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Paraglider flies into French Alps cable car

Not many would dare to fly into a moving cable car, 150 metres off the ground high up in the French Alps, with no room for error. But Arnaud Longobardi did.

Published: 26 June 2015 09:11 CEST
Paraglider flies into French Alps cable car

It could be the next extreme sport to take off in the French Alps.

Chamonix has become the unofficial home of wingsuit flying and base jumping in recent years but it appears those extreme sports are not exciting enough for some people.

Daredevil Arnaud Longobardi, 43, has managed to pull off a new hair-raising stunt when he glided into the open doors of a moving cable car 150 metres off the ground.

The video of his stunt was shown on Epic TV, which described the “unthinkable feat” as needing “pinpoint accuracy, a bit of luck and above all extraordinary courage”. As well as permission from the French cable car company, which they got.

Describing the challenge Longobardi said: “I had this project in mind for a full year before I did it. I thought about it every day, thought through all the challenges – speed, angle, height – all the different scenarios from the takeoff to the approach to the landing.

“After 6 months, I finally decided OK, I’ve thought through all the possibilities and there is nothing that can happen during the flight that I haven’t imagined and mentally prepared for. This is do-able.”

And he did it. See for yourself.

 

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SKIING

Snow report: What’s the latest outlook for French ski resorts this winter?

Good news for skiers in France, as a mild December has given way to a cold blast in early January that's bringing some much-needed snow.

Published: 5 January 2024 14:50 CET
Snow report: What's the latest outlook for French ski resorts this winter?

After a mostly dry and mild December, snow returned to the the Pyrenees on Friday.

Meanwhile most resorts in the Alps have been able to stay open after a promising early start to the ski season, thanks to fresh snowfalls, with more on the way this weekend.

Pyrenees

Snow has returned in the Pyrenees. Some 5cm fell overnight into Friday, January 5th in eastern parts of the mountain range, with forecasts predicting a further 15cm to 20cm to be on the ground 24 hours later. The region had not seen any snow since December 2nd.

In Angles, 20cm of snow had fallen at higher altitudes by mid-morning on Friday.

Further west, numerous resorts in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département remained closed this week after early December snow had melted in mild conditions that have dominated France in recent weeks, but significant snowfall is expected over the weekend into Monday, and resorts are hoping that they will see enough to open.

One resort, Artouste, has been unable to offer skiing since the start of the season on December 23rd due to a lack of snow. A scenic rail service – usually reserved for warmer months – has kept the resort going. It is set to stop running on Friday, amid expectations of enough snow to finally open the slopes.

READ ALSO Climate crisis: ’90 percent’ of Europe’s ski resorts face critical snow shortages

Alps 

Many ski resorts opened on time, or even a little earlier than scheduled last month, after significant early snow fall, and have enjoyed deposits in the first days of 2024. But, even here, resort managers welcomed the promise of more significant snow this weekend.

Some resorts weren’t so fortunate. Ski areas in Gérardmer, in the Vosges, were still closed in the week leading up to Christmas because of poor snow conditions, but they are hoping for enough snow to finally get started this weekend, while La Bresse-Honeck was using ‘stocked snow’ made by using snow that fell earlier in the winter months to stay open as recently as December 30th.

In the Northern Alps, resorts such as Alpe d’Huez benefited from fresh snowfall on December 22nd, while Val d’Isère had new snow on December 29th. In the Southern Alps, Les Orres’ last pre-New Year snow was on December 8th.

And the French Alps have enjoyed more snow since the start of the year. There’s at least 50cm of fresh snow on the higher slopes of Les Gets and Morzine, for example, a significant improvement on the same time last year, when the resorts were among several that had very little snow to speak of.

In Chamonix, meanwhile, snow has fallen on eight of the last 14 days, with more expected every day between Friday and Monday.

Massif Central

As the post on X / Twitter shows, the Massif Central has not had the best of winters for snow so far. But between 30cm and 50cm is expected in Le Lioran by Monday. 

READ ALSO ‘So many barriers since Brexit’: The French ski businesses no longer willing to hire Brits

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