HGFA Skysailor Magazine

4 SKY SAILOR January | February 2019 T wo days, and a bazillion dollars of Italian, Austrian and Swiss toll roads later, Jindy and I were sinking delicious Italian ales at a music fest on top of famous Monte Brento (famous for base jumping), shooting the shit with some long lost parachuting mates. It was time to make a plan! All we knew was that the Dolomites were somewhere in Italy and they were most definitely epic. Our base jumping mates also knew that there was epic paragliding to be had pretty much everywhere. We agreed that epic things were good and we needed more epics in our lives. With big ambitions and little knowledge, we decided after a few warm up flights to hit the Dollies for some alpine XC. With a rental car, a little van and no plan, we were hungry to get some airtime. We whipped out paragliding maps and spent the next few days thrashing our way up tiny mountain roads in our trusty Alpha Romeo rental. We found ourselves on top of epic peaks, assessing deserted launches and narrow, vineyard infested valleys. One sunny day, we were mustering up the courage to fly, when we were set upon by a herd of curious cows trying to chew our wings. Laughing hysterically, we fought to keep them away whilst they came at us from all directions. One swallowed my glove. A few minutes later, a French pilot appeared out of nowhere, top landed and said some stuff about winds, landings… not good, then majestically stepped off again and promptly disappeared over the back. Finding our way in Northern Italy This August I found myself in Denmark, throwing people out of planes for money. My good mate and Brisbane flying buddy, Jindy, messaged me out of the blue. After a bit of uhming and aahing, we decided there weren’t enough mountains in Denmark and he should definitely jump on a plane so we could meet in Italy in two days time. by Morgan Mackay Leaving Five Fingers Photos: Morgan Mackay Clockwise from top left: Camping near Arco, attack of the cows and Monte Baldo launch