Competition News

Yesterday we flew an interesting and very tactical 80 km task in Bassano. The day was forecast to be quite stable with some west wind, and it actually started like that, but conditions improved during the flight with good thermals, even if the cloudbase stayed relatively low. After the start, we moved quickly along the ridge before jumping into the flatland for two turnpoints, where conditions were trickier because it was still early and not fully on. Staying high was important, especially because we were flying into the wind. After, we had to choose between going straight on course line or returning to the mountain, to get some more hight before going again on the take off area. The pilots who choose to go to the mountain early were faster than the ones who tried to continue straight After this, the western turnpoint was again more technical, with weaker conditions. A small group managed to stay high and save time, while others had to stop and climb again before heading to last part. One more TP in the flat and then direction to ESS where all the leading group tagged it very low and had to climb again before heading to the goal line It was again a very interesting and tactical day overall. Tomorrow is the last day of the competition, with good conditions expected again, hopefully another nice task to finish the event!

The glider forecast gives "good" thermals for the western Alps, with a top at 2600 to 3000 m AMSL. The wind is dying down (see the pictures). Sunshine almost all day long, with cumulus clouds and a little bit of high-level coverage in the afternoon. Looks like a good day. Get your tickets and go up from 10:00 (if Olli is ready earlier, we will let you know), briefing on the terrace at 12:00.

Today we had an 81.8km Task flying first out over the flats for the start then making a short detour back to the mountain to get height for the next TP over the Grappa Landing. We used the mountain a few times on the way to gain enough height as the day was predicted quite stable. Coming back to take off after two thirds of the Task we literally raced the whole ridge to the far west TP. Conditions seemed to have improved to wards the end as even pilots coming very low could take ESS and save them selves to goal by taking the brink of the mountain again. Text Steve Cox Fotos Martin Scheel

The high winds are caused by a cold front that is passing Switzerland to the east during the night. They are expected to calm down around noon tomorrow - at least according to the models that were right the last few days. Trackers and tickets will be available at the Nordic Center from 10 to 11. Go up and prepare for a task briefing at 12:00, and the launch window opening as early as 12:45, like we had it yesterday. Next meteo update tomorrow around 8:00, and then see you all up on the terrace!

The conditions for this 77-km task were absolutely perfect. The air was calm but provided good lift everywhere, even in the flatlands. Unfortunately, it got a bit shaded towards the end, making it more difficult. Many didn’t take this into account enough and just missed the goal. The rankings haven’t been published yet (!), but according to the leaderboard, Tim came in third and Roger seventh. Steve landed just a few meters short of the finish line :-( Congratulations! Photos from all 3 tasks.

We were probably a little too conservative in our task setting, and a leg to Adelboden and the Niesen chain would have been easier today than yesterday. Pilots reported still very good climbs that were "more predictable" than yesterday, and the top altitude was a few hundred meters higher. But the task was what we set, and it was a short and exciting sprint race that brought almost everyone to goal. The winner today is Stephan Morgenthaler, followed by yesterday's winner Charles De Beaufort, and Markus Wicki. Best woman is Sarah Zimmerman, best Sports Class pilot Marco Sommerfeld, best junior Jean Morisetti. Tomorrow will be very sunny, but also very windy. It will probably be flyable, but we consider it as not taskable. Day 3 is therefore cancelled.

After yesterday's tricky (at least for some) leg to the neighboring valley, and with a slightly less optimistic thermal forecast, we set a more conservative task that goes up and down the Simmental twice, to about St. Stephan, then crosses to the west side, for an End of Speed Section back near launch, and goal again at the cable car station. The race started at 13:45, the total distance is 52 km, and now that pilots are under way, we expect the fastest to finish the race around 15:30. Follow the race in our live tracking.

The situation has not changed much: There could be a few last sprinkles in our area in the next few hours, then the clouds will clear and give way to blue sky with some cumulus. Weak and variable winds up to 2800m, Thermals will develop, but later and a bit weaker than yesterday. Ticket and tracker will be handed out at the same place as yesterday, at 10:00. Go up once you have a ticket, and prepare for a briefing on the terrace at 12:00. One thing about the trackers: Today we will hand them out switched off. We will explain at the briefing why. Please bring them to the briefing.

