{"id":42708,"date":"2022-08-15T13:39:14","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T13:39:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/?p=42708"},"modified":"2022-08-16T13:10:21","modified_gmt":"2022-08-16T13:10:21","slug":"wingsuit-flying-in-walenstadt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/wingsuit-flying-in-walenstadt\/","title":{"rendered":"Wingsuit Flying in Walenstadt"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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A few thoughts from the local contact of the Swiss Base Association in Walenstadt…<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Wingsuit Pilots at Walenstadt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Some will feel offended reading this or have their ego bruised. Some will feel hurt because they have lost someone. <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This comment is not objective nor is it meant to please. It’s an inconvenient truth in the hope that the community doesn\u2019t forget what has already been learned paying the ultimate price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1 The Location <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Walenstadt offers a wide variety of lines and styles of flying. With barely any physical effort you get access to all the amazing lines you have seen on YouTube.
 
But Walenstadt also lies at the foot of the second deadliest mountain for WS-BASE in the world. Only the M\u00fcrrenfluh in the valley of Lauterbrunnen has witnessed more WS fatalities over the years (Via Ferrata, High and Low Ultimate). Including 2022 we have reached 13 wingsuit fatalities in Walenstadt, nine of which have occurred since 2018 (one from a helicopter). Hopefully you will never see such an accident, but we have, and it\u2019s us who are going to help the farmers close the impact holes and deal with the aftermath.
 
Walenstadt is not like Brento (ITW) or the Valley. It looks mellow and nice, but you are in a complex alpine terrain. This requires a different approach to fly your wingsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prepare yourself for the location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 The Base Jumpers <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

BASE jumpers from all over the world have been flying here and not all were equally prepared.
 
The mountain doesn\u2019t care if you have hundreds of WS skydives. What counts is the experience in the WS BASE environment. Go first to Brento (ITW) or a similar place with a more forgiving terrain. The accidents have shown that your abilities in any related activity (even skydiving) do not translate directly into the Alpine-WS-BASE-environment. It helps but it doesn\u2019t translate one to one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When entering the Alpine WS BASE-environment, do it step by step. Stay humble and approach it as a student, even if you are already on the top in another activity. Coming here with only a handful of WS BASE jumps and immediately diving deep into the crack is neither awesome nor rad. It\u2019s just plain dumb and shouldn\u2019t receive any praise. Especially not from other WS BASE jumpers. 
 
Don\u2019t let yourself be lured into believing you are ready when you are not. Just because apparently everyone else who WS BASE jumps already had a sniff at the crack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 You must not fool yourself – and you are the easiest person to fool.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Walenstadt is a place to enjoy and progress. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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3 The Flying <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Walenstadt can be an ideal place to get into alpine wingsuit flying. But be prepared. It\u2019s not the place to do your first wingsuit flights or test your brand-new wingsuit. The experiences show that some approaches are more forgiving than others.
 
If you feel that you are ready, a possible way could be to first learn to fly fast and with depth perception. This while staying well high and away from the terrain. Pick a forgiving line that leaves you with enough margin for errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then you might choose to slowly work your way closer into the terrain in consecutive jumps. Doing this might also help you to answer questions like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n