Season start in Ticino

Four days, one chain of slopes, six people all at the same point.

We fly from Mornera towards Cimetta and back again, along the slopes: steep, south-facing and so releasing early. We go through the line together in the morning. I give you the tools for a whole flying day: spotting the right day in the forecast, launching at the right moment, finding and centring the first thermal, moving on to the crossing and learning from the track in the evening. That can be practised and it’s best done before the season really gets going.

In the air I fly ahead and show you where the next thermal is and I tell you when it’s time to move on. With every day I say less and you decide more. It’s your flight that gets flown.

Why Ticino

The route here follows the slopes: from Mornera above Bellinzona towards Cimetta above Locarno, from thermal slope to thermal slope, without big crossings. The slopes lie steep in the sun and so release early, which means you get your attempts in the morning already. Below you the whole time are meadows and the railway line. For learning that makes a big difference: one decision after another, never three at once.

And Plan Z, the way out, is almost always right below you here. We plan the landing fields together in the morning and we only go on if you can reach the next one. Where you’ll land isn’t fixed in the morning and yet you already know how you’ll get back: on foot to the nearest station and the train takes you to Bellinzona. I find that’s exactly what clears your head and with a clear head you fly better.

That’s why we’re based in Bellinzona: the canton’s railway hub, from where four cable cars in four directions are within reach.

Where we go

• From Mornera towards Cimetta
• And the same line back again

Launches

• Mornera
• Cimetta
• Monte Tamaro
• Monte Lema

We decide in the morning which launch it will be, based on the conditions.

What you learn

Reading the forecast. Which day has something to offer and where its potential and its hazards lie.

Planning the cross-country flight. Going through the line beforehand: where the key points are, where the hazards are and where the landing fields are.

Recognising hazards. Where the lee is, where the valley wind flows and how high, where it gets tight. And which options you have then.

Finding the moment to launch. A first window shows up in the forecast. On the mountain you check it against the signs: the upslope breeze, the clouds, birds climbing. And you feel it when the first lift comes through.

Launching with a plan. Plan A and Plan B are set before you put on your harness.

Looking for the first thermal and flying to it. Where it has released, how you can see that beforehand and from which direction you approach it. I’m with you for the first climb.

Centring. Where the core is and how you get there, instead of turning along the edge. Along the way you get to know the different characters: a thermal on a steep slope feels different from one over a hollow, one in the morning different from one in the afternoon.

And then the same game all over again. Thermal after thermal, until the first crossing comes up. That’s how a cross-country flight comes together, all the way to landing.

I’m on the radio the whole time, right in the headset I lend you for the four days. In the evening we look at the track and learn from it.

Where a spot commands your respect. We go through it together beforehand: what do you need to see to fly it? Where is your turnaround point? Getting further and staying safe on the way are the same question here, not two.

What it builds towards: from Mornera to the Cimetta and back again. The weather decides whether it works out. What you need for it, we practise from the first day.

Why April of all months

The valley wind is still weak. The more thermal volume, the stronger the valley wind. In April the volume is only starting to grow: the time when you can get to know it.

And the air is more unstable in spring. Unstable means: the air needs less energy to rise. So thermals release on smaller and lower slopes too and you need less height to get from one to the next. On the south side of the Alps they also start earlier in the day than in the north: the slopes are free of snow and lie steep in the sun.

And the lifts are running. North of the Gotthard the maintenance break starts after Easter; in Ticino the season starts after Easter. For four days on which we want to decide afresh every morning where to launch, that’s the precondition.

And after that you have the whole season ahead of you. You can come back to Ticino and fly the same line again, this time without me on the radio. Or you take what you’ve learned to your own area. If you want to carry straight on: four weeks later it continues in the Goms, the same thing in a new valley.

Who it doesn’t suit

If you’ve just got your licence and are still searching for thermals, you’ll have four tiring days here and get little out of them: in April the air on the south side is rougher than the picture of spring suggests. A better start is then a coaching day for two: write to me and I’ll tell you what’s next for you. And if you want four flying days guaranteed in April, you’ll be disappointed: the weather decides how many there will be.

If you’ve already flown thirty kilometres, you’ll find the longer lines in the other camps.

