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For Felix Wölk, every flight over the Dolomites is a journey through time and the elements. Between primeval sea beds and volcanic rock, it is a landscape that is constantly changing – and which rekindles his desire for freedom time and again. That is why he has found a new home in "the most beautiful mountains in the world".
Heading south
We are on a paragliding trip through our homeland – a short cross-country flight from the South Tyrolean Alps to the Venetian Dolomites. It's spontaneous, rekindling the spirit of adventure that gets eroded by everyday life. It’s not in my nature to chase kilometres and break records, it never really has been. I get satisfaction from luxuriating in a pool of raw nature, especially if it's in a spectacular setting. From my adopted home – the western Puster Valley – this often means “heading south.” A course towards the sun, rocks, and overdevelopment.
The Pares Peak - my gateway to the Dolomites
The springboard to this destination is the Paresspitze, which reliably catapults us skyward again today. It is the gateway to the fantastic world of the Ampezzo Dolomites. Above the Pares enormous thermal forces wait to send you upwards, and at cloudbase the adventurer is beckoned in three directions. Today we choose south, because the moist air of the Mediterranean is flowing into the mountain ranges. It fuels the thermal system, causing impressive cloud towers to grow and condense to wrap themselves around the cliffs of the Fanis and Tofane peaks, the rocky giants above Cortina d'Ampezzo.
A game of clouds and rock
Above, below and around us, cloud, wisps of fog and immense rock faces create a special world that seems much more real to me than the earthly one we left just an hour ago under our paragliders. The warming humidity threatens to become stormy. It’s time to cover some distance.
Under the protection of the Marmolada
Our glide to the northwest takes us into drier air. The south face of the Marmolada blocks the maritime wind. It’s the highest mountain in the Dolomites at 3,348 metres. The mountains of the Puez National Park lie in the shelter of the Marmolada. Barely half an hour after the stormy scenario, a completely different world reveals itself here. Geologically it is very interesting because the vertical rock formations above Cortina were formed from primeval sea beds, raised high, buckled and eroded. The mountain world is now of volcanic origin.
A rollercoaster of impressions
It is a characteristic feature of the Dolomites that they present an overwhelming variety of natural wonders in a small area. From my paraglider I can wonder at them from a rare and unique viewpoint. It’s a personal privilege that never fails to delight. The sky now determines our flight. We keep our distance from the thunderstorms which expend their humid energy in the Central Dolomites, and head for the west face of the Heiligkreuzkofel (a historic mountaintop pilgrimage site). From an altitude of 3,300 metres we savour the onset of evening. The slanting light gives the plateau of the Sennes Natural Park new shadows, colours, shapes and contrast. The mighty west face above Corvara radiates its heat into the night until long after sunset.
Why I feel at home here
We glide straight home. Once again I can't believe what we have experienced “just like that.” Today, it becomes clear to me why I have made my home in the Dolomites. Every day I have the opportunity to rediscover a whole new world with my paraglider.
THE EQUIPMENT
MORE ABOUT Felix
Felix Wölk
Felix is a paraglider and hangglider pilot, parachutist and mountain sportsman of the old school. For two decades he has enjoyed a worldwide reputation as a celebrated paragliding photographer.