Two Flights, One Opinion- a Review of the Niviuk IcePeak 7 Pro

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I was not alone in disappointment this December when we got the email from Air Nomads in Roldanillo that newly certified wings would not be allowed at the Pre Worlds in Colombia under the CAT1/2 FAI rules.  Which of course I hadn’t read.  I’d sold my IcePeak 6 just a few weeks before and had been lamenting the decision without this added kick in the groin.  At my feet was the just-delivered crispy “Sunset” version of the IcePeak 7 pro and I wanted to fly her BAD.  I was leaving in a week for the event and didn’t have a wing to fly.  I knew very little about the PRO other than a brief, but somewhat guarded conversation with Olivier Nef at Coupe Icare back in September where I tried to pry info out of him, but the only thing I was able to ascertain was that it was quite a bit higher aspect ratio (7.5 from 6.9) and they were trying to “tone it down a little.”  Which meant to me that it was going to be considerably more demanding to fly, and likely- a little bit scarier.  Given the IcePeak 6 is in my opinion the greatest certified comp wing ever produced (although admittedly this shouldn’t hold much weight for any readers as it’s the only comp wing I’ve ever flown!) and to me is the safest wing I’ve ever flown (yes, even more so than EN B’s and C’s, which is an entirely different conversation, but one I’m willing to have if any of you ping me), I was excited- but also a little nervous.  Comps are great, and I’ll continue to participate, but my comp wings are also my send-it wings at home, where the air is strong.  I was happy to have a wing with more speed, but I wanted to be able to manage her in rowdy conditions, which the IcePeak 6 does so magically.

Second at the Pre Worlds on the IcePeak 6!

Second at the Pre Worlds on the IcePeak 6!

 

Nate Scales saved my butt by lending me his immaculate and well-cared-for ship, a 24 M IcePeak 6.  Considerably too large for me, but I’d flown the exact model for my first PWC in Sun Valley in 2012 and I knew I could ballast up to a safe level.  Not nearly the “perfect” level of 112 kg’s (according to guys who really figure this stuff out), and given I knew they would be weighing at the Pre-Worlds I could max out at 103 kgs as I’m a bit of a shrimp at 69.5 kgs.  So…I’d be a bit slow, but at least I could fly.

Turns out being light probably helped.  The weather in Roldanillo was quite a bit wetter and cloudier than normal and the first three tasks were all very slow going.  Light climbs, careful use of speed bar- basically the game was staying in the air.  Some good decisions and some luck landed me in 2nd overall going into the last day, behind last year’s Superfinal 3rd place winner, Julian Andres Carreno.  The final day was more “normal” conditions in Roldanillo, with good climbs, fast racing, plenty of sun.  I fell off the lead early after a great start but luckily it was a long task and I was able to reel the lead back in at the last turnpoint to hold my second place.  And then, finally- I got a chance to have a go on the 7 Pro.

Just after launch, IcePeak 7 Pro- note the TINY air inlets!

Just after launch, IcePeak 7 Pro- note the TINY air inlets!

 

I had only one day left in Colombia and the weather looked perfect.  Jared Anderson and I and a bunch of other pilots headed up to a launch I’d never used.  I unpacked the wing, and much to my amazement and many other curious pilots the first thing I noticed was the lack of lines.  Only two A’s on each riser, only 6 lines in total.  And the badger bars were MUCH higher than they had been on the 6.  The higher aspect was evident in the wider, slimmer profile but it wasn’t until I got airborne (silly easy to launch by the way) that I noticed the absolutely tiny air inlets in the shark nose.  You could see that the wing pressurizes instantly but must be incredibly efficient through the air as there must be little to no exchange of air.

Note the much higher badger bars

Note the much higher badger bars

 

My second thought was how flat she turns.  Which I’d expected with the higher aspect ratio, but god she turns SO nicely.  In fact she turns so flat that when it’s banging (as it would be on my second flight on the wing two days later in Valle De Bravo, Mexico) you have to work a bit to get her up on her tips, but I think Olivier has found an absolutely perfect compromise here.

