| Paragliding at Mount Pinard | ||||||||||||
| near Val-Brillant | ||||||||||||
| in the Matapédia Valley (Quebec) | ||||||||||||
| On September 18, 2002 | ||||||||||||
| Français | ||||||||||||
| You stroll up discreetly to the top of a quiet hill on the edges of lake Matapédia and you notice, already in flight, a few paragliders arrived earlier. This site is located a few kilometers from Val-Brillant, a small agricultural village that gives sometimes its name to the nearby lake. Since the sun of the afternoon shines strongly on your left, you can deduce that you are facing the North. | ||||||||||||
| Is there anything more pleasant, at this ending summer time still full of light, than to frolic around indolently in the air, carried away by the wind like a magic kite? To see the landscape down from the air! To get rid for a while of the city's rumors! To escape from the worries of the day for an hour or two! Oh! What a beautiful spectacle! | ||||||||||||
| Near a rather big lake, when the wind does not meet obstacles, it arrives in continuous streams on the neighboring hills. During sunny days, slightly before noon, the hot sunrays have warmed enough the ground layer of the air to create the blowing breeze that make flights possible. Sometimes also, when the atmosphere is clear and the sun shines strongly, ascending thermal airstreams are generated. These powerful winds allow the flight to gain altitude. Besides, birds have used them for millions of years! | ||||||||||||
| Some paragliders are a little reckless. Not without care though. Having noticed the newcomers near the departure area, brave Gino gives us a demonstration of his acrobatic hedgehopping. It is the spirit of the game. And a spirit of good-companionship and cheerfulness. | ||||||||||||
| Before launching your flight, it is always useful to know the strength and the direction of the wind. So put your wind sensor in front of the breeze and see the piston rising cheerfully as your paraglider will do in a minute or so. This gesture looks more like a rite than a necessity, nevertheless it informs you more accurately than weather reports. At least, it permits you to anticipate the efficiency of your support at that precise hour. | ||||||||||||
| Everything is all right and you just have to leave. The wind is so good today that the departure is going to be easy and elegant. It will be like a bird that flies away. | ||||||||||||
| A step backward, a pull on the driving lines and that's it, you leave. Oh! If Leonardo da Vinci could have seen that! His Mona Lisa would have gone pale with envy! | ||||||||||||
| Here is a view of Mount Pinard, seen from below. The lowering makes hardly 120 meters [400 feet], but it is widely enough to make long-term flights. The record of 5 hours 59 minutes, established by Lionel Perron, whose departure we have just seen, has never been beaten on this site. A bird's flight requires less energy than we tend to believe sometimes. They often manage to glide on the blowing wind. We have started to imitate them only a few years ago. | ||||||||||||
| The senses of a bird, being the end result of a long evolution, inform it constantly about the strength of the wind and the quirks of its direction. Our poor sensitive abilities oblige us to use mechanical devices to appreciate these natural elements. This elementary wind gauge speaks better than a big book! It exemplifies at the same time the fable of Jean de La Fontaine, The oak and the reed: " I bend but do not break ! " | ||||||||||||
| While the others are still flying, a grounded paraglider is doing some exercises to acquire a better control over the positioning of his canopy. He practices his art like a musician repeating his arpeggios. Playing with the wind allows him to better know it, to tame it and to always use it as an ally and an accomplice. | ||||||||||||
| Soon arrives Lionel who will land, as usual, with grace and elegance. The wind was favorable to him and he will fly again at the first occasion. For him, to go paragliding is to make Leonardo da Vinci's dream come true many times during the warm season and sometimes even in full winter. You then need a protection against the cold, and as well a favorable wind to carry you up. | ||||||||||||
| Reportages on other sites of paragliding in the Matapédia Valley: | ||||||||||||
| Mount Bherer: | ||||||||||||
| http://membres.lycos.fr/rleveq/mat/sport/tandeme.htm | ||||||||||||
| Lac-au-Saumon : | ||||||||||||
| http://membres.lycos.fr/rleveq/mat/sport/parapen.htm | ||||||||||||
| To know more about it: | ||||||||||||
| The Association Québécoise de Vol Libre (AQVL) : | ||||||||||||
| http://www.aqvl.qc.ca/main.htm | ||||||||||||
| The site of Val-Brillant: | ||||||||||||
| http://www.aqvl.qc.ca/site_val_brillant.shtml | ||||||||||||