30.09.2025

After a late injection of warm air from the south the situation became more stable. Generally high pressure and calm wind. Perfect hike+fly conditions! The idea was to hike up Store Gjevillvasskamban in the beautiful Trollheimen. This often overlooked mountain area is the slightly shorter but kinder-looking sister of the nearby Innerdalen, which was the first protected nature reserve in the country. I planned to follow an interesting route via the south ridge which would require some scrambling (easy climbing, use of hands required), no trouble with a 5kg backpack. Flying down would be the icing on the cake, only there are few landings along the shores of Gjevillvatnet (Devils Water) so I was restricted to one smallish LZ followed by a 5km walk back to the car. Or so I thought…

 

I parked the car at Rauøra beach and walked the 5km to the planned LZ at Rensbekksetra. It is not a large area but can work with a little wind from east or west, it should be no problem today in almost zero wind, I thought. Turning north I now hiked steeply up into the valley above and further into the wide gully between Midtre and Store (Gjevilvasskamban). Here are multiple options but the safest is to stay left (hikers viewpoint) – more towards Midtre. Upon reaching the ridge the panorama is simply beautiful with glistening rock as many small cascades fall into small lakes on both sides, surrounded by purple heather and blueberry plants, golden autumn forests and the deep blue of Gjevillvatnet below, stretching off into the distance. By now I also noticed small cumulus growing above the nearby steep south faces of Midtre and Indre. Maybe I was in for a treat, I don’t know the exact pressure this day but suppose it was ‘relatively’ low compared to recent days of clear blue skies. However I was still uncertain about how the launch at the summit would go, and the presence of thermals would only make this more challenging.

 

As pilots we are optimists by nature, so I continued hopefully up the rocky ridge, which reminded me somewhat of Tower Ridge on Scotlands’ Ben Nevis. Often riding the crest of the airy ridge but occasionally avoiding difficulty by skirting briefly around the left side. Now it got steeper again and while scrambling I was reminded of why I feel at home in the mountains, and why I am eternally drawn back to them. The freedom of movement, the clarity of mind, only pure air to breathe, free of any distractions. It doesn’t need to be a difficult route for it to be rewarding, especially when it is the first time in a place. Discovery and self-mastery is what drives me.

 

There was a persistent thermic breeze coming up from the west side of the ridge and the cumulus stayed in place, a sure sign of good thermals. The day was certainly more active than I expected! I spent some time in the shade and upon reaching the summit I noticed Trollhøtta to the north getting a short shower. The clouds were not large but they shaded the area around the summit meaning the winds were now mostly very calm again. With a large, flat (even grassy) area to lay out the wing the only option is to have a good long running start to ensure a fully inflated wing before disappearing off the sheer cliff on the south side. However even the weak thermal effect meant that the flat top experienced constantly changing wind directions. This made for a good test of my patience as I tried to launch a couple of times but without good pressure in the wing I aborted well before reaching the edge. The sun did eventually return, now beyond the peak heating of the day, so the clouds became less persistent and more short-lived bubbles. I finally got a window of stable wind to inflate the wing and run… full speed and full commitment, over the edge. As anticipated I immediately hit the thermal breeze coming up the south side and sang with joy as I soared a few turns back and forth above the summit. This wasn’t part of the plan!

 

The wing shifted around in the narrow but surprisingly generous thermic lift. Such pleasure to fly a mini-wing in relatively weak autumn conditions, only to be allowed to soar above these raw mountains. To be lucky you must first roll the dice. The view in all directions was even more enjoyable knowing it wouldn’t be long before the winter set in, and the Trolls would once again don their crystal-white cloaks. With the mountain shaded and the thermals diminishing I decided to use the extra height I had been gifted while I still could. I flew towards the LZ and over Midtre, into the sun again. Here was another weak thermal but not much to turn in. Given the buoyant air and good glide I now considered flying east to try the next sunny mountainside (Hemre). If I got low I could still easily turn back to the LZ at Rensbekksetra but maybe, just maybe, I could fly further and make the beach where the car was parked. 

 

Sure enough the next mountain was working and even though it didn’t lift me much I certainly wasn’t going down! Beyond this the terrain is much flatter as it slopes gently down to the beach, so I did not expect any more thermals. It felt quite committing to make this final glide eastwards, even though there is one potential emergency landing part way, but being smaller and surrounded by trees, Id rather avoid it! In the end it worked perfectly, a glide of over 7:1 on a 16m miniwing is pretty damn impressive! I arrived with enough height to comfortably make a full circle around the beach to gauge the wind direction before landing. These miniwings are remarkably easy to land but the extra speed means you definitely want to arrive against the wind, not with it, even if its only blowing 5kph.

 

Touching down on the golden sand I could not believe my luck. It was one of those childlike ear to ear grins that takes a while to wear off. Ive been lucky enough to experience some magical situations and unique places but paragliding more than everything else has the unwavering ability to leave me speechless. What a time we live in. The dream of flight could not be more easily attained. What are you waiting for?

 

Video: [ Stunning Autumn Hike+Fly Store Gjevilvasskamban // Norway // AirDesign Loco + LeSlip ]