I can’t say enough about the new positioning of the Badger Bars.  Having them up higher was pure genius.  The connection you get to a wing on a two liner with this added input and feel on the B-lines was genius to begin with (thank you Eric Reed!), but with them up higher the connection and inputs are heightened DRAMATICALLY.  Now, it’s easier to pull in both directions- down and back and she talks in a whisper, even more urgently and quicker than before.  In short, I’ve never felt so connected to a wing.

Dreamy.  That’s the word I would use if I had to pick one when describing this wing.  I expected something a lot more twitchy and harder to control.  It might be because I’m so excited, but I actually feel like she’s easier to handle than the 6.  I know that’s impossible, I don’t know what they could have done to make this happen with the higher aspect, but she doesn’t jump around at all.  Doesn’t “bend” even a little bit.  I haven’t had so much as a ripple or tip collapse.  And I bet it would be nearly impossible to have a frontal, especially if you were paying attention.  Yesterday, on my second flight on her in Valle De Bravo, Mexico the conditions were typical for this area- strong.  I was just cruising around having fun and broke the site record, flying a 108 km FAI triangle out to the volcano.  I hardly left base all day.  Hardly turned.  She glides like a sail plane (in fact in Colombia on the flight there I flew with a high-end hanglider for a good portion of the day with no problem), thermals like a hawk, has the same feel on speed bar that you got on the IcePeak 6- that everything just gets more and more solid the more you use.

Back in Colombia Jared and I flew an incredibly enjoyable 107 km FAI triangle, crossing the flats a couple times and just wandering around enjoying ourselves.  He later said he was working really hard to keep up on his ENZO.  Ok, I was pushing plenty of bar and we were shooting for an FAI and I had a bus to catch, but I wasn’t flying very fast.  Clearly the ENZO2 is no slouch, judging by the Superfinal results through Task 3 the wing is going like a bat out of hell.  But I know for certain (Ok, I’m guessing for certain as I haven’t flown one, but if we can make some assumptions given the differences with the Enzo and IcePeak 6…)  the IP 7 Pro is much easier to handle and I’m sure that she will be giving all the comp wings a hell of  run for their money.  Safe, easy to handle, fast as hell, insane climber.  Olivier, I love you dude.  How you make wings like this for us goofballs to fly around in the sky is beyond me.  THANK YOU!!!

 

 

Super nice FAI triangle to a few places very few have flown in Valle

Super nice FAI triangle to a few places very few have flown in Valle- click for details

 

Confessions of an XC Addict- Ushpa Cover and Feature hit the stands!

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The January 2014 issue of United States Paragliding and Hangliding magazine just got delivered! Yet another one of Jody MacDonald‘s amazing shots gets the cover, from back in 2010 in Mozambique, and there’s a fun feature article by yours truly in the mag on my little addiction that is human flight. Hope you enjoy!

The 5 most memorable flights of 2013- Red Bull Adventure

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Red Bull Adventure just went live with a cool article by Andy Pag about the best flights of 2013.  Humbled to be right up there with Chrigel.

Screenshot 2014-01-01 17.18.35

Gavin McClurg breaks US record

Flying his Niviuk Peak3, Gavin McClurg battled his way across Idaho from Mt Baldy, 387km into Montana, committing to some of the deepest, remote solo flying and turbulent lee-side conditions, to comprehensively break the US foot launch distance record.

McClurg had landed just short of the Idaho state record the day before, and had only had a few hours’ sleep that night. It came in a week where the cross-country ace clocked up almost 1,000km in the air.

“It was a seven-and-a-half-hour flight. Not particularly long, I would have loved to keep going, but I’m deeply satisfied,” McClurg says modestly.

Read the full article here.

