As a Black GHA member we receive an award every year. We can exchange this award for a culinary, cultural or sports activity. This time we again opt for a sporting activity. Kempinski Das Tiroloffers paragliding as an option, we decide to use it.
The hotel organized everything for us. We arrange a time for the flight and an hour before we go paragliding we meet in the lobby of the hotel. The hotel Mercedes takes us to Kitzbühel where we take the gondola to the Hahnenkamm (own expense). Everything else is arranged and paid for.
The trip with the gondola to the Hahnenkamm is spectacular. From Kitzbühel it takes about 15 minutes by gondola to get to 1,700 meters. At the top we report to Element3 to make the tandem jump.
It is nice weather the day we make the jump, there is a light wind making the jump very successful. After meeting our instructors we get a vest and we have to put on our helmet and mouth mask (because of Corona). Then we are hoisted into the reins by the instructor and it is indicated that we will be flying soon.
Many people gathered at the point where we are going to fly down the mountain, they want to see how this goes. Nice to start like this ….
The countdown starts, first run a bit so that the paraglide goes up and then run until the wind catches you and you float. What a great experience once the ground is let go.
First fly a few laps above the gondola of the Hahnenkamm and then higher and higher. It becomes very quiet, you can only hear the wind. The view is breathtaking. It is a clear day so you can see very far, very cool to see Kitzbühel from a different side.
After a few minutes of getting used to it, the instructor asks if I am seated and how I like it. Despite the fact that you are half hanging, half sitting, you are very comfortable. A lot more comfortable than I thought. The first photo session can begin. The tour takes us over the restaurant at the Hahnenkamm, over the gondola, above the mountains where the wind is getting stronger. Great experience.
Although the wind sometimes increases in strength, I never once get the feeling that the instructor is losing grip on the paraglide. He adjusts nicely and directs us to calmer wind currents, after which we go higher again or go in a different direction.
The views are so beautiful, the green meadows, the snowy mountain peaks in the distance, the villages below you and the lakes such as Schwarz See that are crystal blue wow …. how wonderful to float here.
I can even fly a bit myself. I get the reins and after a few instructions how to steer I fly for about 3 minutes. How cool. Left, right, straight ahead and right again. It is funny to experience that you can play with the wind.
At a certain point the instructor asks if I am willing to go a step further and if I want more intense loops. I indicate that I would like to, after which I get the selfie stick in my hand and the instructor takes the reins firmly in his hands. We are going to speed up and then roll over, this is a lot more intense than on a roller coaster. In a roller coaster you know that the bowl is very well secured, on a paraglide you “just” hang in the air.
Unfortunately, the landing is started after 25 minutes. The final instructions on how to land are given (feet up and no running). We land near the entrance of the gondola. The hotel car is already waiting.
What a great experience this is, I will not forget this one. Totally different experience than Ziplining in Dubai. This is again a must do.
The costs for the flight are EUR 125, excluding gondola and excluding photos / video at Element3. I recommend this adrenaline rush. A must do when in Kitzbühel.
