon soap
Day 4
Someone asked me about my diet monotony. In my backpack I have dried sausage, nuts, 30% cream and coconut oil. I’m on ketogenic diet, 75% fat, 20% proteins and 5% of carbs. The good thing is that 1 gram of fat gives more than twice as much kcal as proteins and carbs so my daily food supply weighs only 450g. Today I had an oportunity to refill my cream stock and buy some olives and fruits to take a bit of vitamins and minerals. Half a bar of butter is in my stomach right now. It feels good Today it was too windy to fly. Zero clouds in the sky and I had no power to walk in the afternoon, so I drank some beers and espressos in St Andre. Noone knows what I want when I order quadruple espresso. “One more double espresso please.”Tomorrow it’ll be too windy again. I bought some warming ointment, ibuprofenum and calcium so I’ll be able to walk slowly into the better future
Day 5
Last year on this day I had an accident. Today I thought I won’t be able to walk down the hill. Usually I don’t scream because of pain I have some serious problem with my knee and quadriceps tendons. It hurts more than last year’s elbow dislocation. Crazy. Mistral wind will be present tomorrow and it will last untill mid of Monday. I’m in the best place to wait for good xc flying weather so I won’t move anywhere. It’s hard to walk at 35ยฐC in full sun.Btw. that cream is awesome! A little bit sour and thick. Great with wild strawberry. I ate two of those today, 1000kcal each
Dzieล 6
Rozbiลem siฤ na maลej gรณrce nad wsiฤ . ลaweczka, kapliczki po drodze. Leลผฤ miฤdzy niskimi krzaczkami przykryty ciemnozielonฤ pลachtฤ . Kaptur na gลowie, wystaje tylko nos i oczy. Zakamuflowany niczym ลผoลnierz z wojny w Wietnamie. Tuลผ przed pรณลnocฤ sลyszฤ kroki. Zbliลผa siฤ. Jest prawie peลnia, ale nie ma szans mnie zobaczyฤ.- Bonjour – mรณwiฤ lekko zaskoczony. – Bonjour – odpowiada jak gdyby nigdy nic nawet nie odwracajฤ c gลowy.Dzisiaj wieje mistral, jutro ma wiaฤ jeszcze mocniej. Latanie zapowiadajฤ tylko na wtorek. Nie ma sensu, ลผebym siฤ stฤ d ruszaล. Poszedลem tylko 2,5km nad jezioro, gdzie zostanฤ albo wrรณcฤ do wsi na wieczornฤ pizzฤ i kawฤ. Wieczorny dopisek: nad jeziorem zagadaล mnie instruktor paralotniowy. Pokazaล gdzie jest chata na zboczu gรณry nad jeziorem. Nad chata jest startowisko. Jadฤ jutro lataฤ do St Andre. Mรณwi, ลผe nie bฤdzie wiaลo, ale cztery moje prognozy pokazujฤ 10m/s… jutro tam pรณjdฤ. Zawrรณciลem po 10 metrach podejลcia i poszedลem do wsi coล zjeลฤ. Czterdzieลci minut, to blisko. W poลowie drogi zaczฤลo padaฤ, ale wracaล nie bฤdฤ. Na miejscu okazaลo siฤ ลผe zjeลฤ siฤ nie da, bo zamknฤli. Tankowanie wody, zarzucam poncho przeciwdeszczowe i zawracam. Po piฤtnastu minutach mija mnie auto. Mocno zwalnia i po kilkuset metrach zawraca. Mija drugฤ stronฤ i znรณw po kilkuset metrach zawraca. Jadฤ w mojฤ stronฤ. Odwracam siฤ i gestem pytam o co chodzi. Stajฤ i mรณwiฤ , ลผe jak siฤ wcisnฤ to mnie podwiozฤ . No chyba siฤ nie wcisnฤ, bo auto typu mikro, tyล zawalony szpejem, wystajฤ jakieล takimi czekany. Jedyna wolna przestrzeล byลa na kolanach pasaลผera i miedzy kierowcฤ i kierownicฤ . Mรณwiฤ, ลผe nie pada mocno i dam radฤ, mam tylko 20 minut do wiaty. ลwiry, podziฤkowaลem, pojechali, popukaลem siฤ siฤ w gลowฤ. Nie mam okularรณw. Zostawiลem je we wsi przy wodopoju… Tak sobie doลoลผyลem dwie godziny ลaลผenia w deszczu po nic…
Day 6
I set up my camp at a small hill above the village. There’s a little bench and some chapels. I’m laying down among very small bushes covered with my dark green poncho. I have hood over my head so just my nose and eyes are visible. I’m camouflaged like an Vietkong soldier. Just before midnight I’m hearing steps. He’s closer and closer. It’s almost full moon but He has no chance to spot me.- Bonjour – I say, a little bit surprised.- Bonjour – He responds, without any movement of his head.Today Mistral wind is still active. Tomorrow it’ll be even stronger. Tuesday night will be the first flyable day. I don’t have to move anywhere. I just hike 2,5km to the nearest lake and I’ll stay here or come back to the village in the evening for a pizza and espresso.Evening postscript: I meet a paragliding instructor at the lake. He showes me a small shepherd hut in the middle of the hill at which I’ll find take off. They are going to fly at St Andre tomorrow. He says the wind won’t be too strong, but four of my forecasts show 10m/s. I’ll go there tomorrow… I turn back after ten meters of uphill and change my direction to the village to eat something. It’s just fourty minutes. In the middle of the way it starts to rain, but I won’t go back. At the place I discover I won’t eat today because it’s closed. After refilling water I put on my rain poncho and head back to the lake. After fifteen minutes a car is passing me slowing down very much. After some hundreds of meters it’s turning back, passing me again and again turning back after some hundreds of meters. I’m turning back and asking with a wtf gesture? They stop and a guy tells me they can drive me anywhere if I’ll be able to sit in. Micro car, two guys, a lot of gear at the back, some crampons and ice axes. No way to put even a needle in. The only free space is on passenger knees and between the driver and the steering wheel. I say it’s not raining that much and I have just 20 minutes to my camp place. Crazy guys, I knock my head and realise I forgot my sunglasses from water tap… So this way I added myself two hours of walking in the rain…
Dzieล 7
Obudziลem siฤ rano o trzynastej, bo do tej pory padaลo. Sลoลce wyszลo tylko na chwilฤ. Klikam palcem po mapie i widzฤ sklep i restauracjฤ w wiosce oddalone o pรณลtorej kilometra od mojego jeziora. Dlaczego wczoraj tu nie poszedลem? Wolฤ pewne, wymagajฤ ce wiฤcej wysiลku rozwiฤ zania, niลผ te niepewne? Do wsi przychodzฤ o piฤtnastej, sklep otworzฤ za godzinฤ. Kupujฤ kilogram serรณw i miฤs, orzechy, mascarpone i ลmietanฤ. Dobre, bo tลuste. Potem chwila na kawฤ, piwo i ลadowanie baterii. Pisaลem juลผ, ลผe telefon z moลผliwoลciฤ ลadowania QC3.0 to super sprawa? Nie trzeba sฤ czyฤ piwa trzy godziny, ลผeby go naลadowaฤ. Nalewam wodฤ i podchodzฤ czterysta metrรณw do pasterskiej chaty. Okazuje siฤ, ลผe dลบwigam jฤ z doลu niepotrzebnie, ale w poprzednich dniach potoki i ลบrรณdลa w gรณrach byลy wyschniฤte. Mam 600m podejลcia na rano. Wyglฤ da na to, ลผe jutro pogoda pozwoli polataฤ.
Day 7
I wake up the morning at 1pm. It’s just stopped raining. Sun is coming out just for a while. I look at my map and find a store and a caffee in a village just 1,5km away. Why didn’t I come here yesterday? Do I tend to choose sure options which need more effort than those which are uncertain?I come to the village at 3pm, they’ll open shop at 4pm. I buy one kilogram of cheese and meat, nuts, mascarpone and cream. It’s fat so it’s good – ketogenic motto. Just after that I go to the nearby caffee for an espresso, beer and to charge batteries. Phone with QC3.0 charging method is awesome. I don’t need to sit there for hours to do it.When I’m done I refill my water bag and hike up four hundred metres to a shepherds hut. There is water here, so I carried it unnecessarily, but last days I couldn’t find water in the mountains. Everything is dry.I have 600m to hike up at the morning. Weather looks flyable tomorrow.
Dzieล 8
Dziwnie siฤ ลpi w czterech ลcianach. Drzwi nie zamykam, bo siฤ bojฤ. Muszฤ sลyszeฤ koniki polne, ลผaby, wodฤ. Cisza zaczyna byฤ dziwna. Nie wlazลem do tej wanny. Woda zimna jak cholera. Myลem siฤ juลผ trzy razy przez ostatni tydzieล. Jestem w gรณrach, wiฤc nie ma co przesadzaฤ. Trzy strategiczne miejsca wystarczฤ
. Mydลo Sea To Summit Wilderness Wash w kostkach jest caลkiem wydajne.Na gรณrze cisza, warun taki jak miaล byฤ. Czekam godzinฤ, odpalam, pierwszy komin dosyฤ turbulentny, ale dziaลa. Skok po gรณrach, duszenie, zaczฤลo mocno wiaฤ z pรณลnocy. Dostaลem trzy poลรณwki na peลnej beli, uciekลem na nawietrznฤ
gรณrki, polataลem na ลผaglu i wylฤ
dowaลem na gรณrze, ลผeby nie wracaฤ do wsi. Dziesiฤฤ kilometrรณw do przodu, moลผe trochฤ wiฤcej…Do koลca dnia nie widzฤ nikogo latajฤ
cego poza szybowcami i sฤpami. Znalazลem piรณro. Mieฤ takie piรณro to lepiej, niลผ przelecieฤ Alpy. Wolno siฤ idzie po gรณrkach po 2500m npm. Odpuszczam plan dลuลผszy i schodzฤ wczeลniej do pasterskiej chaty. Jest klimat. Woda po drodze teลผ jest. Nie mam zasiฤgu i internetu, ale sprawdzaลem prognozy rano i jutro ma tak samo nie wiaฤ jak dzisiaj.
Day 8
It’s weird to sleep between four walls. I don’t close the doors because I’m scared. I need to hear grasshoppers, water, frogs. Silence is weird. I didn’t jump into that bath. Water is freezing cold. I washed myself three times last week. I’m in the mountains so let’s not exaggerate. Three strategic spots are enough. Sea To Summit Wilderness Wash soap is quite efficient.It’s silent at the top of the hill. Just like in the forecast. I’m waiting one hour before takeoff. First thermal is quite turbulent but it works. Jump to the North, sink, strong north wind is present. At full speedbar half of my wing is falling down. Three times. I escape to upwind side of a small hill, soar a little bit and topland, because I don’t want to go back. Ten kilometers flight, maybe a bit more.I won’t see anyone in the air except sailplanes and vultures till the end of the day. I find a feather. Having that feather feels better than flying through the Alps.I walk slowly through that 2500m asml hills. I give up on the long plan and walk down to a shepherds hut. What an atmosphere. I refill water on the way. I don’t have network coverage here but I checked the forecast in the morning and tomorrow will be with NO wind, just like today.
