The Argentine Paragliding Long Distance Record
Luis Rosenkjer - Aventurarse Expert


Since Thursday, we had placed all our hopes on Saturday, December 2nd; the weather forecast announced that the higher layers would cool down(they had been well above the average temperature for several days. Those few days had been stable, allowing us to fly but holding on to weak temperatures and keeping us from gaining too much height. The cold south-southwest wind solved our problems. We made our way, once again, to the take-off point, 10 kilometers away from Catriel, a town in the province of Río Negro. The day was cool and it was 11 o'clock am.

The wind at the take-off point was at our limit, 20 kilometers an hour. We were expecting it to pick up, so we planned to move the trailers north, to an area where calmer winds are usually found.

At noon, I began to set up the equipment. Ale Pachoki, our F.A.I.(International Aeronautic Federation) Observer, prepared the worksheets, sealed the camera, set up the barometer and arranged a couple of other items necessary to make our tenth attempt at a 260 kilometer flight. To achieve our goal meant breaking the paragliding distance world record. The "finish line" was a town called Los Overos, in the province of San Luis.

Take-off

The starting point for the route was 2.45 kilometers away from the take-off point. It was 12:30 when Eduardo pulled me out with the trailer. I watched as Martín Galligo, who was in the air as well, decided to land after an unsuccessful attempt. I decided to not let go of the trailer until I was 600 meters up in the air. The ascent was turbulent, ascending without advancing, and being pushed to my left by the wind, which wasn't aligned with the route.

Just like many other flights, I felt an interesting thermic at 200 meters, and was tempted to let my glider go. As soon as I did, I began to turning in disorder, carrying my glider to the starting point quickly. I took the mandatory picture. Right above the spot, but loosing height, I suddenly caught on to a smooth thermic.

I wasn't gaining a lot of height, but I knew that if I didn't hold on, I would land in the wrong place for a coherent rescue: A thorn bush field about 7 kilometers long.

Luckily, I was able to gain a height of 1300 meters. It was enough to make it to the Colorado River bridge. The wind was on my side so I was going pretty fast, sometimes reaching 75 km/h. 2 kilometers before the bridge, I was flying low again, at about 200 meters from the ground. Suddenly a turbulent thermic got me back up at 1300 meters.

The thermic winds arrive

I was able to keep my height between 700 and 1400 meters, turning too much, but keeping good speed, courtesy of the wind.

At 2:30 pm, north of Puelen and near the lagoon, I rised above the 2000 meter line. The sky was blue and clear. At 4:00 I was at 2300 meters.

The rescue vehicle was following me the whole time, it was about 30 or 40 kilometers behind me. It was also following Martín and Ale, who landed 108 and 124 kilometers away from the starting point, respectively. They had no problems getting on the Patrol, driven by Matías.

As I came close to Algarrobo del Águila, at about 5:00, the wind rotated slightly S-SE and the path I had planned going through Santa Ísabel and then towards Los Overos became hard to follow. I was forced to change my route. I could only fly another two hours, and the 80 kilometers I had left were unaccomplishable with lateral winds.

The plan suffers modifications

I called the rescue team and told them that I would follow the gas pipe route. "We are 50 kilometers away, but go for it," was the answer. So, I carried on and the Patrol tried to follow me. That was when the radio batteries began to fail. Flight was slow for the next half hour. Luckily, the rescue team was able to catch sight of me before the radio went out, I could hear but couldn't speak. Ale Pachoki gave me clear directions and kept talking to keep my spirit up. They were following a line parallel to the gas pipes. I decided to sacrifice the four batteries in my GPS and 2 extras I had for the picture camera. I was using my new Top Navigator, and GPS was not very important.

The Arrival and the Festivities

A while later, I noticed the Patrol offroading 15 kilometers behind me. I told them I was planning to stick to the gas pipes until the end. They told me to go ahead, that they would somehow follow me.

I was 10 kilometers ahead the rest of the way. The flight was over at 7:30 pm, about 2 kilometers away from the Secondary Road Number 152, in the province of Mendoza. When the rescue team arrived, I embraced Ale. I knew that the flight was as important to him as it was for me.

Take-off had been in Río Negro. I glided over the western Pampas and into the province of Mendoza, 254 kilometers from the starting point. The goal we had planned for was the same distance away from the starting point, 50 kilometers east of where I landed, on the other side of the Río Salado, in the province of San Luis. It is yet to be done and I hope it will become true in the future.

After so many flying hours in my AVAX RX during the past 30 days, I feel extremely comfortable in it. Anyway, to follow through with my ideas on safety and competition sails, I have decided to stop competing, for I believe that the pressures of competition and the hardships of standing one of these gliders implies risks I'm not willing to take.

Eventually, while I still can, I would like to take part of a PWC(Paragliding World Cup), using a Perfo(a more secure type of sail) to not loose contact with this world and keep on learning new things.

Meanwhile, I'll spend all that competition energy in gliding many kilometers, checking out different places. I hope to surprise you with a new record in the next three months.