An amazing year. A look back at 2013

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Soaring the Big Lost Mountains, Idaho

Soaring the Big Lost Mountains, Idaho- photo Jody MacDonald

My mom writes a Christmas letter every year and always asks my sister and I to write a paragraph of what we did.  For the last 13 years mine has been a discourse on wherever the boat had gone that year.  Caribbean, South Pacific, Melanesia, Australasia, Africa, etc.  It’s typically been a jammed-pack paragraph, and has always helped me realize how truly thankful I am as the holidays roll around.  As I started writing this years recap I fully expected a somewhat more toned-down account.

Nate Scales banks his Niviuk Icepeak with Mont Blanc in the distance

Nate Scales banks his Niviuk Icepeak with Mont Blanc in the distance

But as I started writing it became immediately obvious that I must be suffering a mid-life travel crisis.  I moved to Sun Valley a year and a half ago for three main purposes:  1)  Paraglide, 2) Live in the mountains, and 3)  travel less (by choosing to live in paradise, there would be little reason to move around as I have for all of my adult life).  My flying buddy and natural wordsmith Nate Scales said something that took me awhile to figure out when we were filming the 500 Miles to Nowhere movie.  “I love paragliders for where they TAKE you, and for where THEY take you.”  At first I thought why the redundancy?  But then he explained it.  The first, where they TAKE you is the absolute unknown every time we launch.  On all three of my big flights this July, which culminated in the record flight of 240 miles, I had no idea where I was going, and no idea where I would end up.  We launch- and then we never know where the wing is going to take us.  The second, where THEY take you is where the paragliders bring us in our pursuit of our passion.  Like skiers and surfers, pilots chase weather all around the globe seeking their next fix, their next high (for paragliders- literally).

A pretty incredible week of flying

A pretty incredible week of flying- funny graphic created by Tony Lang

In December I took my first trip to Valle de Bravo, in Mexico to compete in the Monarca; a flying site I’d dreamed of for years but was never available during my sailing years as January is a core wind month north of the equator for our kitesurfing expeditions (ie I was working).  From Mexico I went further south to compete in the Superfinal in Roldanillo, Colombia.  In February I visited my ailing father in Borneo and spent a week surfing in Lombok, Indonesia.

Speed Flying Northern BC

Speed Flying Northern BC

In March I joined my friends Benny Abruzzo, Mike and Stu Belbas who run Verbier Summits Paragliding and their families for the “Small Bus Tour”, a heliskiing trip in Northern BC with Benny’s company, Northern Escape.

Nice place to "Escape" to yes?

Nice place to “Escape” to yes?

From Northern BC I swapped out my gear in the Vancouver airport and flew directly to Panama for “work”, taking over the helm of Discovery for three weeks for two back-to-back trips to Coiba island.  I wrote a story about that experience  on the Cabrinha Quest kitesurfing expedition website.

Back at the helm in Coiba, Panama

Back at the helm in Coiba, Panama

Back to Sun Valley in April for a 22 day punishing rally on the house, where we moved 30 tonnes of Earth and rock, and other generally dull back-breaking work to upgrade the house with solar thermal, refurbished oak floors, new roof; and sadly lost my greatest friend in the world when my Dad died after a horrible battle with Leukemia.

In early May I returned to Europe and the Niviuk mobile with Nate Scales and Bruce Marks to chase some spring flying.  May later became known as “Armageddon” as it must have been the wettest May in history.  We did manage a few memorable flights in France, Switzerland and Italy between long bouts in the mobile and big belts of scotch running from the rain.

On Glide to Annecy

Nate Scales On Glide to Annecy

As Bruce and I sat in yet more rain in the Dolomites I got an email from river rat Gerry Moffatt who was back home in Sun Valley.  He had a permit for the Middle Fork of the Salmon (ie the “River of No Return”), a multi-day trip that I’ve wanted to do since I heard about it back in my paddling days in the 90’s.  Back to Sun Valley, down the river for 6 glorious days, then back to Europe where this time around the weather cooperated a bit more, allowing 5 solid flights of 100+ kilometers from Riederalp, Fiesch, Verbier, Spiekboden, and Scuol, including a near-circumnavigation of the Eiger, Jungfrau, and Monch, which was truly extraordinary.