Dzieล 9
Niebo o dziesiฤ tej nie napawa optymizmem. Walter uczyล, ลผe cumulusy tak wczeลnie niekoniecznie sฤ dobre. Naprawiam drzwi chaty i podchodzฤ czterysta metrรณw. Rozlane chmury sฤ poniลผej szczytรณw. Na grani kolejne gรณry majฤ po 2800m npm. Czekam i lecฤ albo schodzฤ do cywilizacji. Po jedenastej niebo zaczฤลo siฤ klarowaฤ, odpalam okoลo poลudnia, po drugim cumulusie, ktรณry wyskoczyล w pobliลผu. Poczฤ tek dosyฤ trudny, ale potem zaczฤลo dziaลaฤ jak w najlepsze dni. Przed jeziorem La Durance muszฤ trochฤ zwolniฤ i podkrฤciฤ do chmury. Pierwszฤ nogฤ jeziora przeskakujฤ bez problemu. Za drugฤ jestem dosyฤ nisko, a kitesurferzy nie wrรณลผฤ nic dobrego. Bฤdzie wiaลo. Kolega, ktรณry poleciaล na pรณลnocny zachรณd nie daje rady przebiฤ siฤ pod wiatr i lฤ duje. Ja ลapie kaลผde beskidzkie zero i daje siฤ znieลฤ na pรณลnocy wschรณd. Dobijam do wystawionego na wiatr zbocza i wykrฤcam chmurฤ z szybowcami. Przebijam siฤ kilkanaลcie kilometrรณw na zachรณd pod silny wiatr. Kilka razy myลlaลem, ลผe padnฤ pod supermarket, gdzie kupowaลem Oranginฤ rok temu, ale mocna terma pomaga. Po przebiciu siฤ na stoki bardziej wystawione na zachรณd warun robi siฤ maลlany i bez problemรณw lecฤ na pรณลnoc krฤcฤ c przyjemne kominy. Przeskoki nie sprawiajฤ problemรณw, wieje max 2m/s. Osiemdziesiฤ t kilometrรณw na liczniku. Sielanka.Zaraz po przeskoku jadฤ c po trawiastym zboczu czujฤ luz na linach. Gลowa w gรณrฤ, glajta nie ma. Wije siฤ daleko za plecami. Nie patrzฤ c na ziemiฤ rzucam spadochron ratunkowy i po chwili jestem na ziemi. “I ch** i czeลฤ” tak bym pomyลlaล, gdybym miaล dwie sekundy wiฤcej. Koperta spada dziesiฤฤ metrรณw dalej.Co by byลo, gdybym nie trenowaล odruchรณw? Nie wizualizowaล rzutu pakฤ ? Myลlaล za dลugo? Miaล pakฤ pod tyลkiem, a nie we frontkontenerze? Reagowaล na stres paraliลผem? Przekลadaล sterรณwki, aลผ za nadgarstek? Maลe treningi, maลe przewagi. ลปycie albo…Przeleciaลem 82km.
Day 9
Sky at 10 am doesn’t look optimistic. During the course Walter said that clouds so early are usually not so good. I’m fixing hut doors and hike 400m up. Flat, gray clouds are hanging under the tops of the hills. I’ll wait and fly or walk down to civilization. After 11am it’s starting to clear up. I take off after the second cumulus has appeared on my ridge. The beginning is quite hard, but then it’s working great. I slow down before lake La Durance. I need to climb as high as I can. I’m gliding over the first leg of the lake. After the second one I’m quite low and the view of kitesurfers on the lake means no good for paragliders. It’ll be windy. One guy who chooses upwind way to NW is landing now. I’m catching some zeros and drifting towards upwind slope of the hill. My plan is working and I’m thermalling with sailplanes. Next I’m trying to fly to NW with very strong headwind. A few times I’m prepared to fly to the bottom of the valley to the supermarket store, where I was last year. Strong thermals help me and now I’m on more west facing slopes. It’s easy to fly now. I can relax. Jumps between hills are easy. Eighty kilometers on my vario.Just after the last jump over the valley, at a grassy slope I feel loose lines. My head is going up. I can’t see my glider. It’s far behind me in a snake shape. I don’t think long and throw the rescue chute. Two seconds later I’m on the ground.What would’ve happened if I didn’t train rescue throwing? Didn’t visualise that? Thought too long? Rescue under my ass instead of frontcontainer? What if I was paralyzed because of stress? What if I flew with toggles far behind my wrists? Little trainings, little advantages. Life or…82km of flying today.
Dzieล 10
Jak nie muszฤ siฤ spieszyฤ to wstaje dopiero jak mnie sลoลce wysuszy po nocy. Dziล obudziลa mnie sarna, ktรณra byลa zaciekawiona czym jestem. Duลผa czerwona larwa. Poszedลem do Corges ลผeby zrobiฤ zakupy, a potem popลywaฤ w jeziorze. Juลผ wiem czemu nikogo nie byลo w wodzie. Spลywa do niego woda prosto z gรณr. Zimna.Liny w spadochronie mi siฤ poplฤ taลy i chwilฤ zajฤลo dojลcie do ลadu. Myลlaลem, ลผe na gumki wystarczy tylko ลrodkowy palec rฤkawiczki, ale musiaลem pociฤ ฤ wszystkie.Wieczorem wlazลem na 1700m pod Sanktuarium Matki Boskiej Frontem Poskลadanych. Jest woda, jest jedzenie od 8:30. Sฤ owce do liczenia. Biaลe kropki na zdjฤciu. Dwieลcie? Zastanawiaลem siฤ czy bฤdฤ napieprzaฤ w nocy dzwonkami. Napieprzajฤ .Na rano zostanie 600m podejลcia. Zachodnie zbocza, wiฤc mam czas do poลudnia.
Day 10
If I don’t need to hurry I wake up after the sun has dried my gear. Today some curious roe-deer woke me up. Must have taken me for a big red larva. I walk to Corges to buy some food and to swim in the lake. Now I know why noone is in the water. It’s coming into the lake straight from the hills.Lines at my parachute are tangled a little bit and I have a hard time to fix that. I thought I’d just need a middle finger of latex glove but I have to cut all of them.It’s evening. I walk up to 1700m asml to Sanctuary Of Paragliding Pilots Slammed Down At Lee Side. I’ll find water there and they give breakfast at 8:30. I also have sheep to count before sleep. Two hundreds of them? White dots on the photo. Will they ring at night? Looks like they will…I have 600m hike up left for tomorrow morning, but I’m still at west slopes so I’ll have time untill afternoon.
Dzieล 11
Zapomniaลem wczoraj napisaฤ, ลผe spadochron mam juลผ stary i bym zmieniล na lekki, kwadratowy ;). Schodzฤ do Sanktuarium na kawฤ. Nie ma. Moลผna kupiฤ figurki, pocztรณwki, trzynaลcie sklepรณw. ลniadanie wฤdrowcom dajฤ od 11:30… W sumie to nie potrzebujฤ, ale kawฤ bym wypiล. Dwieลcie metrรณw do gรณry na startowisko. Odpalam i latam. Latam i latam. Nosi wszฤdzie, ale kominรณw nie ma. Po godzinie przylatuje ktoล na Mentorze Light wykrฤca komin i leci dalej. Sterรณwki mi opadลy… ลapiฤ nastฤpny i go goniฤ. Kolega ma na uprzฤลผy panel sลoneczny. Wลaลnie sprawdziลem skฤ d leci. Robi ta samฤ trasฤ co ja. Nie napiszฤ kiedy wystartowaล, bo mi znรณw sterรณwki opadลy… Razem leciaลo siฤ caลkiem dobrze. Pomogliลmy sobie krฤciฤ zera w kluczowym momencie przy Grenoble. Pรณลบniej odpadล i spotkaliลmy siฤ dopiero na koniec dnia. Wylฤ dowaลem na gรณrce, dwieลcie metrรณw pod startowiskiem. W sumie na tej wyprawie zawsze ลaduje na gรณrze. Tylko powody sฤ rรณลผne – wiatr, paka, no i teraz. Tak jak ma byฤ na volbiv. Kolega zrobiล jeszcze 10km zlota. Pewnie wchodzi na nastฤpnฤ gรณrฤ. Jutro moลผe wiaฤ…Przeleciaลem 75km.
Day 11
I forgot to write yesterday – my parachute is old and I need to change it to some lightweight, square. I walk down to the Sanctuary to drink coffee. Caffe is now closed. I can buy figures, postcards, thirteen shops. They make breakfast for wanderers at 11:30… I don’t need breakfast but coffee would be nice. Two hundred metres up to takeoff. The air is working everywhere but I can’t catch a good thermal for an hour. Some guy on Mentor Light appears, catches thermal and he’s gone… A moment after that I catch the next thermal and I’m following him. He has solar panel on his harness. Later research shows he’s doing the same route. I won’t write how many days it took him to do that. Team flying works good. Especially at Grenoble corner, where we have hard time in zeros. Later I take leading and we meet at the end of the day. I land just 30min away from the takeoff for tomorrow and he decides to glide down into the valley. I bet he’s now walking onto the next hill. Tomorrow it may be windy…75km flight today.
Dzieล 12
Juลผ byล na gรณrce, juลผ witaล siฤ z gฤ skฤ . Lฤ dowanie na gรณrze okazaลo siฤ nie tak dobrym pomysลem jak siฤ wydawaลo. Wedลug prognoz rano miaล przyjลฤ silny wiatr z poลudnia. Mozliwe, ลผe tak silny, ลผe musiaลbym schodziฤ na dรณล pieszo, bo sobota i niedziela nie nadaje siฤ do latania. Obudziลem siฤ ze sลoลcem, jeszcze byลo cicho, wiฤc odsloniลem poncho, ลผeby wyschnฤ ฤ. Nie chce mi siฤ go rozbijaฤ do postaci namiotu, wiฤc siฤ tylko przykrywam i zaparowujฤ sprzฤt. Zasnฤ ลem i obudziล mnie podmuch wiatru. Tak szybko siฤ jeszcze nie zbieraลem po noclegu. Dobrze, ลผe na startowisko miaลem trzy minuty. Chwilowo ucichลo, miaลem jeszcze czas na sprawdzenie najnowszych prognoz. Nie wyglฤ daลo to najlepiej, wiฤc wystartowaลem na porannego, pรณลgodzinnego, osiemnastokilometrowego zlota. Do takiego zlota trzeba przygotowaฤ siฤ na powaลผnie. Taktyka jest najwaลผniejsza. Gdzie jest sklep, kawa, najlepsza droga do jeziora, a potem jak najbardziej leniwy plan na kolejne dwa dni. ลปycie volbiwakowe jest ciฤลผkie.Namierzyลem w internecie Stefana, z ktรณrym wczoraj leciaลem. Jak nie poleci jutro wieczorem, na co nie chce mi siฤ podchodziฤ to w poniedziaลek powinniลmy siฤ spotkaฤ. Ma zamiar startowaฤ z gรณry obok tej, ktรณrฤ wybraลem. Leci biwakowo, ale leniwie. Z uลผyciem busรณw i wyciฤ gรณw.ลpiฤ w mocno rolniczej dolinie i dziฤkujฤ za sprezentowanฤ moskitierฤ po tylokroฤ ile siedzi teraz na niej komarรณw.
Day 12
Top landing wasn’t as smart as I thought. Forecasts showed strong wind from South for the morning. It could’ve been strong enough to force me to walk down, because Saturday and Sunday looked unflyable. I woke up with the sun. It was quiet, so I just released myself out of my poncho to dry out. I didn’t pitch it as a tent, I just covered myself and my gear with it to get through the night. I fell asleep and strong blow of wind woke me up. I never packed my gear that fast. I was just three minutes away from the takeoff. Wind calmed down for a moment so I had a chance to check forecasts again. It wasn’t promising so I started for a 18km, 30min long fly down.You need to be well prepared to do things like that. Good tactic is the most important thing. You need to know where a shop is, coffee, best way to the lake, and as lazy plan for next two days as it can be. Volbiv life can be hard.I found Stefan on the internet, with whom I was flying yesterday. If he won’t fly tomorrow evening we should meet on Monday. He plans to takeoff from a hill next to mine. He’s on a lazy volbiv. With use of buses and lifts.I’m sleeping in the valley and I can say as many thanks for the mosquito net, which I got as a present, as many mosquitoes are sitting on it right now.
