6 minute read
Deep in the Caucasus
Bivouac flying cannot be planned
Arrested by the border police, cared for by shepherds and cruelly swept earthwards by the wind: Robert Blum and Andi Egger found out how rugged, lonely and challenging a volbiv adventure in the Caucasus can be. More than once the two Germans reached their limits in Georgia when wind and weather tore up their original plans. And this, despite the fact that the two were old hands at vol-biv who had already pioneered a number of completely new routes in exotic countries.
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Ponchos offer perfect protection from the cold and wet.
On foot, with glider and tent: from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, 1,500 kilome- tres along the Caucasus. That had been Robert’s dream for ten years. Political in- stability had prevented such a project from happening or a long time, so in the mean- time Robert came up with a vol-biv chal- lenge with Andi. The pair had opened spec- tacular routes in the high Atlas in Morocco, and flown in the Himalayas. Now the time had come to put the Caucasus plan into action.
“In August 2019 we arrived at Kutaissi in the middle of the night. A kind priest took us to the town at dawn – our first contact with Georgia and already we were impressed by the people’s helpfulness. In an unbe- lievably hot bus we continued to Zagerie. We sat on rice sacks like the locals. We climbed on foot to a 2,000m take-off where we planned to begin the bivouac adventure. Our shoulders ached and the sweat ran”.
No flying in Russia Robert and Andi had tried to arrange some sort of authorisation in advance for the Russian part – without success. The original plan, to fly from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, was not allowed on the Russian side. They had to replan and de- cided for a shorter, 800-kilometre trip through Georgia and Azerbaijan.
“We flew along 5,000m mountains past nu- merous glaciers. The terrain was extremely impressive. After six hours’ flying we man- aged 110 kilometres. But the weather was not on our side. It kept on raining and we had to look for shelter. With some luck we found a small cave.”
Plan, replan, start again Over and over Robert and Andi were thwarted by the weather. More than once they returned by bus to the capital, Tiflis. Their dream of a west-to-east crossing of the Caucasus had to be abandoned, so they replanned their trip, and decided to cover as much of Georgia as they could by vol-biv in the time remaining. A zig-zag route through the country emerged. They hitch-hiked to the Kakheti region in the east
Andi and Robert use a weather window to take to the air.
of the country, and managed to get from the low hills to the high mountains by foot and glider.
“When we got into the air again the sun was shining nicely on the western slopes, but the clouds above did not bode well for this route. Sink punished us without mercy and washed us down 1,500 metres. The ravine got ever closer – as did the trees. We landed on a rocky slope. Fortunately we were both OK.”
The hospitality is overwhelming, although the locals themselves do not have much for themselves, everything is shared.
It was always raining and we had to look for shelter, sometimes in a cave, sometimes under our ponchos. Time spent in the air was limited.
Robert Blum
Sink caught us and showed no mercy: we were washed down 1,500 metres. The ravine came closer and closer, so did the trees.
Robert Blum
Alone in the wilderness The pair were permanently and totally isolated as they travelled. They had their food and water – up to 5 litres per person per day – with them. They mostly slept in the tent, sometimes in caves. Now and again they met shepherds, and once again experienced the overwhelming hospitality of the wild. Here they were given cheese, vegetables, stew and firewater; even though the nomads have little for themselves. They flew whenever possible. Sometimes they were on foot for days on end, because of the constant rain.
„It stops, we glide away, along a long valley to the north – towards Russia. We often have to fly through thick cloud, steering by compass in the whiteout. Suddenly a hut emerges. Andi lands first, and the locals immediately hand him over to the border police. They want to see our authorisation. Authorisation? We don’t have any. So, first hide your passports and come with me. After two hours in the hut we get our authorisation, and can spend a week in the Russian border area. We are in luck.“
A point of honour Wind and weather cannot be planned. Robert and Andi could not complete the planned route from west to east in one trip, but the adventure factor on their zig-zag trip through Georgia was all the greater. It‘s a matter of honour that the two passed on their experiences to another German expedition who wanted to tackle the same project practically at the same time. They were finally able to realize part of Robert‘s dream, having better luck with the weather. But – thanks to the information from Robert and Andi – in the opposite direction.
When bivouac flying you never know what’s coming next. This was a wide river without a bridge.
Robert and Andi fly across the glacier. A landing here can have serious consequeces.
Blue sky is a rare sight during the expedition: all the more reason to enjoy it.
About
Robert Blum was one of the first German pilots. He won the German XC championship in 2013 and holds the German FAI triangle record at 287km. He loves to travel to foreign parts with his paraglider in search of uncharted territory. Andi Egger is mostly to be found with his hike & fly / vol-biv equipment. Paragliding has been his regular lifestyle for 20 years.
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Publishing Details
Publisher: ADVANCE Thun AG, Uttigenstrasse 87, 3600 Thun, Switzerland Idea & concept: Simon Campiche Editing: Raphaela Haug Layout: Bänz Erb Computer graphics: Mark Oertig Coordination: Tobias Rusterholz Translation: Mike Riley Proofreading: Charlotte King
Title picture: Martin Beaujouan Get inspired | Picture: Tobi Dimmler All or none | Text: Martin Beaujouan, Edith Rayner | Pictures: Martin Beaujouan Into the Eclipse | Text: Edith Rayner | Pictures: Alfred Jürgen Westermeyer Making the impossible possible | Text: Raphaela Haug | Pictures: Aaron Durogati Chasing 100 miles | Text: Edith Rayner | Pictures: Nick Greece, Cedar Wright Jurassic coastline | Text: Raphaela Haug | Pictures: Adi Geisegger Majestic soaring | Text: Raphaela Haug | Pictures: Sesi Mackrodth, Raphaela Haug Fascinating light show | Text: Raphaela Haug | Pictures: Tobi Dimmler Above the glacier sea | Text: Bruno Petroni, Raphaela Haug | Pictures: Sepp Inniger Dreams like hazelnuts | Text: Tom Salamonsen, Raphaela Haug Pictures: Tom Salamonsen, Mikael Benjamin Ulstrup Time out | Text: Raphaela Haug | Pictures: Thomas Lämmle Forgotten coasts | Text: Felix Wölk, Raphaela Haug | Pictures: Felix Wölk Deep in the Caucasus | Text: Edith Rayner, Simon Campiche Pictures: Robert Blum, Andy Egger
Spring 2020 © ADVANCE