Task 2 was set to 88 km. As forecast, the southwest wind was significantly stronger and the third turnpoint was fully in the lee. In this area two incidents occurred which later led to a task stop. The task stop was called relatively late at a point when most pilots had already passed the critical turnpoint. There was also no clear communication on the radio explaining why the task was stopped and whether landing in the Bassano area was still safe. Many pilots did not receive the stop message and a number of them also had no access to their tracker. This is something that will hopefully be improved in the coming days. The task itself was flown very fast with strong thermals up to 8 m per second. Apart from the poorly placed third turnpoint it would have been a great race. *** Deutsch *** Der zweite Task wurde heute über 88 km gesetzt. Der West Südwestwind war deutlich stärker und der dritte Wendepunkt lag vollständig im Lee. In diesem Bereich kam es zu zwei Zwischenfällen was später zu einem Task Stop führte. Der Task Stop wurde relativ spät gesetzt zu einem Zeitpunkt als die meisten Piloten den kritischen Wendepunkt bereits passiert hatten. Zudem gab es keine klare Kommunikation über Funk weshalb der Task gestoppt wurde und ob eine Landung im Raum Bassano weiterhin sicher ist. Viele Piloten haben die Stop Meldung zudem gar nicht erhalten und bei einigen bestand auch kein Zugriff auf den Tracker. Hier gibt es sicher Punkte die man für die kommenden Tage verbessern kann. Der Task selbst wurde sehr schnell geflogen mit starken Thermiken bis zu 8 m/s. Abgesehen vom ungünstig gesetzten dritten Wendepunkt wäre es ein sehr spannendes Rennen gewesen.

A low pressure system north of Scotland sends a weak warm front our way that will influence us tonight and tomorrow morning. Behind it high pressure will further build up, with mild and sunny weather. We expect the day to develop a little bit slower than today, but not much, maybe 30-60 minutes later than today. Light and variable winds up to 2000m, at 3000m still weak from the North-West. The moderate thermals will be marked by cumulus clouds, and will be a little bit weaker than today. All in all we expect again a good flying day. Provisional briefing at the top: 12:00. Final confirmation tomorrow 08:00.

Coming back from Adelboden to the Simmental was the (a little early maybe) crux of this task. Many pilots were not patient enough at first, did not manage to cross the Hahnemoos pass and had to go back to make the necessary altitude. In the end only very few had to land right on top of the pass trying to force the crossing, or had to give up and land on the Adelboden side. Once in the Simmental, pilots enjoyed strong thermals, not always where expected, and very variable winds. 65 of the 83 pilots at launch made it to goal. The winner, Charles De Beaufort from France, finished in 2:21:12, over 4 minutes before second and best Swiss, Dario Dandeu. Noah Kiener came third. Best woman is Sarah Zimmerman, best Junior Jean Morisetti, and best Sports Class pilot Raphael Oerer. Congratulations!

Task 1 is set: From Metschstand launch to Adelboden towards Niesen, then back to launch, to Zweisimmen, via a tactically interesting turnpoint on the west side of the valley all the way to the end of the Simmental, then to about St. Stephan, and via ESS on the west side to the landing at the bottom of the cable car. 76 km, air start at 12:45. Launch conditions were a little bit tricky, with no or light back wind, but by now almost everybody is in the air. Follow the race in our live tracking.

Good morning. The high pressure system has moved in and now covers most of Europe and brings dry, sunny weather. A weak warm front will pass through tonight, bringing clouds, a bit of rain or snow, and warmer air. In the night from Sunday to Monday a cold front will pass over Switzerland. In our flying area, we expect only very few cumulus clouds, and late in the day the high clouds from the warm front. Winds will be weak, from north-westerly direction, turning to north at altitude and increasing in speed. Thermals are expected to be moderate, locally good, depending on snow cover. See you at 9!