Dzieล 13
Nudny dzieล. Standardowo poszedลem nad jeziorko. Okazaลo siฤ parkiem wakeboardowym. Jest niedziela. Ludzie… Mieli otwarty bar. Tyle dobrze. Nie mogลem wyjลฤ za wczeลnie bo przykleiลbym siฤ do asfaltu.Na gรณrฤ miaลem blisko, bo tylko 1100m przewyลผszenia. Zadanie podobno zajmuje tyle czasu ile jest na nie przeznaczone. Po 1/3 podejลcia siลy mnie opuลciลy i myลlaลem, ลผe nie zdฤ
ลผฤ przed nocฤ
. Miaลem dwa dni na przejลcie 20km… Chciaลem juลผ odpuลciฤ i siฤ rozkลadaฤ, ale musiaลbym rano podejลฤ 1200m. Napiลem siฤ oleju kokosowego, zjadลem dwie niedojrzaลe mikro gruszki. Ruszyลem sposobem Wojtka, ktรณry jak siฤ poznawaliลmy mรณgล byฤ prawie trzy razy starszy, niลผ ja . No i metoda zadziaลaลa. Noga za nogฤ
, nawet powoli, byle bez stawania.Dotarลem pod dwie chaty. Jedna z klimatem turystycznym, druga pasterskim. W obu peลne wyposaลผenie. Gary, ลwiece, apteczki, kawa, piwo. Niech zostanie potrzebujฤ
cym. Zadowolฤ siฤ rybฤ
w oleju, humusem z olejem i czekoladฤ
99% o ile tak to moลผna nazwaฤ. Olej to wszystko.Poranne prognozy zapowiadaลy dobry warun. W zasiฤgu lotu mam miejsce, gdzie przywaliลem w ziemiฤ rok temu. Lekko, ale skutecznie
Day 13
Boring day. Just as usual I go to the lake. Unfortunately it is a wakeboard park. It’s Sunday. Plenty of loud people here. But they have a bar. I can’t go out too early, because I’ll stick to the asphalt.My destination isn’t far away. Just 1100m up the hill. Tasks usually take as much time as you assign for them. After 1/3 of the hike I’m losing power and start to think I won’t get there before the night. I had two days to do just 20km… I’m thinking about setting up the camp right here, but I’d need to hike 1200m in the morning. My last chance is to eat two small pears, drink coconut oil and walk like Wojtek does. When we first met he could’ve been almost three times older than me . The method is starting to work. Step by step, it can be slow, but without stopping.I come to two huts. The first is touristic style and the other shepherds one . Both are fully equipped. Pots, candles, first aid kits, coffee, beer. I’ll leave it for someone in need. I have my own fish in oil, hummus with oil and 99% chocolate if you can name it that. Oil is everything.Forecasts for the morning show good flying weather. In range of flight I have the place where I hit the ground last year. Light, but unfortunately.
Dzieล 14
No i okazuje sie, ลผe Le Grand Roc to Dupna Skaลa. Pewnie znana miejscรณwka wspinaczkowa. Moje godzinne podejลcie mogลo siฤ trochฤ przedลuลผyฤ. Na szczฤลcie znalazลem drogฤ wycenionฤ na I.a. Nie znam skali, ale tyle bym jej daล za trzymetrowy wspin z uลผyciem zawieszonej na staลe liny. Stefan zostaล na Montlambert, 20km z tyลu i duลผo niลผej. Nie spieszyลem siฤ ze startem, ale nikt stamtฤ d nie przyleciaล. Po starcie trafiam komin, trochฤ kombinacji, ลผeby zrobiฤ pierwszy przeskok, a potem idzie ลatwo. Trudno zrobiลo siฤ przy punkcie decyzyjnym. Prosto przez wysokie gรณry, albo pod Mont Blanc i dolinฤ Chamonix. Przez ostatnie dwa dni mocno nastawiaลem siฤ na pierwszฤ opcjฤ, ktรณrฤ zaproponowaล Stefan. Przeanalizowaลem warun, wieje z pรณลnocy, ale wszyscy latajฤ po nawietrznej i zawietrznej bez problemรณw. Sprawdziลem dane ze stacji meteorologicznych. Wiatru nie ma. Chmury byลy trochฤ za nisko, ลผeby lecieฤ na skrรณty.Zauwaลผyลem, ลผe czasem siฤ spinam. W sytuacjach stresowych. Szczฤka, brzuch, nogi. To chyba ลบle, bo wpลywa na decyzje i blokuje informacje przekazywane przez uprzฤ ลผ. Co jakiล czas skupiam na tej spinie uwagฤ i rozluลบniam siฤ.Po odbiciu na Blanka wykrฤcaลem wszystko co mogลem. Kaลผdy metr byล na wagฤ zลota. Cierpliwoลciฤ i kombinowaniem jakoล poszลo. Rozluลบniฤ siฤ nie mogลem, aลผ zrobiลem wysokoลฤ takฤ , ลผeby przelecieฤ z duลผym zapasem miejsce wypadku z zeszลego roku.Po miniฤciu granicy ze Szwajcariฤ przeskoczyลem na zachodnie zbocza. Ciลnienie ลผe mnie zeszลo, a warun siadล. Myลlaลem, ลผe zjadฤ do samej ziemi, ale w koลcu coล wymฤczyลem. Ostatnio coraz czฤลciej wracam na trasie i kombinujฤ, zamiast bezmyลlnie cisnฤ ฤ do przodu. Kolejnym problemem byลa strefa powietrzna do ominiฤcia w pobliลผu Sion. Rozciฤ gnฤli jฤ na zbocza gรณr tak, jakby po nich latali… Wymagaลo to przeskoczenia piฤciu ลผeber w wysokich gรณrach, ale wiatr i warun pomagaล. Po miniฤciu strefy Weisshorny i Matterhorny zaczฤลy ssaฤ powietrze z gลรณwnej doliny. Chwilฤ powalczyลem w silnej turbulencji. Lot zakoลczyลem widzฤ c pod sobฤ odbijajฤ ce ลwiatลo ลบrรณdลo i chatฤ pasterskฤ obok niego. Wysokoลฤ 2400, dลugoลฤ lotu okoลo 125km, widoki niesamowite. Chata zamkniฤta, przyszลy krowy i dzwoniฤ . Zwalczyลem to, czego siฤ baลem i jest spoko.
Day 14
So… Le Grand Roc means a BigAssHill. It must be famous among climbers. My one hour uphill might have been a bit longer. Fortunately I found a I.a. way. I don’t know the scale, but I’d give it that much for three meters of climb with help of a rope. Stefan is at Montlambert, 20km behind. I didn’t hurry with the takeoff but noone came from there. After takeoff I hit n thermal, little bit of combinations to do the first crossing, and later it was easy.I had it hard at decision point. Straight through high mountains or to Mont Blanc and Chamonix valley. For last two days I thought hard about that first option, which was suggested by Stefan. I’m analysing present meteo, wind is from the north, but many people fly both on wind and lee side. I check meteo stations. The wind is weak but clouds are too low to take a shortcut.Sometimes my body is very strained. Chin, abs, legs. Sometimes I recognize it during flight and try to relax.When I turned to Blanc direction I circled everything I could. Each meter was good for me. It took a lot of patience and thinking to do that part of the flight. I couldn’t relax untill I was high enough to jump high over last year’s accident place. After crossing Swiss border I jumped to west faces. Finally I could relax and flying conditions became weak. I thought I’d hit the bottom of the valley without one vario beep, but finally I found something. The next problem was Sion airspace which covers valley and half of slopes… I had to jump into big hills but it worked nice. Beyond airspace Weisshorns and Matterhorns started to suck air from the main valley. I had to fight for a little bit with strong headwind and turbulence and finally decided to land on a slope with water source and hut. High, 2400m, 125km of flight, awesome views.Hut is closed. Cows came and they ring their bells really loud.Today I defeated what I was scared of and it’s cool.
Dzieล 15
Myลlaลem, ลผe bฤdฤ chytry lecฤ
c dolinฤ
w stronฤ Matterhorna, ลผeby nakarmiฤ lodowce z rฤki. Tylko w tym kierunku na poczฤ
tku dnia byลy chmury. Nie zadziaลaลy. Trochฤ spadลem i wpadลem w wiatry dolinowe, a potem w dziurฤ, z ktรณrej nie mogลem siฤ wydostaฤ. Wyjechaลem na wietrze dolinowym i dziurowym tylko tyle, ลผeby wylฤ
dowaฤ i poszedลem za gรณrฤ do schroniska na jedzenie. Do steka ze ลwini dostaลem dodatkowe kostki masลa i ลmietanฤ do saลaty. Kelnerka wiedziaลa o co chodzi z keto . W czasie jedzenia nad gลowฤ
przeleciaลy i wykrฤciลy siฤ wysoko dwa glajty. Odpaliลem znad hotelu i szybko tego poลผaลowaลem. Zrobiลem wysokoลฤ potrzebnฤ
do przeskoku, musiaลem przebijaฤ siฤ pod wiatr, podemnฤ
wฤ
skie ujลcie doliny bez miejsca do lฤ
dowania. Przeskoczyลem za kolejne ramiฤ gรณrki i w trzy sekundy musiaลem podjฤ
ฤ decyzjฤ o lฤ
dowaniu. Niลผej byล tylko las. Szybkie pakowanie, a potem kolejne, godzinne przejลcie pieszo do nastฤpnego garbu. Ostatnia gรณrka przed gลรณwnฤ
dolinฤ
. Jest przed 20:00, odpalam, wyjeลผdลผam na ลผaglu i patrzฤ, gdzie mogฤ dolecieฤ. Nie byลem pewien czy nie wlecฤ w strefฤ lotniska i heliportu. Musiaลbym lฤ
dowaฤ na dole i podchodziฤ ze trzy godziny do niskiego startowiska. Wypatrzyลem potencjalne miejsce do lฤ
dowania na zboczu po drugiej stronie doliny. Po drodze podkrฤciลem komin. Ja pierdykam, co siฤ musiaลem nakombinowaฤ, ลผeby wylฤ
dowaฤ w dziurze miedzy drzewami. Jak nie trzeba to nosi… Odpuลciลem, bฤdฤ
c wysoko, pierwsze miejsce, bo zaczฤลo siฤ robiฤ turbulentnie i niebezpiecznie, a nie miaลem opcji awaryjnej ucieczki do doliny przez druty. Przy drugim miejscu ลadnie mnie zdusiลo i spokojnie wylฤ
dowaลem. Zaoszczฤdziลem sobie 700m podejลcia.Piฤkna, drewniana wieล. Jest sklep otwarty od รณsmej rano i kilka startowisk. ลpiฤ w domku na drzewie. Nie mogฤ siฤ wyprostowaฤ, ale w poprzek mam wystarczajฤ
co duลผo miejsca.Trzy, krรณtkie loty i trzy toplandingi. Caลy dzieล kombinowania, ลผeby przesunฤ
ฤ siฤ o 23km na drugฤ
stronฤ doliny…
Day 15
I thought I’d be clever if I chose the route to Matterhorn direction. Only there were some clouds in the beginning of the day. They didn’t work. I got into valley winds and later into the trap from which I couldn’t escape. I made just enough height to land at the slope and hiked to a hotel to eat something. I had pork steak with additional butter and salad with cream. Waitress knew what ketogenic freak needed. During my lunch I saw two guys passing me above. I took off above the hotel and it wasn’t a good idea. Strong wind was still there. I made some height and jumped just to the next rib to decide in 3 seconds to land. Below me there was just a forest and a very narrow valley. Another one hour of walking… Behind the next rib I had an open space to the main valley. It was just before 8pm. I took off, gained some height and started to fly into the valley. I wasn’t sure if I can jump over the airport and heliport airspaces. I found some place to land on the slope on the other side of the valley. On the way I found thermal to gain some height. Gash, it’s so hard to land when you need that. I escaped the first landing place and then it became too turbulent and no second chance because of electric wires… At the second place I hit some nice sink and landed perfectly at a small spot. I saved 700m of uphill.I’m in a nice, wooden village. Shop will be open at 8am and I have a couple of takeoffs there. I’ll sleep in a tree house. I can’t stand up there but it’s big enough to sleep across it. Three, short flights and three toplandings today. Full day of hard work to move just 23km to other side of valley…
Dzieล 16
Krรณtko – poraลผka, dramat, dupa.Dลugo – poraลผka, bo zlot, wykrฤciลem tylko 250m w rodeo, 137 glajtรณw w powietrzu z Fieschu, 20km pieszo w 34ยฐC…Na gรณrze spotkaลem paralotniarza sprzed 30 lat. Oblatywaล pierwsze prototypy glajtรณw z zamkniฤtฤ krawฤdziฤ natarcia. Pogadaliลmy tak dlugo, aลผ siฤ zrobiลo szaro i musiaลem szukaฤ miejsca na norฤ.