Yikes- pretty yes, but yikes!

Yikes- pretty yes, but yikes!- en route over the pass to Interlaken

I grabbed a train from Italy and sprinted back once again to the US, this time to compete at Woodrat in Oregon, a seriously fun comp that went incredibly well except for a very Gavin-typical rabbit decision on the second day which killed my overall ranking, but gave me plenty to think about and quite a bit to be happy about given how little competition flying I have done.

And then I had the best week of flying of my life.  It started July 9th, with a personal best out over the Continental Divide of 256 kms (156 miles).  I hadn’t properly flown my new home except during last years PWC, which had been my second comp and the first time I’d flown a comp wing so this flight really surprised me.  I knew it was good here- but holy shit!  Matt and Nate’s records of 192 miles and 199 miles in 2012 were the main reasons I moved to Sun Valley in the first place.  When I saw those records go up I was in Europe getting my first 100 km flights of my flying career.  I couldn’t imaging going that far, couldn’t imagine what flying in mountains that big could be like.  I’d never even flown with Oxygen and now suddenly I was flying 50 km farther than I ever had!

Things going pretty well! Into Montana we go...

Things going pretty well! Into Montana we go…

A few days later, on July 14th Nate and I launched again and made it into Montana (visit “Hypoxic Magic Lines“), across the Pioneers, Big Lost, Lemhi’s, and the Contental Divide onto the Tobacco range.  We got separated early in the flight and I had no idea where I was going until I could see Bozeman in the distance.  I knew if I got there I’d have the Idaho and National record, but I ran out of day just a few km’s short.  Far from being disappointed, I was thrilled at again going more than 50 km farther than I ever had and what I was seeing up there…simply mindblowing.  Literally- I was good and hypoxic for a lengthy run there in the last hour, which makes vision a bit interesting!

Our buddy Mike Pfau did us a solid and chased us all day then drove us home.  I got a few skimpy hours of sleep and was literally driving back home the next morning when I got a call from Matt Beechinor, who was up on launch.  I scrambled to the store for a sandwich, borrowed some O2 from Mike and pinged off launch…and went farther than anyone has in North America by foot launch (Will Gadd still holds the record by towing in Texas).  See 240 miles Deep.  The record traveled fast, hitting outlets like the Weather Channel, National Geographic Extreme Photo of the week, RedBull.com and many others.  Shortly after magazines like Cross Country ran a full feature on the flight, “Confessions of an XC Hound.”

Confessions of an XC Hound

August was a bust.  Fires and wind played havoc with our little valley and other than an attempt to fly to Jackson Hole (close, but no cigar) and an evening of soaring as the Beaver Creek fire got underway (which culminated in much of the valley being evacuated about a week later) our usually reliable month of flying went up literally in flames.

Flying the Apocalypse on the Niviuk F-Gravity

Flying the Apocalypse on the Niviuk F-Gravity

Then Nick Greece, Nate Scales, Matt Beechinor and I rocked down to Southern Utah with Jody MacDonald, Mike Jones and Jeremy Cannon shooting video and stills for a short film for Outside Television called “500 Miles to Nowhere“.  The plan was to bivvy fly from Hurricane Ridge to Jackson Hole, but the weather was about an uncooperative as it can get and we ended up doing what we paragliders often do- chase weather.  But we got what we needed in the can to make a fun movie and HUGE kudos to Mike Jones for his endless hours of editing and incredible eye for perfection.