The Monte Grappa Trophy 2026 has started with what is likely the strongest field ever seen at this iconic venue. An outstanding lineup of top international pilots has gathered in Monte Grappa Trophy, creating the perfect setup for high level racing over the coming days until the 6 April. Demanding start conditions The first day delivered good but challenging conditions. It was quite cold at 1500m and the air was turbulent before the start which required full focus from all pilots. The field stayed together in a large group flying towards the start and continued in the same formation through the first two turnpoints. The speed was high but the conditions demanded patience and clean flying. The key decision After the second turnpoint the race began to split. Most of the field returned to the ridge while a smaller group decided to go out into the flats. This turned out to be the better option. The pilots who chose the flats found smooth air better climbs and very efficient glide lines. It was beautiful flying and a clear example of how important the right tactical decision can be. At the end 103 pilots reached goal. Looking ahead The forecast for the next days looks very promising. Conditions are expected to improve step by step and each day should become better. With such a strong field and improving weather we can expect exciting racing until the final day on the 6 April. Let’s race. *** Deutsch *** Die Monte Grappa Trophy 2026 hat begonnen mit einem sehr starken Teilnehmerfeld. Viele internationale Top Piloten sind am Monte Grappa Trophy am Start und sorgen für spannende Rennen in den kommenden Tagen bis am 6 April. Anspruchsvolle Startbedingungen Der erste Tag brachte gute aber fordernde Bedingungen. Auf rund 1500 Metern war es recht kalt und die Luft vor dem Start teilweise turbulent was von allen Piloten volle Konzentration verlangte. Das Feld blieb zunächst zusammen und flog in einer grossen Gruppe Richtung Start. Auch über die ersten zwei Wendepunkte hinweg blieb das Feld weitgehend geschlossen. Das Tempo war hoch aber die Bedingungen erforderten Geduld und sauberes Fliegen. Die entscheidende Phase Nach dem zweiten Wendepunkt begann sich das Feld aufzuteilen. Ein grosser Teil kehrte zurück an den Grat während eine kleinere Gruppe den Weg ins Flachland wählte. Das erwies sich als die bessere Entscheidung. Die Piloten im Flachland fanden ruhigere Luft bessere Steigwerte und sehr effiziente Gleitlinien. Es war schönes Fliegen und zeigte gut wie wichtig die richtige taktische Entscheidung sein kann. Am Schluss kamen 103 Piloten ins Ziel, eine durchmischen gab es wegen den Lead-Out Punkten. Ausblick Die Prognosen für die nächsten Tage sind vielversprechend. Die Bedingungen sollen sich schrittweise von Tag zu Tag verbessern. Mit diesem starken Feld und der erwarteten Wetterentwicklung dürfen wir uns bis zum letzten Wettkampftag am 6 April auf spannende Rennen freuen. Weiter geht’s.

Program: Friday 09:00 - Security Briefing @ Nordic Zentrum 09:30 - Tracker and Cable Car Ticket Collection Between 10:00 and 11:30 - Task- & Meteobriefing @ Bergrestaurant Metschstand Exact task briefing time will be communicated at the security briefing in the morning. Program for the following days will be communicated through telegram the day before. Accomodation: It is possible to stay overnight with a campervan on the parking lot of the cable car. It is not officially allowed, but it will be tolerated. Toilets will open during the night at the cable car station. For Hotels and Airbnbs, please book by yourself. There are also campings in the surrounding area (please use google). Waypoints Waypoint Files in different Formats: Airspace Airspace Files to download: COMP CH Layer will be active on XCtrack Pls read the Local Regulations first:

Meteo: The Easter weekend will see an interesting and quite dynamic weather situation, with the current strong northerly flow dying down, then both a warm and a cold front crossing Switzerland, bringing clouds, potentially high winds in some areas. And for us especially there is the question about thermal development after all the snowfall of the last few days. Nevertheless we expect a lot of sun and blue sky, starting already tomorrow, which should help with clearing the snow from the trees and allow thermals to build up, And there is one place that seems to be protected from all those different winds... Location: Of the whole of Switzerland, the Berner Oberland, and especially the Simmental, are probably the best overall for those four days. There are still factors that could make it difficult each day, but I am optimistic for 1 or 2 tasks, maybe even 3. This is why we go to Lenk im Simmental. Meeting point is Friday, April 3rd, 09:00, in the vicinity of the cable car station. We will publish the exact location by tomorrow evening. See you Friday!

General: The pronounced northerly pressure surplus that is currently causing a northerly foehn – with widespread snowfall and high wind speeds along the main Alpine ridge – will ease from around midday on Friday. In its wake, a high-pressure system will build, bringing plenty of sunshine, but from Sunday onwards this is expected to lead to southwesterly winds, possibly developing into a southerly foehn. There is still a lot of snow in the Alps at the moment; however, given the strong solar radiation and the forecast temperatures, we expect usable thermals to develop from Friday, or by Saturday at the latest. We are provisionally favouring Lenk im Simmental as the venue, as we expect light winds and plenty of sunshine there. It is not yet clear whether the forests will already be snow-free and dry by Friday, but for the remaining days we expect good conditions. The two airfields are closed on Friday and Sunday; for the other two days we are in contact with the responsible parties, who have assured us of their support. Alternatives considered so far: - Fribourg Pre-Alps: Significantly stronger winds on Sunday and Monday. - Jura: More cloud on Saturday, significantly stronger winds on Sunday and Monday. - Surselva: More cloud on Saturday, risk of foehn on Sunday and Monday. We will take the final decision tomorrow, Wednesday at 20:00.

Preliminary Information 30.03.2026 - 18:45 The chances for the Swiss League Open Flex to happen are very high. >90% There is still a lot of snow in the mountains, but with the coming good weather, it looks very promising for 3-4 taskable days. So pack your wings, check your harness and get ready for a nice racing easter weekend. Next Information on Location: Tuesday, 31.03.2026 - around 20:00 Selection: Wednesday, 01.04.2026 - 21:00 Please deregister before 21:00 if you decide not to come Accommodation possibilities will be announced latest by Wednesday evening.