Day 16
Short v. – failure, drama, shit.Long v. – failure, because I did not catch any good thermal, I just did 250m up in a rodeo style. Then I saw 137 paragliders in the air, coming from Fiesch and then walked 20km in 34ยฐC…On the top I met a paraglider pilot who started flying 30 years ago. He tested first prototypes of paragliders without opened cells in the front. We talked long, untill it started to get dark and I had to go and find some place to sleep.
Dzieล 17
Rano ledwie podszedลem kilkaset metrรณw. Skoลczyลy mi siฤ baterie. Z Riederalp co jakiล czas odpalali tandemiarze i kursanci, wiฤc mogลem spokojnie czekaฤ na warun pijฤ
c kawฤ dwieลcie metrรณw od startowiska. Kiedy kilka glajtรณw bezproblemowo siฤ wykrฤciลo zaczฤ
ลem siฤ szpeiฤ. Czas startu musiaล byฤ optymalny. Na tyle pรณลบno, ลผeby chmury siฤ podniosลy do przeskoku przez Grimselpass i Furkapass, ktรณre byลy blisko. Musiaล byฤ teลผ na tyle wczesny, ลผeby wiatr dolinowym siฤ nie rozhulaล za mocno i musiaลem uciekaฤ przed burzami, ktรณre miaลy siฤ szybko pojawiฤ. Po wykrฤtce niesamowity widok. Pocztรณwkowy lodowiec. Jakoล nie sprawdziลem, ลผe to tu.Na Grimsell i Furkฤ wchodzฤ
po trzy doliny. Szalone miejsce, zwลaszcza z podstawฤ
na 3400m. Tuลผ przed pierwszฤ
z nich dogoniลem starego pilota na starym, wyglฤ
dajฤ
cym na zuลผyty Swingu. Chyba jakieล EN-C. Podkrฤciliลmy razem ile mogliลmy i puลciliลmy siฤ podrapaฤ lwa po dupie. Taki dziadek, skaczฤ
cy z niลผszej wysokosci, niลผ ja to dobry znak. Trzeba zลapaฤ siฤ za karabinek na szczฤลcie. W miฤdzyczasie co kilkanaลcie minut dostawaลem SMS od Arka z kierunkami i siลa wiatru w poszczegรณlnych miejscach i rozwojem burz. Tu 25km/h z SW, tam 20 z SE, burza 30km z przodu po S stronie doliny i siฤ rozpada itd. Grimselpass przeskoczyliลmy bez problemu, a przed Furkapass rozbudowujฤ
ce siฤ chmury zacieniลy wszystko. Daลo siฤ wybraฤ dobre linie lotu nad skaลami, trochฤ ลผagla na wiatrach dolonowych, trochฤ pipcenia w zerach i jakoล poszลo. Za przeลฤczฤ
wyjechaลem nad szczyty gรณr, jakoล dziwnie ลatwo szลo w tym zakicie. Lot zakoลczyลem dostajฤ
c wiadomoลฤ o kolejnej burzy, ktรณra waliลa piorunami 30km dalej. W kolejnym SMS dostaลem wspรณลrzฤdne na schronisko i wylฤ
dowaลem na 2000m o 15:00. Czterdzieลci minut po lฤ
dowaniu mocno siฤ rozwiaลo i kilka razy gdzieล zagrzmiaลo. Krรณtkie zejลcie do schroniska na kawฤ i piwo. Dziewczyna pyta co bym chciaล zjeลฤ. Ja na to z czapy, ลผe jajecznicฤ z bekonem. Jajka byลy, boczek miaลem w plecaku . “Umyลem” siฤ i zrobiลem “pranie” w potoku z lodowca, ostatni raz wodฤ widzialem w jeziorku przy skลadaniu paki.Poszลo jakieล 85km, support Arka profesjonalny. Jutro zapowiada siฤ krรณtki lot, burze przyjdฤ
wczeลnie, a potem trzydniowa przerwa. W koลcu…
Day 17
In the morning I had just enough power to hike a few hundred meters. Riederalp takeoff was busy today so I could drink coffee and watch how the day develops. I started to gear up when a few pilots thermaled without problems. Time had to be optimal. Late enough to let the cloudbase rise up before Grimselpass and Furkapass. It also had to be early enough before the valley winds and thunderstorms develop. Spectacular view after the first thermal. Glacier like from postcards. I didn’t realize it was here so I was shocked.Both Grimselpass and Furkapass have three valleys connecting in one place. Crazy places. Especially with a view from 3400m cloudbase. Just before first of them I joined an old pilot on an old-looking Swing wing. “Paragrandpa” is a good sign. Meantime, every twenty minutes I was receiving a message from Arek with info about development of valley winds and thunderstorms. We jumped over Grimselpass without problems. Before Furkapass big clouds shaded everything but I could still catch good lines over rocks. Some weak thermaling, some soaring and I jumped over the second pass. After that, I got over hilltops and flying started to become quite easy, but also slow. In the next SMS I received info about new thunderstorm ahead so I had to land somewhere. Next message brought me coordinates of a mountain hut and I landed a hundred meters above it. It was 3pm. Fourty minutes later a strong wind came and I could hear some thunders.A short walk down to shelter. Coffee, beer and a girl asks what I’d like to eat. Scrambled eggs with bacon, I said fast without thinking. She had eggs, I had bacon. Perfect. Later I ‘washed’ myself and my clothes in a cold glacier water. Last time I saw water was when I was repacking my reserve.85km today and professional support by Arek. The following day will only allow for a short flight. Thunderstorms will come earlier. Then, I’ll have three days for resting, because of non-flyable weather. Finally…
Dzieล 18
Task na dzisiaj byล prosty. Dolot do Chur, czyli 45km zanim pojawiฤ
siฤ burze. Podszedลem tylko 100m do gรณry, bo skoลczyลy mi siฤ nogi. Start przed jedenastฤ
. Terma dziaลaลa, bez problemรณw przeleciaลem 35km pod koniec lotu spotykajฤ
c lฤ
dujฤ
ce fasole. W tym samym momencie dostaลem SMS o burzach i nasilajฤ
cym siฤ wietrze. Zacieniลo mi dolinฤ, stลumiลo termฤ, zaczฤลo wiaฤ ze wschodu, wiฤc wylฤ
dowaลem. Plan dnia wykonany. Jest trzynasta, a ja mam wolne trzy kolejne dni. Standardowy kierunek – jeziorko, a wieczorem godzinny marsz nad kanion na trainspotting. Siedzฤ na metalowej wieลผy widokowej, a na horyzoncie bลyska. Jestem przygotowany do ewakuacji w dwie minuty od wyjลcia ze ลpiwora
Day 18
Today’s task was easy. Flight to Chur, 45km before thunderstorms will pop up. Today I hiked up just 100m because I didn’t feel power in my legs anymore. Thermals were working well, at the end of the flight I met many landing beginners. At the same moment I received SMS about thunderstorms and wind picking up on strength. Clouds shaded the valley and I started to have some strong headwind so I went to the landing field. Plan for the day is done and I have four free days now. It’s 1pm so as always I went to the lake. In the evening I’ll be trainspotting over the canyon. I’m sitting on the top of a metal tower now and seeing all the thunders flashing over the horizon I’m ready for evacuation in two minutes after getting out of my sleeping bag
Dzieล 19
Uciekลem z wieลผy widokowej szybciej, niลผ myลlaลem. Po pรณลnocy z kaลผdej strony zaczฤลo bลyskaฤ. Zwinฤ ลem foliฤ, materac, ลpiwรณr w rulon wcisnฤ ลem w plecak i poszedลem w ciemnym las. Rozbiลem namiot na skraju polany. Pierwszy raz na tej wyprawie. Burza nie przyszลa. Rano obudziล mnie lekki deszcz. Zwinฤ ลem siฤ tak samo szybko jak wieczorem. Wedลug prognoz miaลo padaฤ do poลowy dnia, a nie miaลem ochoty leลผeฤ w namiocie. Dwieลcie metrรณw dalej miaลem hotel z restauracjฤ . Podwรณjne espresso kosztuje tu 6 Baลaganรณw. Pizza czy burger 20, piwo 5. Kilka rzeczy w sklepie to co najmniej 15. Trzeba stฤ d uciekaฤ jak najszybciej albo szukaฤ sponsoringu. A propo Baลaganรณw. Baลagan to waluta, ktรณra powstaลa na zawodach w Macedonii. Ekipa Krzycha wkrฤciลa kolegฤ, ลผe pลaci siฤ tam w Baลaganach i tak juลผ zostaลo. Sฤ na ลwiecie tylko dwie waluty. Zลotรณwki i Baลagany.Wpadลem do miasta Chur chwilฤ po tym jak zaczฤลo padaฤ, zrobiลem zakupy i wrรณciลem pod boczne wejลcie z parkingu, gdzie byล kontakt. Jakaล pani pyta czy chcฤ buลkฤ. Ja na to z automatu, ลผe nie jem wฤglowodanรณw. Wytrzeszczyla oczy. No i musiaลem jej tลumaczyฤ, ลผe nie jestem bezdomnym, tylko nomadycznym paralotniarzem przelotowcem, ลผe mam w pelcaku sprzฤt za kilka tysiฤcy euro i siedzฤ tu, bo ลadujฤ akumulatory, bo mam za maลy panel sลoneczny… Wฤ sy i brodฤ mogฤ trochฤ przyciฤ ฤ, ale koszulki zszywaล nie bฤdฤ.Miaลem siedzieฤ w miejscu, bo mnie nogi bolฤ od chodzenia. Siedziaลem tak, ลผe jestem dziล 30km dalej…
Day 19
So I evacuated from my lookout tower faster than I though I would. After midnight I could spot lightnings from each direction around me. I rolled my groundsheet foil, mattress and sleeping bag and went into dark forest. I pitched my tent. First time during this journey. Thunderstorm didn’t come. In the morning light rain woke me up. I collected my gear as fast as at midnight. Yesterday’s forecast said it’d rain long and I didn’t want to lay in the tent. Two hundred metres further I had a hotel with a restaurant. Double espresso is 6 Mess there. (Mess is Baลagan im Polish.) Pizza or burger is 20, few things from shop is 15 at least. I need to escape from Switzerland fast or I need to look for a sponsorship. About Mess currency. It’s a currency which was developed by Kristophers group when they wanted to make fun of their friend at competition in Macedonia. They made him belive that Mess is a currency there. So it stayed like that forever and we have just two currencies in the world. Mess and Polish Zลoty.I came to Chur city just a minute after it started to rain. I did some shopping and went to sit near an electric socket at side entrance to the parking lot. A lady asked me if I wanted a roll. Automatically I responded that I don’t eat carbohydrates. She rolled her eyes so I had to explain to her that I was not homeless, I had gear worth few thousands of euros in my backpack and I was a nomadic paraglider cross-country pilot. I’m sitting here to charge my devices because my solar panel is too small.. I can trim my moustache and beard soon but I won’t darn my longsleeve.So I wanted to sit and do nothing for a full day because my legs were tired. I’m sitting 30km further on my way now…
