Toplandeverbot am Mont Blanc

June 27, 2019

After the mass landing of many and the death of a pilot on Mont Blanc, the local communities have pronounced a topland ban. The new zone of topland prohibition on the Mont Blanc. // Source: mairie.saintgervais.com For more than 100 pilots, the top landing on Mont Blanc last Wednesday was a dream (Lu-Glidz reported), but in one case it became a nightmare. Because the restart in the snow with almost zero wind was very demanding. A French pilot crashed into the rocky flanks of the Italian side of Mont Blanc on the second start attempt and suffered fatal injuries. The tragedy prompted the local communities on Mont Blanc to ban the top lands on Mont Blanc. As a prohibited zone, they set a circle with 600 meters radius around the summit. The incident shows that such top landings in the high mountains should be well considered. Because in the thin mountain air, the paragliders fill worse, and they only lift off at a much higher speed than normal. In the euphoria of soaring to great heights on such special thermal days, you quickly run the risk of underestimating the difficulties of a high-mountain launch. Especially since the fewest pilots are likely to have experience with launches in over 4000 meters altitude.

This article has been translated for your convenience and was originally written in alemán.