500 Miles to Nowhere on Outside Television

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn9bCQgjFWA#t=19[/youtube]

We got back from the 500 Miles expedition and mother nature had one more treat in mind.  For years Matt has wanted to fly out to the Pioneer cabin and top land, spend the night, then fly home the next day.  As the more stable fall days came to the Wood River Valley a perfect couple days appeared and we gave it a try.  This video was recently released as the GoPro video of the day and got nearly 40,000 views in 24 hours.  Pretty damn cool, and easily one of the best flying experiences I have had.

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/74426637[/vimeo]

Riding Polynesia

Riding Polynesia

I returned to Europe for the 3rd time in a year to practice a bit of acro and wander around the incredible Coupe Icare flying festival for a few days in France, then did a major haul to the other side of the world in French Polynesia to take over the boat for a trip around the Leeward Society islands of Raiatea, Tahaa and Huahine for a tiny bit of flying, and a good bit of kiting, diving, surfing and plenty of poker!

Taking a break from kiting

Taking a break from kiting

Gavin, Matt, and Benny enjoying a little slice of paradise

Gavin, Matt, and Benny enjoying a little slice of paradise

And finally, Jody and I headed to Patagonia, Chile just before Christmas to once again run the boat for a trip, this time with some of the boys from Patagonia (the company).  Fletcher Chouinard, Jason McCaffrey, Tim Davis, Reo Stevens and Jason Slezak.  We sailed, kited, surfed, and oggled snow capped peaks that run to the sea.

There’s only one way to describe this year.  Ridiculous.  I couldn’t be more thankful.  And I can’t imagine what’s next.

Fjords of Chile

Fjords of Chile

 

Confessions of an XC Hound- Cross Country Feature

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This summer I flew what we thought was a North American Record, but turns out it was a world record for a foot launch off a mountain.  240 miles from Bald Mountain, Sun Valley to Canyon Ferry Lake, Montana across the Continental Divide.  Here is the story of the road that led to how it all went down.

 

500 Miles to Nowhere goes LIVE on Outside Television!

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500 Miles to Nowhere on Outside Television

 

Well it has finally arrived!  After much anticipation, the Cloudbase Collective’s first masterpiece “500 Miles to Nowhere” is live on Outside Television’s website and their syndicate partners as well as playing on their national cable channel program “Outside Today”.  Watch and dream!

 

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn9bCQgjFWA[/youtube]

 

The Higher You Get makes the GoPro video of the Day!

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Post by GoPro.

The Higher You Get, The Higher You Get

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Matt soaring the Pioneers

Matt Beechinor soaring the Pioneers

I’ve been really fortunate in the last couple decades to explore many of the farthest corners of the globe.  13 straight years of sailing, chasing wind and waves on a series of kitesurfing expeditions (www.offshoreodysseys.com), which included nearly two full circumnavigations and the last couple years paragliding all over the Alps, South America, Central America, Africa and the Himalayas.  Just like surfers chase swell, pilots chase seasons and weather.  Reggie Crist, an Olympic skier and friend of mine who lives here in Sun Valley who I used to ski race with is even making a movie about how athletes are like migratory animals, hopping on planes or jumping in cars chasing what they “need“; be it adrenaline, or escape, or just pure fun.  Animals of course are just seeking food and shelter, which is of course all we really need as well.  But for some people this other “need” is as urgent as the next hit is for a junky.  Without it we find life marginalized, gray and drab.

Nick Greece, Nate Scales, Matt Beechinor and I got home from the 500 miles to Nowhere expedition
after chasing weather at a ridiculous pace, driving up and down the Wasatch Range in Utah and Wyoming running from the unseasonal monsoonal weather.  The chase wasn’t fruitless, we got some great flying but the vol biv trip we had planned never materialized.  Instead of launching, flying, camping and then carrying on the next day we were launching (sometimes), landing and sprinting by truck to a place that might have survivable weather.  It was not a simple flying trip.  We had a film crew chasing us, we had a contract with OutsideTV to get the goods.  It was fun, but it was intense, and none of us got to really scratch our incessant flying itch.  Once we got the filming done it was time to go home.  Time to get back to work.  Time to dream and plan the next trip.