Dzieล 20
Budzik ustawiลem na 7:00, ลผeby przejลฤ siฤ gdzieล przed deszczem. Rano padaลo. Wyลฤ czyลem i przewrรณciลem siฤ na drugi bok, tak, ลผeby nie dotykaฤ mokrego wewnฤ trz, od kondensacji poncho. Potem teลผ padaลo, potem teลผ i tak wiele razy. W koลcu siฤ budzฤ i nie pada. Jest rano, czternasta. Wychodzฤ z namiotu i nie wierzฤ. Wiฤcej, niลผ jedno zwierzฤ. Lama. Na moim polu pasie siฤ kilkanaลcie lam. Byลy zainteresowane ruchem ale trzymaลy dystans. Zwinฤ ลem siฤ, znรณw zaczฤลo padaฤ i nie przestaลo, aลผ do koลca dnia. Drepczฤ, a po drodze pustki, wszystko pozamykane. Po dwudziestej, na koลcu ลwiata widzฤ ลwiatลo w oknie. Wchodzฤ, a tam siedzi trzech goลci. Dwรณch z nich gra na harmoniach. Jeden brodaty jak Rumcajs drugi sportowiec. Jelenie, kozioroลผce i dziki na ลcianach. Zlew, szafki, stรณล. Juลผ myลlaลem, ลผe wszedลem komuล do kuchni. Dokoลczyli granie, dostaลem kawฤ, wifi jest, grzejnik teลผ. Usiadลem z boku, bo wilgotny ลmierdzฤ mocniej, niลผ pies Rumcajsa. Pies z Polski. Wลaลciciel lokalu miaล kiedyล psa, ktรณry byล szczeniakiem suki ktรณra pojechaลa do Niemiec, a ktรณrej szczeniฤta znalazลy siฤ potem w Polsce. Po ลmierci pierwszego zaimportowaล kolejnego.Ogarnฤ ลem media i wyszedลem, bo zaczyna siฤ ลciemniaฤ, a muszฤ znaleลบฤ dach, bo pada. Pomyliลem drogฤ. Dwadzieลcia minut straty w jednฤ stronฤ. W dwie to czterdzieลci. O 21:00 to fatalna pomyลka. Zdฤ ลผyลem przed zmrokiem dojลฤ do starego, zadaszonego mostu nad potokiem. Szumi, ale nie pada.Nie wiem ile przeszedลem. Pรณล dnia idฤ i patrzฤ pod nogi. Zero myลli, taka medytacja. W dziandziulu mam sลuchawki, ktรณrych jeszcze nie uลผyลem. Nie uลผyลem teลผ bokserek, ktรณre wyrzuciลem kilka dni temu. Drugฤ , dosyฤ ciฤลผkฤ koszulkฤ zaลoลผyลem ze trzy razy do spania. Nowe sลowo. Dziandziul. To podstawowa czฤลฤ wyposaลผenia paralotniarza na ลปywiecczyลบnie. Kaลผdy powaลผny paralotniarzy z okolicy musi nosiฤ dziandziul. Tzn. biodrowkฤ. Sฤ chyba tylko dwie rzeczy, o ktรณrych nie zapomni Bubuล. Okulary i dziandziul.Padล mi jeden kanaล w powerbanku Nitecore F2. Drugi dziaลa. Coล siฤ mocno zwarลo i zagrzaลo przy tym jak podpinaลem wczoraj kamerฤ do ลadowania. Wiฤkszych strat brak. Chyba.
Day 20
I set my alarm to 7am to walk a little bit before forecasted rain. When I wake up it’s raining. Later on it’s still raining. When I wake up at 2pm it is silent. Finally. I get out of the tent and I can’t believe what I see. I’m on a field full of lamas. They are interested in who I am, but keep their distance. I push my wet gear into backpack and it starts to rain again and it doesn’t stop till the end of the day. So I’m walking and walking, everything is closed. Not a single soul in villages. At 8pm, at the end of the world I see light in a window. I take off my poncho, and go in. Three guys are sitting inside. Two of them are playing harmonias. One bearded as a forest guy and the second looking like a sportsman. I spot a sink, kitchen drawers, table, wild stuffed animals on the walls and I start to think that I’ve just walked into someones home kitchen. They finish their song, I get coffee and some snack. I sit far away because I am wet and I smell worse than the owner’s wet dog. The dog is from Poland, just like me. After I warm up it starts to get dark. After twenty minutes of walk I realize I’ve taken the wrong way. Twenty minutes each way is fourty min. total to come back. Big mistake at 9pm when I need to find a roof to hide from the rain. Fortunatelly I find a roofed bridge over a stream. It’s loud but dry.I don’t know how much I’ve walked today. I just walk and look under my feet. Some kind of a meditation. I have earphones in my hip bag but haven’t used them yet. I haven’t used my one and only underwear boxers so I threw them into a trash bin. Second, quite heavy longsleeve I’ve worn just three times at night.One of two charging slots at my powerbank burned yesterday. Luckily the second one is working. No bigger losses yet. I hope.
Dzieล 21
Nad duลผym potokiem ลatwiej jest siฤ wyspaฤ, niลผ na polu z krowami. Dzieล zaczynam w chmurze, jestem w niej od wczoraj, ale po jakimล czasie wychodzi sลoลce. W koลcu mogฤ wszystko wysuszyฤ. Tysiฤ c metrรณw marszu do gรณry na przeลฤcz. Na gรณrze okazuje siฤ, ลผe podstawy sฤ niลผej. Daleko nie zalecฤ, czekam dwie godziny i robiฤ zlota do Davos. Skoลczyลo mi siฤ jedzenie, wiฤc to dobra opcja. Zaraz obok jest jezioro, a na jeziorze windsurferzy. To zลy znak. W dolinie mocno wieje. Lฤ dowanie pionowo w dรณล, gaszฤ glajta frontstallem i obiegam dookoลa. Arek pisze, ลผe Davos to drogie miasto. Czujฤ dziwnฤ korelacjฤ cen z iloลciฤ ลปydรณw w gรณrach i na ulicach. Sฤ mocno zainteresowani automatycznymi kosiarkami do trawy. Ciekawe czy majฤ specjalnฤ opcjฤ autostartu na Szabas. W sieciowym supermarkecie sฤ pรณลki z koscher food. Na etykietach dziwne znaczki. Nawet na paragonie dwie pozycje koscher. Dobrze, ลผe ceny w Baลaganach, a nie Szeklach. Na szczฤลcie do granicy z Wลochami juลผ tylko 40km.
Day 21
It’s easier to sleep over a big stream than on a field with cows. I begin my day inside a cloud, but after some time sun comes out. Finally I can dry everything. One thousand meters uphill to a pass for a good start of the day. On the top I realize it’s not an XC day so I wait two hours and fly down to Davos. Im out of food so that’s a good option. Near my landing place there is a lake and I spot some windsurfers. It is windy in the valley. Vertical landing. After touchdown I do a frontstall and run around my wing.Arek says Davos is expensive. I can see some correlation between that and the number of Jews walking around the city and on the hills. It’s funny how they are fond of autonomic grass mowers. I’m curious if these machines have special Shabas program. At the supermarket which is owned by some big company I can see koscher food signs, weird letters on etiquettes. Even on the bill I have two koscher positions. I’m glad prices are in the right currency, not Shekles. Luckily border with Italy is 40km away.
Dzieล 22
Zapฤdziลem siฤ po krzaczkach nad kostkฤ na gรณrkฤ, widokiem na przeลฤcz i dolinฤ. Bez sensu, bo wieczorem przyszลa chmura, a rano musiaลem czekaฤ, aลผ wszystko wyschnie. Przemoczenie stรณp przed marszem to gลupota. Rozmiฤkczone stopy ลatwo ลapiฤ
pฤcherze. Nie moczฤ stรณp w strumieniach w czasie marszu. Zresztฤ
odpadajฤ
wtedy taลmy do kinesiotapingu. Mam jej jeszcze trochฤ, ale przestaลem uลผywaฤ kilka dni temu. Jak stajฤ to ลciฤ
gam skarpety i wyciฤ
gam wkลadki z butรณw. Nie zลapaลem ลผadnego pฤcherza.Po dotarciu na przeลฤcz zaczฤ
ลem podchodziฤ do gรณry. Krรณtka analiza. Wiaลo w dรณล doliny. Gรณrฤ
z poลudnia, dosyฤ mocno. Miaลem tysiฤ
c metrรณw przewyลผszenia, a do ewentualnego zlota dziesiฤฤ kilometrรณw. Ten glajt nie ma takiej doskonaลoลci. Tak jak napisaลem – nie wiem nawet po co zaczฤ
ลem iลฤ do gรณry. Paralotnie sฤ
dla mฤ
drych ludzi, a dla baranรณw woda.Po drodze minฤ
ลem kilka koszy na ลmieci. Okratowane, a ลผeby je otworzyฤ trzeba rozwiฤ
zaฤ ลamigลรณwkฤ. Spaลem z niedลบwiedziami. Myลlaลem, ลผe nie ma ich w Alpach Przeszedลem 25km, wolฤ chyba iลฤ lekko w gรณrฤ, niลผ w dรณล. Na koniec dnia zapomniaลem zatankowaฤ wodฤ. Zostaลy mi ze 100ml, wiฤc kolacjฤ zjem rano, bo po tym tลuszczu to siฤ piฤ chce. Dobrze, ลผe na keto czลowiek nie czuje gลodu.Nie rozumiem o co chodzi z tym kiblem z jednego ze zdjฤฤ.
Day 22
Yesterday in the evening I walked up to a small rib through bushes for a camp. Pointless, because clouds came and in the morning I had to wait for everything to dry. Damping shoes and feet before a long walk is not smart. Soft and wet skin can easily catch blisters. I don’t put my feet into a stream during hike. Kinesiotapes would peel off that way. I have 1/3 of a roll left but I stopped to use it some days ago. When I’m pausing I’m removing shoe inserts and taking off my socks. I haven’t caught any blisters yet. At the pass I started to walk uphill. Short analysis. Wind is blowing down from the pass. High wind blowing from the South, quite strong. I have 1000m of denivelation and ten kilometers to the end of the valley. I don’t even have L/D like that. As I wrote – I don’t know why I began to hike up. Paragliders are for smart people, not for dumb-asses.On the way I saw some reinforced trashbins and to open them I had to solve a puzzle. I slept in bears area. I didn’t know they existed in the Alps.I’ve done 25km today. I like more to walk slightly uphill than down. At the end of the day I forgot to refill water. I’ve just 100ml left so I’ll eat supper in the morning because I’m thirsty after all this fat. Good thing is that I’m not hungry on keto.Btw. wtf is this toilet on one of photos?
