Commiserations but still congratulations...I'm fit!!

Well done to all successful applicants who got selected into the Redbull X Alp's 2015.
Unfortunately my campain andrew4xalps was not successful!
So I've gone for a hike up to Mystic to sweat it out!

A special congragulations to Nick Neynens from New Zealand for his successful bid. He's one to watch!!

Also a huge thanks to all sponsors past present and ones that were willing to assist with amazing gear. Thanks to Pure Mountain, Ozone, Icebreaker, Salomon, Onesmall Planet, Active Flight, Sportaroo and the most supportive my wife Wendy who was willing to put aside her pursuits for my adventures!

There are many other people who were and are great supporters and I thankyou for beleiving in me! There are many but one special person is Dave Snowden who was willing to give up so much time to support me here and over in Europe during the event.
I'm keeping on this track of paragliding so keep an eye out on my blog and facebook for up and coming adventures.
Thanks again
Andrew4XalpsOZ!!

Less then 24 hours to the successfull Redbull X Alp's 2015 pilots are announced!

Less than 24 hours to go! Will have a screen up and showing the count down and some videos on another screen down at the Outdoor Inn (Krusty's) in Bright starting at 6pm. BYO snacks, bbq and drinks will be available from Terry.
Will I be one of the mad men that get on???
Come downand see. If you can't make it, watch it on www.redbullxalps.com

Cheer on Andew4XAlps and Australia

A Bright Cracker

A promising day was due for today and Garth and I tried to make the most of it. There the usual locals out with a few newbies trying out some new gear and skills.
We were getting up easily over Mystic and Clearspot. Garth and I were in the second group to head over to try and get up on Buffalo. Pedram tried for Little Buffalo but could get over the ridge on the windward side so Garth and I went into the east side of Buffalo. We both managed to scrape and scratch until we got over the top of the chalet.
The waterfall was flowing well when we went past and the Chalet was looking glorious. We headed over towards the Ovens as the flats looked like they weren't working so we thought we try to get back to the Mystic LZ over Mt. Porpunkah. 
There were not to many strong climbs and the day was slow but we ventured around the back of range behind Mt. Porpunkah onto The Pyramid. The clouds were developing into storm clouds on the east of the range so it was time to head back to the LZ from Smoko.

Redbull X Alp's ready to anounce the successfull applicants!

The 2015 Red Bull X-Alps lineup will be revealed in batches from 9am to 21hr on Wed 29th Oct on redbullxalps.com and Facebook.com/redbullxalps.
Keep an eye out and hopefully I can represent Australia in this extreme adventure race. Thanks for everyone's support over the last twelve months.

Bright in Pre-Season Glory

Went out for a day that on XC Soar was looking good for a 100km triangle. Light winds at 2400m with a slight SE drift.

Pedram was first to fight the rotory scrapy thermal over Emily ridge and then decided to head over to the lower Marcus spur to find a nice smooth 1.5m climb upto 1800m. Brian and I headed off just after him and thrashed around in the same on Emily. I decided to head over to the same area where Pedram got up and was rewarded with a nice 2m climb up to join Pedram.

We both got up to 1900m and headed over to Mt. Porpunkah with a nice boyant glide. It took a while to find a climb above the ridge but I managed with a trashy 3m to base while Pedram scratched low. This was going to be the trend of the day me in my Ozone LM5 staying reasonably high while watching Pedram in his Ozone Enzo scratching along low.

We made to just short of Ovens and then over to Mt. Buffalo and back to Clear Spot and back to the LZ. Pedram hardly got over 1400m after Mt Porpunkah but got around the same course. Best climb for the day was 4.5m/s and the wind seemed to be all over the place, southerly high and northerly valley wind down low.
Check out the flights at X Contest

http://www.xcontest.org/world/en/flights/detail:andrewhorchner/17.10.2014/01:29

http://www.xcontest.org/world/en/flights/detail:pedram.shiari/17.10.2014/01:22

Canungra Cup Day 5 cancelled

Today was cancelled early due to the wind observations were showing strong winds everywhere.  Pedram and I want for a hike upto Mt  Warning for an opportunity to train.
We got up in 1hr 20mins and back down in 55mins. Pedram tried out my Salomon XT Wing shoes and I had on the XA Pro's. We found that the Pro's had better grip on polished rock but both performed well on the uneven sufaces with offering great support and ease of stability both offering good cushioning on the down hill decent. It was a warm day but I thought I would wear my Icebreaker GT shirt to see how it would perform in a warmer climate. It was great and offered good aeration and comfortable wick ability.
After getting back down we headed off to see a new sponsor, PURE Mountain based in the Gold Coast to get sized up for some of the best wet weather gear with incredible breathability and waterproof property's as well as a new warm insulation jacket as a second layer. Details of this will jacket will be made available in the later months of this year! ! Checkout their web site at

http://www.purebrandz.com

Competition Training in ready for an acceptance into yhe Redbull X Alps 2015

I'm up on Queensland, Australia competition training in ready for my acceptance into the Redbull X Alps 2015 with great conditions with three great tasks completed over amazing volcanic landscapes.