Dolomiti Super Fly: my 5th place

The Dolomiti Super Fly is a Hike & Fly competition in paragliding with sections on foot and in flight. The race consists in crossing the Dolomite Alps at speed passing through areas of interest only by paraglider or on foot.
This race takes inspiration from the famous “X-Alps”, testing athletes on a course that is as spectacular as it is difficult to complete.
5 days where the only goal is to walk fast to gain altitude, take off to fly as far as possible, eat, drink, sleep. And repeat the next day.
We asked Titta Scalet of the AKU Hike & Fly Team to tell us how the Dolomiti Superfly competition, held from 25 to 30 August 2024, went.

The first day we leave Levico. I climb quickly in front of everyone together with Aaron ( Durogati, ed.) to the top of Panarotta where we take off towards San Martino di Castrozza. The weather is good and it is easy to cross the entire Lagorai chain with the paraglider , we are about ten pilots in the lead, we fly quickly and in a short time we have to lose altitude to land in the village for the signature. The Hike&Fly competitions include mandatory passages, turnpoints , where the athletes' signatures are collected. With the exception of these passages, the itinerary is at the sole discretion of the competitors and depends both on the weather conditions and on the abilities of each individual.
San Martino is my home and I sign first! then again a quick climb towards Pala Monda under Cimon della Pala to take off again as soon as possible, the day is good for flying and you don't have to waste time on the ground! Of course in flight you are much faster than on foot so we all try to stay in the air and cover most of the route by paraglider.

I take off again with Aaron and we head first towards the Marmolada, I decide to follow him given his great experience in flight, but above the Falzarego I take the wrong line and find myself thrown by the strong wind down towards Alta Badia , Aaron goes high above the Sass de la Crúsc. I remain alone and try to fight through the currents so as not to have to travel the paths on the ground. At Plan de Corones I join Toby (Tobias Grossrubatscher ed.) in flight, together we cross the valley and wait in flight for a band of rain to pass. In this type of competition it can often happen that you join forces with other athletes : the weather conditions, the particular currents of the valleys and mountains crossed are not easy to read and by joining forces you can make better decisions.
PS: Thanks to Toby and his supporters for the help and for the umbrella and raincoat.

The next day we leave at 6 , climbing to the Vetta d'Italia for the second turnpoint, I sign first again, climbing on foot together with my supporter Patrick. It's early in the morning and the conditions are not yet good to find thermals to fly for a long time, you can only glide, moreover the forecast calls for scattered rain for a good part of the day.
In flight, however, the conditions are unexpectedly good! I linger a bit and in the meantime in flight Aaron takes the lead before gliding towards the third turnpoint of Sarentino that all the first 4 reach in the evening. It's time to run and I run like crazy until 8 pm to reduce the accumulated gap!

I sign in Sarentino on the third day at dawn and set off in pursuit! Glide towards Merano and climb for the day's flight on Mount Muta. I join the lead group at take-off who were waiting for good conditions to take off. Together we take off towards Lake Resia. In flight I lag again, the 4 in front aren't combing their dolls! At the turnpoint I'm almost 1 hour late and I play my trump card: I take off from a meadow with only 200 meters of altitude difference from the lake and everything goes smoothly. I'm already climbing quickly in thermals when the first 4 take off for the first traverse, I'm only a few minutes behind them, I get caught up in the rush and having reached 3000 meters of altitude I also take off for the traverse. 3000 won't be enough, the downwind blocks me and I'm forced to go back exactly to the take-off point almost at lake level.
There is nothing left to do but start all over again . The first ones are gone, again about 1 hour ahead! The Val Venosta is closing: dark clouds are releasing bands of rain and despite the reassurances of my supporters I decide to completely change route and opt for the line west of the Ortles-Cevedale group to reach the fourth turnpoint located fourteen horizons away to the south at Lake Idro. Hike&Fly seems like an individual sport but without my supporters I wouldn't go anywhere , especially in multi-day races. They wait for me at the established points and together with them we decide the strategy to follow by choosing the best flight and walking routes. Thanks Francesco Schenal and Patrick Gasperini!

Fourth day full of doubts , will I be too far off course? Do I fly over the Adamello or do I stay west hoping not to come out in such a mess?
A good quick morning hike with 2 glides will clear my head! I climb Mount Gaviola which, looking at Google Earth, seems to have a nice meadow where you can take off. It seems so. Luckily Checco has climbed up and helps me take off from the scree!
The flight is fantastic, 2 bearded vultures accompany me for a while , one even for almost 10 minutes. The crossing of Aprica is long and against the wind, always 2 birds indicate a thermal that helps me climb over the ridge and then an eagle shows me the way to gain altitude. Today my partners are not only those on the ground! Mother nature seems to be on my side. I fly in a state of flow completely uninterested in the race, I only care about staying in the air.
When I see Lake Iseo in the distance I understand that it is time to get back to the race. I fly to the turnpoint! By now I am solidly in fifth position, in front they will close the lap in Levico in the evening… I go up in full gas mode the last part of the day and land at the little church of San Giacomo on the Stivo at 19.57, just in time before the end of the day which is for everyone at 20.00.
The fifth day starts off in a relaxed way , the plan is to arrive in Goal in Levico with 2 glides, one from Stivo and one from Cornetto di Folgaria. The first glide ends up a little shorter and I land in the only meadow among the vineyards for kilometers: the owner is not happy! Covered paths make me waste time and I start to worry that Remi ( Bourdelle ed.) will manage to fly from Stivo to gain altitude and overtake me in flight! I pick up the pace and finish the race in flight shortly after midday.

It was an epic ride: 463km of flight, 150km and 17,000m of altitude difference on foot.
To make my dream come true there is the next edition!