Dzieล 23
Wczoraj poncho-namiot rozbiลem jako tarp to mogลem sobie popatrzeฤ jak rano pada. Okno pogodowe na zwiniฤcie obozu zrobiลo siฤ dosyฤ szybko. Tak samo szybko zaczฤลo znรณw padaฤ, ale byลem juลผ w mieลcie. ลmietana, energetyk, wifi w Coopie. Moลผna czekaฤ.No i standard, dwadzieลcia kilometrรณw przez gรณry, parki, przeลฤcze, piฤkne widoki. Tak to spowszedniaลo, ลผe nie chce mi siฤ wyciฤ gaฤ kamery. ลปydzi zamienili siฤ w Skoลnookich. Ceny dalej takie same, ale w najgorszym przypadku Wลochy mam w zasiฤgu jutrzejszego zlota.Zastanawiam siฤ dlaczego polscy paralotniarze unikajฤ nowych startowisk. Nauczyli siฤ na kursie Bassano, Kobali, lijaka i tylko tam jeลผdลผฤ . Rzadko ktoล poleci daleko z “nowego” startowiska. Zauwaลผalne jest na szczฤลcie ลmielsze latanie po przetarciu szlakรณw. Tatry w sierpniu nie sฤ juลผ czymล niezwykลym. Ponad miesiฤ c temu jako “pierwsi” polataliลy ze Stoderzinken, siedem godzin z poลudnia Polski, a potencjaล gรณrki duzy. Jรณzik mignฤ ล mi w tabelce, podลapujฤ , szczegรณlnie po dobrych przelotach. Tak samo w Martinskich Holach czy na Malinowie. Brakuje nam tylko wiฤcej ludzi do przecierania szlakรณw.W mordฤ z tymi niedลบwiedziami. Jest ich tu duลผo albo jest duลผo producentรณw niedลบwiedzioodpornych koszy. ลmieci po ลmierdzฤ cym serze zaniosลem do potoku. Rano je zabiorฤ.
Day 23
Yesterday I pitched my poncho-tent as a tarp so I could watch the rain in the morning. It stopped raining quite early so I could collect my gear and go to the city. Then it started to rain again but I was close to the shop. Cream, energetic drink and WiFi at Coop. I can wait here. Later – the usual, twenty kilometers through hills, parks, passes, beautiful views. I see that every day, so it started to be casual. I don’t even get the camera out of the bag. Jews were replaced by guys from far east. Prices are still the same though. In the worst case, I’ll just fly down to Italy tomorrow.Blablabla – something about polish paragliders. They learned of three takeoffs and don’t want to discover new ones.There must be a lot of bears. Or a lot of producers of bearproof trash bins. I’ve thrown my stinky trash into the stream. I’ll pick it up tomorrow.
Dzieล 24
Zapowiadaล siฤ dobrze. Trochฤ ociagalem siฤ z wyruszeniem na szlak, jakoล przestaลem siฤ spieszyฤ. Wymyลliลem sobie startowisko 450m nad dnem doliny. W razie czego miaลem lecieฤ po zboczach w stronฤ Wลoch. No i polataลem. Godzinฤ, w miejscu. Silny wiatr dolinowym ze wschodu, a gรณrฤ poลudniowy zachรณd. Niezลa ลcierka, a moลผe schudลem i latam niedowaลผony? Po drugim sensownym kominie puลciลem siฤ po zboczu i lot zakoลczyลem 5km od miejsca startu. Do koลca dnia w sumie przesunฤ ลem siฤ o 30km…W tamtym roku czytaลem relacjฤ Austriaka, rzucaล pakฤ drugiego dnia, a caลa trasa z Nicei do Lubljany zajฤลa mu 32 dni. Myลlaลem, ลผe to szaleniec. Wyglฤ da na to, ลผe go przebijฤ. No ale idฤ. Nie chcem, ale muszem. Albo chcem, ale nie muszem. Sam nie wiem. Jutro caลy dzieล ma padaฤ, ale 20 min marszu od obozowiska mam osiem wลoskich barรณw i kafejek… W koลcu Wลochy.
Day 24
It looked good in the beginning. I was lazy in the morning so I left the camp late. I decided on the takeoff that was at 450m over the valley. In the worst case I’d just fly down to Italy by using windward slopes. I spent one hour in the air over the same point. I couldn’t find any thermal. After the second good climb I went on my way and ended my flight 5km from the takeoff. Valley wind from E was too strong to do anything and over it I had SW wind. Air was very turbulent today. Until the end of the day I moved 30km.Last year I read about an Austrian guy who did route from Nice to Lubljana in 32 days. He had to throw his rescue chute on the second day. I though he was crazy. Now it looks like I’ll beat him.Tomorrow it’ll rain all day but I have eight cafes and bars in a city 20mins walk away from my camp… Finally I’m in Italy.
Dzieล 25
Dwie minuty po tym jak wyszedลem z obozowiska wลฤ czyลy siฤ zraszacze. Caลy dzieล idฤ przez labirynty sadรณw jabลek (jabลecznych, jabลkowych, japek?) Tak dobrze mi dziล poszlo, ลผe musiaลem odpaliฤ Cigarettes After Sex na Spotify. Tylko Ralf znalazลby tu dziurฤ do lฤ dowania. Pal na palu, zraszacz na zraszaczu. ลpiฤ piฤฤ metrรณw od jednego. Plan ewakuacji mam juลผ opracowany. Dolina ลmierci. Tzn. fruktozy z jabลek.Dwadzieลcia piฤฤ dni trwaลa moja najdลuลผsza wyprawa. Rowerem, z Grzeลkiem, z Polski do Albanii i spowrotem. Trzy i pรณล tysiฤ ca kilometrรณw. Jeลบdzi tu masa bikepackerรณw. Na szosรณwkach, gravelach, a ja sobie idฤ pieszo trasฤ rowerowฤ …
Day 25
Two minutes after I left my camp sprinklers started to work. All day long I’m walking through labirynths of apple trees. I’m so proud of my walking today so I had to listen Cigarettes After Sex at Spotify. Only my friend Ralf could find a hole to land in this valley. Stick on stick, sprinkler on sprinkler. I’ll sleep five meters from one. I’m ready for a fast evacuation. Death Valley – Apple Fructose, I mean.Twenty five days took my longest bicycle trip. From Poland to Albania and back. Three and a half thousand kilometers. A lot of bikepackers pass me here. On road bikes,on gravels and I’m walking by foot on a long bicycle route…
Dzieล 26
Nudy. Spaลem pod zraszaczem. Ciekawe ile ich jest w tej dolinie. Stojฤ
co dwadzieลcia metrรณw. Zwinฤ
ลem siฤ przed peลnฤ
godzinฤ
, bo tak zwykle ustawiajฤ
automatykฤ. Jak nie odpali siฤ o 7:00 to moลผna spaฤ do 7:45, byle uciec przed 8:00. Tyle teorii. Przez caลy dzieล nie widziaลem wลฤ
czonego zraszacza. Tak jak napisalem, nudy. Dwadzieลciapiฤฤ kilometrรณw prostej ลcieลผki. Minฤลo mnie kilku rowerzystรณw z czterema sakwami i worem. Myลlaลem, ลผe w czasach powszechnie dostฤpnego, lekkiego sprzฤtu takie coล juลผ nie wystฤpuje. Kiedyล, jak jechaliลmy z Maฤkiem przez Alpy to miaลem 2700g sprzฤtu. Razem z kuchniฤ
i namiotem. Dwa cudzysลowia tam powinny byฤ. Tym razem dla testu nie mam garรณw. Nie ma garรณw, nie ma problemu z gotowaniem, myciem, noszeniem, pakowaniem. No i mogฤ zjeลฤ wiฤcej kalorii. Pรณล godziny przed Merano wcisnฤ
ลem w siebie 80g boczku, 200ml ลmietany i 150g masลa orzechowego, razem jakieล 2100kcal. Godzinฤ pรณลบniej, przed wieczornym, 1000m podejลciem zmieลciลem jeszcze quattro formagi zalanฤ
ostrฤ
oliwฤ
. Kolejny 1000kcal? Liofolizaty majฤ
po 500kcal. Chleba weลบ, bez chleba siฤ nie najesz. Dziaลa mi ta dieta, nigdy na wyprawach tyle nie jadลem, ลผoลฤ
dek mi siฤ kurczyล i ciฤลผko byลo wcisnฤ
ฤ 120g makaronu, a magazyn tลuszczu w ciele zwykle mam maลy.Podejลcie zaczฤ
ลem pรณลบno. Skoลczyลem juลผ po ciemku. Las nocฤ
jest inny. Co jakiล czas w sลabym ลwietle czoลรณwki widaฤ parฤ oczu. Zwykle to lis. Czasem kilkukrotnie zabiegajฤ
drogฤ. Fajnie wyglฤ
da jak siฤ zmieni ลwiatลo na czerwone. Dziล spotkaลem nietypowฤ
parฤ oczu. Blisko siebie i nisko przy ziemi. Nie chciaลy siฤ ruszaฤ. Zszedลem w dรณล sprawdziฤ. Sowa. Baลem siฤ tylko pierwszej nocy w lesie. Co zลego moลผe siฤ staฤ? No chyba, ลผe ten niedลบwiedลบ .Mam 100m do dolnego startowiska. Tysiฤ
c metrรณw nad dno doliny mi wystarczy. Szkoda nรณg na podchodzenie kolejnego tysiฤ
ca. Poza tym Osmand podpowiada, ลผe jest knajpa otwarta od 7:30. ลpiฤ na stromym zboczu, moลผe siฤ nie skulam w dรณล.
Day 26
Boredom. I slept under a sprinkler. I’m curious how many of them are in this valley. They are everywhere, 20m of distance between each other. I left my camp before a full hour. If it won’t start watering at 7:00 you can sleep till 7:45. Just escape before 8:00. This is my theory. I didn’t see any of them working today. So, as I wrote – boredom. Twenty five kilometers of straight bicycle path. I saw a few cyclists with four panniers. I though I wouldn’t see that now. We are in an era of light gear which you can buy everywhere. Some years ago when we’re cycling through Alps with Maciek I had 2700g of gear. With ‘kitchen’ and ‘tent’. Now, for test I didn’t bring a pot and a stove. No pots, no problem with cooking, cleaning, carrying, packing. And I can eat more calories. Half of hour before Merano I ate 80g of bacon, 200ml of cream and 150g of peanut butter. Something like 2100kcal. An hour later I ate quattro formagi with plenty of hot olive oil. Next 1000kcal? Liophilisated (freeze dried?) food is 500kcal per pack. Get more bread, they say, without it you’ll be hungry still. This keto diet is working for me very well. I never ate that much during trips. My stomach is usually getting smaller and I have problems to eat 120g of pasta and my fat level or burn is usually low.I started uphill walk quite late. Ended it in a darkness. Forest at the night is different. From time to time you’ll see two eyes reflecting in a weak headlamp light beam. Usually it is a fox. Sometimes they run on your way a few times. It looks funny when you’ll change light to red. Today I saw something untypical. Small eyes, close to the ground. They didn’t want to move. I had to walk down to check that. Small owl. Only the first night in a forest is scary. Then you’ll get used to it. What bad can happen? Maybe a meeting with a bear I have 100m to lower takeoff. One thousand of meters over the valley bottom will be enough. I don’t want to burnout my legs while walking another thousand. And Osmand says there is a restaurant which will be open at 7:30. I sleep on a steep slope hoping I won’t roll down.
