Speed Riding

A cross between paragliding & skiing. Using a smaller sail than in paragliding, speedriding will allow you to enjoy the pleasure of skiing whilst having the option to suddenly fly off jumps and then shoot across to the other side of the mountain with ease.

Always included in our holidays

Ski & speed riding equipment

Liftpass

Instruction or guiding

Accommodation

All meals

Friendly & social atmosphere

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What is the difference between paragliding, speed flying and speed riding?

Paragliding is flying with large canopies that allow you to stay and travel in the sky. You can climb on thermal air currents, and your "glide ratio" is about 1:8, meaning you go eight times further forward than down.

Speed flying is a general term for using smaller canopies or mini gliders. Speed riding is the specific term for going down snow slopes with mini gliders and skis. The glide ratio is much lower - 1:4 - which allows you to play with the ground, mixing skiing and flying in a new way.

Speed Riding is almost certainly the newest & most exciting winter sport. It crosses skiing with paragliding enabling you to ski steep terrain and gain flight time. Experts are using these techniques to ski faces like the Mallory Route on the Aiguille du Midi - a graded alpine climb of over 60 degrees steepness. The paragliders are approximately half size, allowing a reasonable glide angle, but more importantly allowing you to maintain a good speed.

Why book this through UCPA?

UCPA provide all the kit plus instructors (dual qualified ski & paragliding). Your ski level needs to be advanced (comfortable off-piste) to be able to take on this exciting sport. We have a beginner level course for those who are completely new to the sport plus an intermediate level for those who have done at least 1 week before.

Everything is handled in house – equipment hire, instruction, all meals, lift passes, allowing for a straightforward experience where you can focus on speedriding, rather than having to think about buying lift passes, finding equipment hire and ski and snowboard schools etc.

Some rules to give you some insight in to what it will be like

Speedriding is only allowed on certain off piste areas.
All speedriding activities (launching, skiing with the glider inflated, landing or take offs) are completely forbidden on the pistes regardless of the pistes being open or closed.
Skiers have priority and must always be given 50m space.
Appropriate 3rd party airsports insurance cover is obligatory. You will have to look in to this yourseleves as we do not provide cover.
When using ski lifts: The wing must be carried in such a way that it cannot inflate or cause any nuisance. A stuff sack or rucksack is strongly recommended.

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What our clients say about us!

Unbelievably Cheap Perfectly Awesome

"In my opinion, UCPA should really stand for something like ‘Unbelievably Cheap, Perfectly Awesome’ because it really is the best way to see the French Alps on a budget. Or not even on a budget for that matter, because the enthusiasm of the instructors, quality (and quantity!) of the food and general fun atmosphere is something you would be hard pressed to find elsewhere."

Amelia S

Epic food

"Lunch and dinner were epic. Buffet style with delicious and varied options each day and night. Not cheap foods either - Full roast chickens, ribs, roast beef, etc. Unreal!"

Ron H

Great people

"The best thing about this holiday was the people I met! Everyone loved skiing/snowboarding/being outdoors, so we had a lot in common already."

Tong Tong

Easy for solo traveller

"All UCPAs are very friendly and sociable. The bar and dining areas are open with big tables, encouraging people to sit together and get to know each other. This makes it very easy as a solo traveller."

Anna R

Unique and brilliant experience

"UCPA is a unique and brilliant experience, I would not describe it as a hotel but also not hostel it is somewhere in-between. Its a place where meeting people and making friends..."

Peter E

Never feel left out

"Most UCPA guests are either on their own or in small groups, so you never feel left out if you don’t know anyone at the start."

Olivier P