Hammertag Arrives in Austria: Epic XC Day in the Eastern Alps

Perfect soaring conditions finally arrived in the eastern Alps on Saturday, giving thousands of pilots the cross-country day they’d been waiting for all season. For many in the region, it was the first genuinely flyable day of 2026 — and it delivered in spectacular fashion.

More than 100 XC pilots gathered on the Stoderzinken, a renowned launch site near the Dachstein east of Salzburg. Alexander Robé described it as “late but great conditions,” adding that pilots were rewarded with outstanding flying and numerous personal bests. He himself clocked up 282km on this first Hammertag of the Eastern Alps.

Czech pilot Honza Čapek managed an impressive 283.50km FAI triangle, heading up to Bavaria before returning toward the Hohe Tauern. Reflecting on his flight, he noted on XContest: “There was a nice group flying so we helped each other out at times and kept a great pace.”

Three pilots broke the 300km FAI triangle barrier. Michael Sommerauer reached 336.10km and Franz-Josef Egger achieved 309.73km, both flying triangles around Zillertal, Chiemgau and Pinzgau valleys. Meanwhile, former Red Bull X-Alps competitor Stephan Gruber completed a 304.06km triangle that started south of Innsbruck, crossed the main Alpine chain to the Dolomites and returned.

German pilot Marcel Duerr fulfilled a personal ambition he’d nurtured for 12 years — a glacier triangle from Lenggries. His route swept southwest to Imst, then east over the mountains south of the Inn valley before turning north along the Zillertal.

“After nine hours of flight time and 240 kilometers, I landed back at my starting point in Lenggries. A very special moment that I still can’t quite believe,” he wrote. He highlighted the challenges: multiple airspace restrictions, inaccessible glacier areas and high-alpine terrain with no road access. “Lines, timing, decisions — and the little bit of luck, you can’t live without it.”

The eastern Alps have endured a disappointing start to the season. Simon Oberrauner recently mentioned he’d only logged around 40 hours this year, compared to over 100 by the same point last year. On Sunday, Burnair reported that their tracking app had recorded 7,000 pilots in the air and processed over 20 million track points during the day.

Several forecasting services predicted the exceptional conditions. Kelly Farina, author of Mastering Paragliding, correctly anticipated 250-300km FAIs on the north side through his Bassano forecasting service. The key indicators? A high pressure system over the Alps, a skew-t showing a high cloudbase of 4,000m and negligible south föhn.