Cross Country

Cross Country is the world’s leading voice for hang gliding, paragliding and paramotoring pilots. Ten times a year, our magazine content reflects our obsession with flying, and we express it by packing each issue with the most imaginative, inspirational photography and writing we can lay our hands on.

MAKE TIME FOR ADVENTURE

CONTRIBUTORS

Cross Country

OPENING SHOT

IN THE CORE • People, news and insight from around the free flying world

XC SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE HEROES

WHAT’S ON

THE YEAR AHEAD • The year ahead is packed with free flying competitions and events – here are some international highlights for 2024

ON LAUNCH WITH FATEMEH EFTEKHARI

‘TEN EVERESTS IN ONE YEAR’ • Espen Åshammer hiked 80,000m in a year to win Norway’s new Run-And-Fly league

STEVE HAM 2024

ADVENTURE 2024

BACK IN THE DAY

SLED-ACCESS SPEEDRIDING!

FLYING IQ • Helping you fly better with expert advice and know-how

FLYING 3,000KM IN WAVE – AT NIGHT

‘THE PLAN WAS 3,500KM’

HOW TO SERVICE YOUR PARAGLIDER • Servicing your wing can mean different things in different places, as Bastienne Wentzel explains.

INSPECTION LIST

FIRST BIVOUAC TANDEM HARNESS BY BOGDANFLY!

QUESTIONS TO ASK A SERVICE CENTRE

TEN TIPS TO NAIL YOUR LANDINGS

SATELLITE EYE • A pilot’s-eye view of our ever-changing Earth below

THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD • Ol Doinyo Lengai is the mother of all mountains, a live volcano that rises 3,000m above the plains of Tanzania. Jake Holland, Tom de Dorlodot and Horacio Llorens went to explore.

‘WE LEARNED SO MUCH FROM THIS CULTURE’

‘IT WAS A MAGIC NIGHT FULL OF STARS’

WELCOME TO THE GARDEN • Flying truly can be child’s play… Clément Latour and Rody Guyot introduce 12-year-old Félix Deplace to the wonderful world of vol-bivouac in the French Alps.

THE ADVENTURE CHANNEL • From chasing the wind across cumulus-studded skies in the middle of nowhere to pushing your personal boundaries by learning new skills, we round up some of the most eye-catching adventures for your free-flying year ahead

EAT. SLEEP. FLY 100KM. REPEAT. • Last season Mathew Fiddes set himself the goal of averaging one 100km a week throughout the year on XContest. With just two weeks and two flights remaining, Jack Sheard spoke to him to see what he’d learned

Thinking Differently The gaggle, and the individual • The first in a five-part series exploring the philosophy and approaches of Julien Garcia, France’s national coach.

KITLIST • All the latest reviews, gear and technology forfree flying

KITLIST

ADVANCE EPSILON DLS • Brian Steele flies the tenth iteration of Advance’s benchmark EN-B

DESIGN INSIGHT GIN GENIE RACE 5 • Gin Seok Song talks to Hugh Miller about Gin’s long-anticipated new weapon

ROBBIE ADKINS • One of our free-flying pioneers, on what matters most