Dzieล 27
Wypilem za duลผo kofeiny przed podejลciem i nie mogลem zasnฤ
ฤ. Po niebie latajฤ
spadajฤ
ce gwiazdy i inne kosmiczne obiekty. Przez caลฤ
noc coล ลaziลo dookoลa obozowiska. Dopiero przed pรณลnocฤ
zลapaลem to w ลwietle czoลรณwki. Coล wielkoลci wiewiรณrki, oลlepione kwiczy jak maลa ลwinia. Nie chce mi siฤ wstawaฤ jak jest zimno. Wyลฤ
czyลem budzik o 7:30. Jeszcze piฤtnaลcie minut. No i sลoลce obudziลo mnie o jedenastej, wiฤc kolejnego tysiฤ
ca chyba nie podejdฤ. Zwijam siฤ w kilka minut i po chwili jestem pod schroniskiem ze startowiskiem. Sฤ
tandemiarze. Pytam gdzie tu siฤ lฤ
duje. Typ w kasku redbulla odpowiada, ลผe na lฤ
dowisku i odwraca siฤ plecami… ลydki nie ma, moลผe jakiล acro cwaniak.Startujฤ i szybko siฤ okazuje, ลผe poลudniowo-wschodnie zbocza to zawietrzna, a kilka glajtรณw lata po przeciwnej stronie doliny. Wykrฤcam siฤ, przeskok, zaczyna dziaลaฤ wiatr dolinowy w przeciwnym kierunku, niลผ ten pod chmurami. Nie umiem dzisiaj siฤ skupiฤ. Nie wiem gdzie jest komin, gdzie zakrฤciฤ, gdzie wypadลem, gdzie mnie znosi. W ogรณle nie czujฤ co robi glajt, a co pociฤ
gnฤ sterรณwkฤ to siฤ rozbujam. Czฤลฤ mรณzgu odpowiedzialna za latanie jest wyลฤ
czona. Stwierdzam, ลผe nie bฤdฤ z tym walczyล. Glajt to niby EN-D z wydลuลผeniem 6,9, ale jest trochฤ idiotoodporny. Wyluzowujฤ ciaลo, w kominach ลapie taลmy i nie przeszkadzam. Dopiero przed szesnastฤ
, gdzieล na Kieลbasie odลผyลem. Napisaลbym, ลผe Kieลbasฤ i Karkonosze na trasie klasycznego trรณjkฤ
ta FAI z Grente wymyลliล Zupa, ale zaraz ktoล mnie poprawi.Dosyฤ mocno wiaลo, byลo turbulentnie, ale jak wyskoczyลem z doliny Merano za przeลฤcz i zobaczyลem Vipiteno to poczuลem siฤ jak nad swoimi gรณrami. Kieลbasa jak to Kieลbasa, dziaลa albo nie dziaลa, wysoka ale pลaska. Trzeba krฤciฤ wszystko. Potem Kronplatz, nie widziaลem tablicy z X-Alps do podpisania to nie lฤ
dowalem, a do domu siฤ jeszcze nie wybieram . Za Kronplatzem przedลuลผony zlot wzdลuลผ Dolomitรณw z kilkoma maลymi kominami i po stu kilometrach lฤ
dujฤ gdzieล pod granicฤ
ITA-AU.Jutro ma wiaฤ duลผo mocniej, potem waruna nie widaฤ, wiฤc pospacerujฤ sobie gdzieล przez Tre Cime w kierunku Pieve d’Alpago.
Day 27
I drank to much caffeine before uphill walk and I couldn’t fall asleep. I’m watching falling stars and other moving objects on the sky. Something has been walking around my camp for a long time. Just before midnight I catch it in the beam of my headlamp. It’s squirrel size and blinded by the light it starts to squeal like a tiny pig.I don’t like to get up when it’s chilly. I turn off my alarm at 7:30. Just fifteen minutes more… Sun wake me up after 11am so I think I won’t hike up to the top. I collect my gear fast and go to thecrestaurant with takeoff just above my camp. There are a few tandem pilots here. Not very friendly. When I ask them where they land they respond ‘at the landing field’. I take off abd immediately realise that I’m on lee side and all paragliders are on the other side of the valley. Thermal, glide to the other side and I start to fly to Vipiteno. I can’t catch my flow today. I don’t know where thermal is, where I should turn, where I fall off. I don’t feel glider movements and I start to swing every time I touch a brake handle. Flying part of my brain is deactivated. I decide that I won’t fight it. I chill out myself and let my glider fly. It’s 6,9 EN-D, but it’s a little bit idiotproof. I start to feel better just before 4pm. It is quite windy and turbulent but when I jump over pass between Merano valley and Vipiteno I start to feel at home. Flight into Krontplatz and Dolomites is slow but easy. No X-Alps signboard on the top so I don’t need to land there. After that I can’t catch anything good so I make a long glide with some small thermals somewhere to the ITA-AU border. Tomorrow it’ll be more windy so I decided to walk south to Pieve d’Alpago direction through Tre Cime national park.
Dzieล 28
Chata na nocleg byลa zamkniฤta. Niektรณrzy ลบle oznaczajฤ na OpenStreet Maps prywatne chaty jako “wilderness hut”. Wydaje mi siฤ, ลผe we Wลoszech te z “bivacco” w nazwie powinny byฤ otwarte. Znรณw spaลem na stole. Byลo strasznie wilgotno, ลpiwรณr przed wyprawฤ spryskalem mocno pลynem DWR. Na pertexie nie dziaลa, bo ลapie wilgoฤ. Ciepลe sลoลce to najlepszy budzik.Trasa mnie dzisiaj pokonaลa. Moje nogi juลผ nie idฤ w gรณrฤ jak nie ma waruna na latanie. Stopy protestujฤ na ostrych kamykach ลcieลผek w Dolomitach. Odciskรณw dalej zero, ale ลciฤgna sฤ juลผ trochฤ nadwyrฤลผone. Musiaลem odpuลciฤ, zejลฤ do doliny i iลฤ ลagodnymi dลugodystansowymi szlakami pieszo rowerowymi.ลpiฤ w myลliwskiej ambonie z widokiem na Dolomity. Nie wiem czy sikaฤ z drabiny i odstraszaฤ zwierzฤta czy trochฤ odejลฤ.
Day 28
The hut where I wanted to sleep was locked. Some people use ‘wilderness hut’ tags wrongfully in OpenStreet Maps. I think in Italy those with ‘bivacco’ name should be fine. I slept on the table again. The night was very humid. I sprayed my sleeping bag with a DWR liquid but it’s not working well on pertex because it’s catching moisture from the air. Warm sun is the best alarm clock.My route has defeated me today. My legs don’t work properly at uphills on days without flying potential. My feet hurt at sharp stones on rocky paths of Dolomites. I still don’t have a single blister, but my tendons are a little bit tired. So I had to give up and go down to the valley and use long and soft routes ment for hiking and biking.I’m sleeping in a hunting watchtower with a view of Dolomites. I don’t know if I should pee from the ladder to deter animals or go a little bit away.
Dzieล 29
“โ W nocy sobie ลpiฤ, ลpiฤ, ลpiฤ.โ Ja teลผ, ja teลผ!โ A w dzieล sobie chodzฤ, chodzฤ.โ I ja, i ja!โ A w nocy sobie ลpiฤ, ลpiฤ, ลpiฤ.โ Ja teลผ, ja teลผ!โ A w dzieล sobie chodzฤ, chodzฤ.โ I ja, i ja!โ No, ลniadanie jem, jem, jem.โ Tak? Tak?โ A w sklepie kupujฤ, kupujฤ.โ Tak? Super!”Dzieล ลwira. Albo Dzieล ลwistaka. Oba z sensem i bez sensu. Meta w zasiฤgu jednego lotu, a czujฤ jakbym staล w miejscu i nic siฤ nie zmieniaลo.
Day 29
Untranslatable, sorry. I feel like in Groundhog Day movie. Finish line is in the range of one good flight and I feel like I’m standing in the same spot. Doing every day the same thing and not moving anywhere.
Dzieล 30
Wczoraj wลamaลem siฤ na boisko i poลoลผyลem siฤ pod dwoma zestawionymi ze sobฤ
osลonami ลawki rezerwowych. Wลamaลem to moลผe zลe sลowo. Przeskoczyลem trzymetrowฤ
siatkฤ. Budzik na 7:15, ลผeby zwinฤ
ฤ siฤ przed 8:00, bo jaki Wลoch przyjdzie do roboty na 7:00. Nie dziaลajฤ
te moje teorie. Koleล dzwoni zza siatki kluczami i pyta co tu robiฤ. Mรณwiฤ, ลผe ลpiฤ. Zbiลo go to chyba z tropu, bo nic nie odpowiada. No to ja, ลผe jestem Monte pelegrino, a Papa Polacco i za piฤฤ minut mnie nie ma.Asfaltowe chodzenie. Zaczฤ
ลem od siรณdmej, wiฤc miaลem sporo czasu. Przeszedลem prawie czterdzieลci kilometrรณw. Ktoล mi zapลaciล za piwo. Brodฤ miaล. Czujฤ energiฤ jak mijam brodacza, sakwiarza albo plecakowca. Spojrzenia siฤ spotkajฤ
i pojawia siฤ uลmiech albo kiwniฤcie gลowฤ
. Jak chcecie podrรณลผnikowi zrobiฤ dzieล to postawcie mu piwo czy dajcie puszkฤ coli. Potem trafiลem do baru, gdzie chcieli laฤ Aperol, ale miaลem czas tylko na szybkie espresso. Po wyjลciu z wioski zaczฤลo padaฤ, ale zaraz za niฤ
trafiลo siฤ pole piknikowe. Sฤ
sakwiarze, dostaลem wino, tory nad gลowฤ
, wodospad szumi. Umyลem siฤ. Nie pamiฤtam gdzie ostatnio to robiลem. Jestem sam, a ciuchy z weลny owiec Merynosรณw nie ลmierdzฤ
przez dwa tygodnie. Tylko ja ลmierdzฤ szybciej Jutro mam godzinฤ pod gรณrkฤ, potem 1500 do gรณry i w piฤ
tek jest podobno turbowarun, bo Boguล, mistrz Lajnara przyjeลผdลผa przelecieฤ dwa pลaskie trรณjkฤ
ty po dwieลcie kilometrรณw. Od kilku dni idฤ tak, ลผeby na piฤ
tek trafiฤ na tฤ
trasฤ. W koลcu warun. Na koลcu…
Day 30
Yesterday I broke into a soccer field. I saw a good place with a roof. Breaking into is maybe not the right word. I jumped over three meter fence. I set alarm for 7:15 thinking that no Italian would start work at 7am. I was wrong. I was woken up by a guy ringing his keys and asking me what I’m doing there. I said I was sleeping and he didn’t know what to do. So I said I was a Monte pelegrino, and Pope Polacco and I’d leave in five minutes.Asphalt walking. I started at 7am so I had plenty of time. I did almost 40km. Someone paid for my beer. He had a beard. I feel energy when I meet bearded guy, bicycle travellers or backpackers. If you want to make their day buy them a can of beer or cola. Later I went to a bar where someone wanted to buy me Aperol but I had time just for a fast espresso. When I went out it started to rain but just behind a village I found a nice picnic place. I’ve got wine from bicyclers. I have a roof over my head and there is even a waterfall so I have a chance to wash myself. I don’t remember the last time I did. I’m alone and Merino wool longsleeve starts to stink after 14 days. I’m starting to stink faster.Tomorrow I’ll have one hour walk to my hill, then 1500m of uphill and on Friday the weather looks cool. Some guys from Poland are coming to fly flat 200 triangles. I’ve been walking for quite some days to be on this route on this exact time. Finally I’ll get good weather. At the ending…
Dzieล 31
Niemieccy sakwiarze ukradli mi skarpety. Te lepsze, trekkingowe, ktรณrych miaลem na poczฤ tku dwie pary. Pewnie zwinฤli przez przypadek jak zaczฤลo padaฤ, kiedy poszedลem siฤ kฤ paฤ w potoku. Nie praลem ich od tygodnia, wiฤc wkrรณtce je wyczujฤ w ktรณrejล z oลmiu sakw. Nie ลผal mi ich (skarpet) bo koledzy jadฤ cy na latanie wiozฤ mi ciuchy na powrรณt. Caลy dzieล siedzฤ w dolinie i zabijam czas, bo zostaลo mi tylko podejลcie do gรณry, a na jutro lekko ponad sto kilometrรณw prostego lotu w warunie, w ktรณrym mรณgลbym zrobiฤ dwieลcie. Ale nie mรณw hop… Wrzucam fotฤ w lustrze, ลผeby nie byลy, ลผe caลy miesiฤ c idฤ w tych samych ubraniach. Cztery razy po praniu zaลoลผyลem na chwilฤ inne.Podszedลem sobie piฤฤset metrรณw do wsi Casso. Wieล jest nad ogromnฤ tamฤ , wody nie ma. Kiedyล byลa, ale przeciwna strona gรณry zaczฤลa nasiฤ kaฤ i siฤ osuwaฤ. Zaczฤto wypompowywaฤ wodฤ, zbocze zjechaลo, fala zalaลa przeciwna stronฤ gรณry, a na dole zginฤลy dwa tysiฤ ce ludzi. Piฤฤdziesiฤ t lat temu. Miaลem stamtฤ d pรณjลฤ prosto na gรณrฤ. To za proste, wiฤc doลoลผyลem jeszcze dziesiฤฤ kilometrรณw do chaty, ktรณra jest na 1600m. Jak to zwykle bywa – im wiฤcej czasu, tym mniej Na miejsce doszedลem o 22:00, z daleka widzฤ ลwiatลa w oknie. Ktoล jest. Dziewczฤca grupa harcerska z dwoma kolesiami… Baลy siฤ otworzyฤ drzwi. Idzie czลowiek sam, przez caลy dzieล nikogo na szlaku, a tu takie coล. ลeb mi boli od sลoลca, a one bzyczฤ jak te baby z Dnia ลwira cytowane trzy dni wczeลniej, tylko jest ich piฤฤ razy wiฤcej. Mam miejsce na podลodze, trzeba byลo iลฤ w las. Majฤ wyjลฤ o 6:30 to moลผe zaraz pรณjdฤ spaฤ… 22:20 Karty wyciฤ gnฤลy23:00 poszลy na gรณrฤ, bzyczฤ , ale trochฤ ciszej24:00 JA… @#@&ยฃ@! JAK KURY W KURNIKU.
