Schlick – Stubaital, Austria

MY MOMENT

Taking off from the ski slopes, opening up to the mountains.

I had always found Stubaital beautiful, but until that trip I had never flown there in winter. Arriving at Schlick with my equipment for the first time that season, I saw the launch stretching into a vast ski area. With open snow slopes and mountains before me, I began to relax before my feet had even left the ground.

After take-off, I circled upwards in a thermal, rising above the peaks to see layer upon layer of Austria’s snowy mountains in the distance. The familiar valley had taken on its winter appearance, yet the feeling was entirely new: clear, spacious, and wonderfully peaceful.

Then I flew along the enormous ski slopes towards the valley. The snowfields opened out below me and the distant peaks drew closer. In that moment, it felt as though more than my body had left the ground. My whole heart had taken flight with it.