Paragliding
Paragliding
Chalet Les Vernets is situated in Villard Sur Doron in the Beaufort area
of Savoie.
The Local take off (Bissane at Les Saises) is 1400m above
the chalet and takes about 25mins to drive too.
The official landing
area is just 2km down the valley.
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Bisanne Take Off
This is the main local launch site.
20 minute drive from the chalet. A great forgiving site that takes many wind directions.
Very quiet in comparison to sites such as Annecy or Chamonix, this makes for stress
free launches.
Inexperienced pilots can enjoy long top to bottoms to
the landing field (4500 ft top to bottom!) or makes easy XC's up and down the
ridge line. This site works early on from 9.30 am till 12-1
then it blows from over the back. We had some great days
flying here early on, then going to Annecy after a leisurely lunch. Annecy is
generally a late afternoon site. | Bisanne
Take Off Site
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Experienced pilots will be very happy.
The Bissanee take off is a great start point for XC flights and has been used
for the French Nationals. The Aravis range is only 10km to the North, Annecy is
in easy reach and massive triangles are possible. The local mountains offer excellent
XC potential, with the Mont Blanc dominating to the East.
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| If you are prepared to venture further
afield then the following places are within easy reach of the chalet: Annecy
Col De Forclaz Take Off (40mins)
St Hillare (1hr)
Plein Joux (Chamonix
Valley) (1hr30)
Courcheval (1hr 10) | | Plus
there are lots of excellent uncrowded local sites within easy reach. The
best time to visit for paragliding is mid February until the end of September.
Thermalling is possible from mid February onwards, though for XC flying the best
season is April-September. February to mid April is a great
time to visit if you want to ski and fly. You can ski in the morning and enjoy
stress free thermalling in the aftternoon. Late April to
Mid May will be great, but you may have a 30 minute walk to the take off as the
top road is not always cleared of snow. June July and August
are fantastic, expect strong conditions after 12 am. Click
here to see the local
site guide. (French)
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