The southern valleys of Valais

Four high-alpine days between the Matterhorn and Verbier: over the big faces and from valley to valley, with good thermals and weak to moderate valley wind. Plus autumn light and the first fresh snow on the four-thousanders.

For you if this is true: You climb out in thermals and have already done some cross-country flying. You’ve been looking at the big mountains for a while.

The next step is high-alpine terrain at the calmest time of year: in September thermals and valley wind are moderate, which makes the terrain more accessible.

Aerial view of the Matterhorn, surrounded by snowy glaciers and four-thousanders, the sun high above in a deep blue sky.

If you ask me when I most like to fly in Valais, I say September.

The sun is lower, the thermals stay good but get less strong than in high summer and that’s exactly why suddenly more is possible. Because as the thermals ease, the valley wind eases too. What is still an opponent in August is now moderate. And because both calm down together, the high-alpine terrain becomes more accessible and easier to experience.

Then there’s the light. The larches start to change colour, the first fresh snow lies on the four-thousanders and the air is so clear that you can see far beyond Valais.

The most beautiful flight of your life can be a circuit between the Weisshorn and the Zinalrothorn.

Who this camp is for

For you, if you climb out in thermals, know your local hill and have been looking at the big mountains for a while. And if you want to fly them while the thermals are good and the valley wind is weak to moderate.

Where we fly

Our base is Vercorin, above Sierre at the entrance to the Val d’Anniviers. In the morning we often start by heading down into the valley: a glide down to Grimentz, then up by cable car to Sorebois above Zinal. That puts you right in the middle of it by midday, with the big faces in front of you.

Depending on the day, there are other ways too: on the Crêt du Midi we have launches facing east and west, so we can follow the sun. Or we glide further down into the valley and start again from another launch.

From there the day decides: further into the Anniviers or across towards the Mattertal. We talk through the crossings before we fly them: how high you need to be, what the wind is doing in the next valley, what you do if it doesn’t work.

If Valais doesn’t deliver

In autumn too, the Northern Alps or the Southern Alps are within reach, both with completely different weather. This way you can almost always still get a good day out of a mediocre situation.

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.

Where thermals form and how they release. Trigger points in high-alpine terrain have a character of their own. I teach you about it.

Recognising hazards. How does the wind flow in the high mountains? Where does lee form and how far does it reach?

Dealing with steep terrain. Where you look for the thermals, when figure eights are worth it and when circling is the better technique.

Lines along high mountains. When the face is eight hundred metres high instead of two hundred, everything shifts: where you start, how high you need to be, when you go.

Key points. Recognising them, analysing them and solving them cleanly.

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.

Who it doesn’t suit

If you feel like flying long distances, Spring in Valais suits you better: the days are longer there and the routes further. And if you’re still searching for thermals and climbing out is still hard work, September is harder for you than spring: weak thermals need patience. A better start is then a coaching day for two.

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
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

Warm clothes, in September it gets cold quickly at altitude
Your accommodation in Vercorin or in the Val d'Anniviers: you book it yourself and you get recommendations from me

A day at the camp

08:00
Weather briefing
We read the situation together and set Plan A, Plan B and Plan Z.
08:45
Site briefing
Launch and landing fields, airspace, the spots where you pay attention here.
11:00
Into the air
Cross-country with guidance over Zello: sometimes I fly ahead, sometimes I fly with you.
16:00
Way back
Back to the starting point by public transport. Most of the day gets talked through on the way.
18:30
Debrief
The tracks side by side, mine included. The most important part of the day.
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 thermals and have already done some cross-country flying. You’ve been looking at the big mountains for a while.
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 12 August 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: Vercorin
Arrival: 1 September 2027. Arriving the evening before isn’t compulsory, but it makes the first day much more relaxed.
First flying day: Thursday, 2 September 2027, meeting at 08:00
End: Sunday, 5 September 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 The 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 2027 XC Camp Flex – The best place 3–6 Jun 2027 Between the four-thousanders 5–8 Aug 2027The southern valleys of Valais 2–5 Sept 2027 · this page

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

2–5 Sept 2027Fully booked

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