 

Gavin lands a few feet from the Pioneer Hut at sunset

Gavin lands a few feet from the Pioneer Hut at sunset

We got home to Sun Valley exhausted but in good spirits.  Cool fall nights and shorter days had already set in, the Aspens were already going golden, the tourists had left town.  In my opinion Sun Valley has the best big air flying on Earth.  A number of recent distance records, including my own world mountain record this summer of 240 miles confirms this opinion, but what we don’t often get to do is fly here in the absence of fear.  Flying in Sun Valley is usually a pretty full-on affair.  Crazy strong thermals and nail biting wind.  It’s always kind of an edge-of-your-seat experience, or in this case- edge of your harness experience.  But in the fall we often get days with very little wind and everything, including the thermals have mellowed out.  We can’t go huge distances as the days are shorter, but we can experience some stunning flying.

Matt (aka “Farmer”) has had a dream for many years to launch in town, fly out to the Pioneers, our closest range of radical mountains (about 15 miles as the crow flies) and top land at the Pioneer Cabin, which was built in 1937 and spend the night.  The icing on the cake would be to launch the next day near the cabin and fly home.  A proper bivvy trip in maximum style, but a very tall order, one he’d tried before but never pulled off.  I had never even seen the Pioneer cabin, and I couldn’t imagine flying around in the Pioneers.  They are huge mountains and usually they are something we like to go over the top of with plenty of height.  Not a place to hang around.  But a day arrived that looked like perfect conditions to make the attempt.

 

Packing up, about 20 seconds from the cabin with the Pio's in the distance

Packing up, about 20 seconds from the cabin with the Pio’s in the distance

 

Nate, Matt and another local pilot named Donnie and I met at Sun Peak at 3 pm, right across the street from the historic Sun Valley lodge.  We were up at launch an hour later, legs and lungs burning but we were all smiles- the conditions looked perfect.  In no time we were all off the hill and heading up the ridge towards Otto Peak, at the top of trail creek.  Cloudbase was nearly 15,000 feet and there was almost no wind.  The thermals were gentle, the sky more clear and blue than I’d ever seen in the Wood River Valley.  After a horrific fire season and being evacuated from our home just a few weeks earlier, I couldn’t believe everything now could be so pristine.  The flying was ridiculous.  The light was perfect and just getting better and better.

We made the jump from Ottos, at the south end of the Boulder range over to the Pioneers and eventually all grouped up and flew right down the range.  I discovered Matt had a GoPro with him and we spiraled down, deep into the range, tight into the terrain, something that would be suicidal in summer.  We must have flown 40 kilometers out and back and then back out from one end to the other.  Donnie and Nate decided to fly back to town after a flight that both would later describe as one of the best they’d ever had and Matt and I carried on until sunset, wondering if someone had snuck some acid into our lunch.  This just wasn’t possible.  Don’t trust me?  Watch this:

 

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/74426637[/vimeo]

We landed about 50 feet away from the Pioneer cabin at 9500 feet.  After laughing, and hugging, and laughing some more we watched the sun fade over the horizon, packed up and moved into the cabin.  Dinner, star gazing, a lot more laughing and a lot of discussion about this shared addiction of flight.  And the irony of how we spend so much time and money and effort chasing what we love around the world and the best there is is right here in our own backyard.  I’ve traveled and moved more than I’ve stayed put in my 41 years on this very cool planet we call home.  Adding my own considerable carbon footprint to the abundance that we humans are doing our best to destroy.  Maybe it’s time to slow down, to enjoy the horizon that is right here every day.

The next day we fired up the stove, had a coffee and walked no more than 5 minutes to a slope above the cabin and launched, hoping we could find a place to land in the canyon below us which we couldn’t see.  But the sun was already baking the east-facing slopes and as we pilots like to say, “it was ON.”  We circled like birds up and up to 12,000 feet and pointed our wings home.  A place I think I’ll stay awhile.