Day 31
German bicyclers stole my socks. The better pair, trekking ones. I think they took them by mistake when it started to rain and I went to the stream to get a shower. I haven’t washed them for a week so they’ll feel them soon in one of eight sacks. I won’t miss them because my friends coming to fly from Lajnar will bring me some clothes. I wasted some time in the valley because I don’t need to hurry anywhere. I just need to go uphill and tomorrow I’ll have easy, 120km flight to Kobala. I went to Casso village. It’s above huge dam but there is no water. It was working some time ago but other side of valley began to soak and earth was about to slide down. They started to pump out the water, but huge amount of earth slided down anyway. Earth and wave killed two thousand people. It was just fifty years ago. I wanted to go straight uphill from there but it was too easy. I decided to go 10km further to bivacco hut at 1600m. The more time you have the less of it you have. I spotted light in a window from a long distance. Someone was there. A big group of girl scouts and two guys. They were scared to open the doors. I have some headache because of sun and OMFG how loud they were… Whole day I walked alone, I walked uphill in the darkness. I’ll sleep on the floor. I should go to the forest. They want to go away at 6:30 so I hope they’ll shut up soon.22:20 they started to play cards23:00 they went up, still talking but not that loud24:00 OMFG , like chickens in a coop.
Dzieล 32
Wychodzฤ ze schronu z wลoskimi kurami o siรณdmej rano. Po chwili jestem na przeลฤczy, idฤ w lewo na gรณrkฤ. Sto metrรณw do gรณry, okazuje siฤ, ลผe tam nie odpalฤ, a dalej, po grani raczej nie przejdฤ. Wracam w dรณล i padam z siล. Czy to przez to, ลผe dwa dni temu stwierdziลem, ลผe nie utrzymam diety keto we Wลoszech? Zaczฤ
ลem jeลฤ biaลe buลki i inne cukry. Pierwszego dnia szybko szedลem do Lidla po nawilลผane chusteczki. Dobrze, ลผe tracker dodaje punkt na mapฤ co dziesiฤฤ minut, wiฤc mam jakieล resztki prywatnoลci . Posiedziaลem trochฤ, znalazลem resztki oleju kokosowego i wpeลzลem na gรณrkฤ z przeciwnej strony. Tam zลapaลem internet i mogลem na ลผywo obserwowaฤ co siฤ dzieje sto kilometrรณw dalej na mojej trasie. Chลopaki po czterdziestu minutach od startu zrobili siedem kilometrรณw, wiฤkszoลฤ popadaลa. Szaลu nie ma, tym bardziej, ลผe mam podstawy chmur poniลผej szczytรณw gรณr. Nie muszฤ siฤ spieszyฤ. Kluczowe bฤdฤ
dwa pierwsze, krรณtkie przeskoki. Udaje mi siฤ je zrobiฤ pomimo niewielkiej wysokoลci podstaw. Potem czterdzieลci kilometrรณw po skrajach chmur. Dzisiaj nie mogฤ daฤ siฤ zassaฤ, bo wiele z nich dotyka skaล. Na cycki nad Gemonฤ
dolatujฤ nisko. Dusi, wieje, pod nogami druty wysokiego napiฤcia i bardzo sลabe miejsca do awaryjnego lฤ
dowania. Trzy lata temu na pierwszej trasie para-biwakowej musiaลem tu awaryjnie lฤ
dowaฤ w dziurze w lesie. Prฤdkoลฤ na peลnej belce LM-5 przydaje siฤ w takich sytuacjach. Przebijam siฤ na nawietrznฤ
z niewielkim zapasem. Po dziesiฤciu minutach robiฤ wysokoลฤ szczytu gรณrki i skaczฤ dalej. Wklejam siฤ w skaลy, nad ktรณrymi zawsze latajฤ
sฤpy. Od tego momentu jestem prawie pewien, ลผe bez problemรณw przelecฤ pozostaลe szeลฤdziesiฤ
t kilometrรณw do mety. Na poczฤ
tku Polovnika spotykam Grzeลka. Dolatujฤ na Kobalฤ, nieskutecznie prรณbujฤ tu kilka razy wylฤ
dowaฤ, ale mocno wieje i jest za duลผo ludzi na kombinowanie. Odpalam internet w telefonie, szukam na mapie kolegรณw i lฤ
dujฤ na Camp Gabrje. To tutaj, piฤฤ lat temu rozpoczynaลem latanie. Piszฤ ten wpis po piฤciu dniach od zakoลczenia wyprawy. Zrealizowaลem piฤcioletni cel i marzenie. Zapomniaลem pochwaliฤ siฤ sukcesem i osiฤ
gniฤciem? “No i to by byลo chyba na tyle…” Tak to skomentowaลem po lฤ
dowaniu. Zero emocji, okrzyku, uลmiechu. Tak jakbym wylฤ
dowaล po godzinnym, nudnym lataniu, a nie po tysiฤ
c-kilometrowej trasie przez caลe Alpy, ktรณrฤ
do tej pory, bez supporterรณw, stylem volbiv zrobiลo ok. 20(?) osรณb. Chciaลem tu dopisaฤ jeszcze kilka motywacyjnych bredni, ale stwierdziลem, ลผe nie zrozumie ich nikt poza tymi, ktรณrzy juลผ to wiedzฤ
. Tymi, ktรณrzy lubiฤ
siฤ pokatowaฤ gรณrami, samotnoลciฤ
i zmฤczeniem. Waลผny jest sam proces, a nie koniec. Koniec czegoล dobrego nie jest dobry. Bardziej siฤ ucieszyลem widzฤ
c na campingu Katerinฤ, Bลaลผeja, Kubla, Sandra, tลustym cievapcici, piwem dla uzupeลnienia mineraลรณw czy innymi ลakociami i witaminami Wielkie dziฤki wszystkim za pomoc i wsparcie!
Day 32
I left ‘bivacco’ at 7am. Just after a moment I went to the pass and turned left to a hill. One hundret meters of uphill. At the top I realized that it’s not possible to takeoff from there. I had to go back and walk 250m higher to the other side. At a pass I lost my power. Was it because I decided to leave keto diet three days ago and started to eat more carbs? First day I had to walk fast to Lidl to buy wet wipes… Good part of my satellite tracker is that it’s sending a point every ten minutes so I can have some privacy . I sat for a while, found a little bit of a coconut oil and walked slowly up. There I could watch guys flying from Gemona and Lajnar at xcontest live. Those two places are in the middle and at the finish of my flight. After 40mins of flight they made just 7km and some of them landed fast. That day wasn’t as good as it was forecasted. Cloud base is under my hills. I don’t need to hurry, I have time. The most important are the first two jumps. I’ve done them easily. Later it was even easier, fourty kilometers at the edges of the clouds. I couldn’t let them suck me in, because tops of hills were covered. I came low to tits near Gemona – those two hills in the middle of the valley. It was my second time there and it was again windy. Three years ago at my first volbiv I had to do emergency landing in some hole in a forest. Hard place to do anything in bad conditions. This was a place where I used all of my LM-5 performance. I went to upwind side with a small margin. After ten minutes I made height off a peak and jumped to the east to the place where a lot of vultures usually fly. From that moment I was almost sure I’ll go next 60km to Kobala with no problems. At the beginning of Polovnik I met my friend Grzesiek. Next when I came to Kobala I wanted to land there but after a few tries I abandoned that idea. Takeoff was too crowded and wind too strong to try that too hard. After turning mobile connection on I had to fly around to find mobile signal to find my friends on a map. Then I landed at Camp Gabrje. This is a place where five years ago I started to fly. I’m writing that post five days after the end of my trip. I’ve achieved my five years old dream and goal. Did I forget to yell about my success and achievement? ‘So this is the end…’ That’s what I said after landing on live stream. Zero emotions, exclamations, smiles. Like after landing after an hour long, boring flight, not after thousand-kilometer route through the entire of Alps, which until now, without supoorter just 20(?) guys did in a volbiv style. I wanted to add a few more motivational words here, but I realised that no one would understand them except those who already know it. Those who like to waste themself at the mountains, by loneliness and fatigue. For me that process of being on the route was the most important, not the finish line. The end of someting good is not good. I was a lot more happy when I saw Katerina, Bลaลผej, Kublo, Sandro, fat cievapcici, beer to suplement minerals and other goodies and vitamins .Big thanks for you all for help and support!