Paragliding in LAAX
A paragliding flight in LAAX means pure freedom. Silently, you glide with the paraglider high above the green alpine meadows and the turquoise blue Caumasee, while the impressive Flimserstein rises up before you.
Starting places
Crap Sogn Gion
Crap Sogn Gion offers various launch sites with different orientations all year round. When taking off at Crap Sogn Gion, watch out for the cable car wires and camera drones.
South launch site 2,193 m a.s.l. (summer and winter)
- West of the Curnius chairlift mountain station
- Difficulty: Easy
- Wind direction: south to south-west
- Description: Flat, therefore a determined start run is recommended. Groomed in winter. Uneven in summer.
North starting point 2,210 m a.s.l. (summer)
- Northeast of the mountain station of the Laax gondola
- Difficulty: Medium
- Wind direction: northeast to southeast
- Description: Flat meadow, which slopes into a steep meadow. Unsuitable in winter, as it is on a ski slope.
North starting point 2,170 m a.s.l. (winter)
- North of the first mast of the Laax gondola
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Wind direction: north to southeast
- Description: Groomed and signposted in winter. Unsuitable in summer.
Nagens
Nagens offers an interesting flight opportunity to Flims in summer. In winter, flights usually do not take place here. Before takeoff, check that there are no pastures with mother cows on site. If there is an active pasture, takeoff is prohibited.
Nagens Restaurant 2,120 m a.s.l. (summer and winter)
- Directly below the Restaurant Nagens near the garage of the snow groomers. Can be reached in about a 10-minute descent.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Wind direction: southeast to southwest
- Description: Flat launch site, the wind must be right here. Not suitable in winter, as it is not prepared.
Nagens Slope 2,280 m a.s.l. (summer)
- 300m WNW of the mountain station of FlemXpress. Can be reached in about a 20-minute ascent.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Wind direction: east to southwest
- Description: Slightly uneven but ideally sloped starting meadow. Not suitable in winter, as it is on a slope.
Landing sites
Landing site Flims Kirche
The landing site Flims Kirche is located northeast above the Reformed Church Flims Dorf. It has only a slight slope (take this into account when choosing the circuit height) and, thanks to its open location, is better suited for beginners.
The circles are flown uphill (left circle with valley wind; right circle with mountain wind). On the circles, watch out for pilots who may be heading for the Flims landing site.
In summer, there can be brisk valley winds coming from approximately ESE to the landing site. In addition to the windsocks, there are various flags in Flims that can be used to estimate the wind.
Landing site Flims
The Flims landing site is conveniently located near the mountain railways at 1,100 m above sea level. It is large, but slightly sloping and bordered by houses at the lower end, which makes it only partially suitable for beginners. The landing site is about 300 m north of the FlemXpress valley station. In summer, the site can be thermally active and the valley wind can sometimes pick up.
Winter landing area Falera
The landing site is only approached in winter when the field ban is lifted and the cable car is operating. It is particularly suitable for flights from Crap Sogn Gion. The landing site is located directly west above the Falera valley station at 1,257 m above sea level. Landing is prohibited in summer.
Winter landing area Plaun
The landing site is only approached in winter when the cable car is operating and is located at 1,620 m above sea level. It is particularly suitable when there is fog in the valley. The landing site is located east of the Arena Express middle station. Make sure to land outside the cross-country ski trail and do not damage it when crossing. When flying from Crap Sogn Gion to Plaun with little terrain clearance, always fly east of the ski slope to Plaun (66, Curtgani) to comply with the Plaun overflight regulation.
General information
Paragliding tickets
The overview maps with all take-off and landing sites for paragliding are available here:
Overflight regulations & wildlife protection
Paragliding is practiced in harmony with nature. Therefore, it is important to respect it and fly considerately.
If you fly in LAAX, you must know the current overflight regulations. In particular, the following year-round regulations must be observed:
- Flimserstein (300m terrain distance, no soaring/scratching)
- Nagiens (300m terrain distance east below 1900m a.s.l. of the ridge)
- Plaun (300m terrain distance)
- Alp Mora (300m terrain distance, no scratching east of Bargis)
- Muotta (300m terrain distance below 2100m a.s.l.)
Weather & Airspace Information
If you are flying in LAAX, you must inform yourself in detail about the weather. This includes a good briefing about the general weather situation, a detailed study of the forecasted wind values and an analysis of the foehn situation.
Furthermore, before a flight, it is important to ensure that you are familiar with the airspaces know, and that no temporary airspaces are activated, which in Switzerland can be checked in the «daily airspace buelletin Switzerland».