I usually end up landing at Oberwald at least a couple of times every season, but I don\u2019t recommend doing so, as it\u2019s more often dangerous than safe.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t provided any coordinates because there\u2019s no official LZ or even an accepted area for paragliders to touch down.\u00a0 However, if you do find yourself landing here, you should be aware of the potential hazards, hence this page.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s very unlikely that you will have planned to end your flight at Oberwald when you took off; you may be bombing out having failed to get over the Furka Pass or there could be some problem with flying back towards Fiesch.\u00a0 So the chance that there\u2019s something wrong with the conditions is higher than average.\u00a0 If the weather is going bad with overdevelopment or f\u00f6hn, then because you are enclosed on three sides here, your only escape route is towards Ulrichen<\/a>, which could well be out of the frying pan into the fire.\u00a0 Having access to live wind station readings<\/a> may be very helpful in working out whether it\u2019s reasonable to take the risk of landing here, or worth striving to avoid it.<\/p>\n On a normal flying day, the Grimseler<\/a> may well be strong enough to produce turbulent gusts here exceeding paraglider trim speed, at any time from midday onwards.\u00a0 However, in that case you are likely to be able to use slope lift to the south of Oberwald to soar up from relatively low in order to continue your flight, or at least reach a landing option where the wind is less vigorous.\u00a0 However, you may be constrained by the M\u00fcnster airspace<\/a> (in June, July and August) if you can\u2019t gain plenty of height.<\/p>\n F\u00f6hn<\/a> can also produce malignant turbulence here, as there may be wind funnelling down the Geretal into Oberwald from the east, and tumbling down the slope to the south of the village at the same time.\u00a0 However, sufficient wind blowing out of the Agenetal at Ulrichen<\/a> to cause concern will often be associated with thermodynamic lift on the slope directly opposite this outflow enabling you to gain sufficient height to reach Ritzingen<\/a>, which is likely to be your safest option, but again the M\u00fcnster airspace<\/a> may get in your way.<\/p>\n The good news is that the terrain around Oberwald consists of large flat fields with no trees around (as you can see from the header image).\u00a0 On the down side, there are very few wind indicators apart from a flag at the station buffet.\u00a0 Local hazards to be aware of are high voltage power lines and the river but these are easily seen and avoided.\u00a0 The most convenient landing spot is to the south-east of the river near the train station, but it may be difficult to tell until you\u2019re committed to a particular area whether the grass there is short or long.<\/p>\n I hope I have put you off the idea of planning to land at Oberwald.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I usually end up landing at Oberwald at least a couple of times every season, but I don\u2019t recommend doing so, as it\u2019s more often dangerous than safe.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t provided any coordinates because there\u2019s no official LZ or even … Continue reading