Included

• Four days of guidance, in the air and on the ground
• A weather briefing and a site briefing every morning
• Guidance via the Zello app: I give you the push-to-talk button to keep and lend you a headset and PMR radio
• A line we go through together beforehand: from thermal to thermal, with the landing fields in between
• We choose the flying area afresh every morning according to the weather: Mornera, Cimetta, Monte Tamaro or Monte Lema
• Sites chosen with public transport in mind: after an outlanding you usually get back by train
• Debriefing and track analysis in the evening: you come away from every flight with a takeaway
• Exercises for afterwards: what went well for you and what could go even better, I turn into two or three exercises for your next flights
• A one-to-one conversation about your goal for these four days

Not included

• Travel to the camp: by train or by car, you organise it yourself. During the camp we get around by train and bus: where we land is still open in the morning.
• Accommodation: you book it yourself. That is on purpose: some sleep in a camper van, others in a hotel and booking ahead for everyone costs time and money. You get recommendations from me.
• Cable cars, train and bus tickets, food
• Insurance: third-party liability is mandatory, accident and rescue insurance strongly recommended
• The way back after an outlanding: we choose the areas so that the way back works by public transport

What you organise yourself

• Your accommodation in or near Bellinzona: you book it yourself and you get recommendations from me
• A day pass or the Half Fare travelcard: at the camp we travel by train and bus, including to the launches

A day at the camp

1. 08:00

   Weather briefing

   We read the situation together and set Plan A, Plan B and Plan Z.

2. 08:45

   Site briefing

   Launch and landing fields, airspace, the spots where you pay attention here.

3. 11:00

   Into the air

   Cross-country with guidance over Zello: sometimes I fly ahead, sometimes I fly with you.

4. 16:00

   Way back

   Back to the starting point by public transport. Most of the day gets talked through on the way.

5. 18:30

   Debrief

   The tracks side by side, mine included. The most important part of the day.

6. 20:00

   Evening

   Dinner together for anyone who wants. Optional, four days in the mountains are tiring too.

Times are a guide. The weather moves them, not the plan.

Requirements

• A valid licence: SHV or IPPI 4
• You climb out in easy thermals and appreciate support on the radio. You want to learn cross-country flying: your flights so far have been shorter than about twenty kilometres.
• Airworthy, checked equipment: your wing is expressly allowed to be an A or B
• Vario with GPS
• Third-party liability insurance with at least one million francs of cover, plus accident and rescue insurance
• Mobile phone with a data plan: communication in the air runs over the Zello app
• Four days in a row free. At shorter notice there are the XC Days.

I don’t much mind what is hanging above you: the line and the right day decide, not the equipment.

I fly with you, I don’t fly for you. Launch, route, turning back and landing are your decisions: my assessment is a recommendation, not a clearance.

Dates and schedule

Whether it goes ahead

By 25 March 2027 at the latest, three weeks before. From 4 people the camp is on; if fewer come together, I call it off and you get back everything you have paid.

If the weather doesn’t play along

If the forecast gives roughly two and a half flying days, the camp goes ahead. If a single day doesn’t work at the starting point, we go to where it does: your accommodation stays where it is and if the route calls for it, I organise a driver. If the whole week looks clearly worse, I postpone the camp. On a day when nothing works at all, we work on the ground.

Starting point

Bellinzona

Arrival

14 April 2027. Arriving the evening before isn’t compulsory, but it makes the first day much more relaxed.

First flying day

Thursday, 15 April 2027, meeting at 08:00

End

Sunday, 18 April 2027, around 18:00

Which camp suits me?

Every camp assumes that you fly thermals. Beyond that, the camps differ in what you bring along and what you want. Three sentences, one of them applies to you and behind it are the camps that are built for it.

Learn cross-country flying

You climb out in easy thermals. You have hardly flown cross-country yet, your flights have been shorter than about twenty kilometres.Afterwards you fly the same line again, this time without me on the radio.Season start in Ticino 15–18 Apr 2027 · this pageThe Goms 13–16 May 2027

Fly further

You fly thermals and have already flown cross-country: about twenty kilometres or more. Now you want to go further than before, longer lines, a new area or high alpine terrain.Afterwards you decide on the way yourself: when to go, where to cross, when to turn back.Spring in Valais 6–9 May 2027XC Camp Flex – The best place 3–6 Jun 2027Between the four-thousanders 5–8 Aug 2027The southern valleys of Valais 2–5 Sept 2027

Not that far yet? If you don’t climb out in every thermal yet, you don’t have to wait until it comes by itself: a coaching day for two shows where you stand and you take two or three exercises away for your next flights. Over the season add briefing and debriefing, so that every flight turns into a takeaway.

If you’re unsure which sentence is yours, write me one sentence on where you stand: flights, wing, longest flight. I tell you honestly which camp is the next one for you and if there isn’t one, I tell you that too. And if three or four of you are at the same point, I make days out of it just for you.

Tell me where you stand