A Beautiful Competition
Less is sometimes more. Review of a very beautiful Eigertour.
As expected, the "Blüemlisalp group," the two French pilots, as well as the Slovenian Stirn and the Chinese pilot Chen—who was "lost" due to tracker issues—all made it to the finish line in good time. This means 24 out of 41 athletes finished the 9th Eigertour, while 10 pilots had to withdraw. Michael Maurer dropped down one rank due to a penalty.
A review: In terms of task setting and conditions, the 9th Eigertour was perhaps a bit less intimidating than in previous years. Alpine crossings were not on the agenda. After a rainy first morning, the weather held up well. As is often seen in other sports, it became clear that challenging but not extreme course designs tend to enhance the athletic value. Nevertheless, the unique selling point of the Eigertour was preserved, thanks to the many huts along the high alpine ridge and the classic Glecksteinhütte as the final highlight. The excursion into the foothills was interesting and brought about an initial decisive moment with the crossing of Lake Thun.
Winner Chrigel Maurer put on an impressive performance, leading the race consistently from the second third onwards and safely bringing his advantage to the finish line. It seems that the confident, dominant "Eagle of Adelboden" is back. His potential X-Alps competitors will certainly have noticed. Lars Meerstetter confirmed his top-class status, and in the Frenchman Tim Alongi, we got to know another serious challenger from France. Romy Sweda was highly impressive. At times, she was able to keep pace with the top guns. And if you analyze her race closely, there is even more potential to be unlocked.
The international participation was very pleasing, and above all, the fact that the Eigertour is being noticed in France, the other top nation. And one more nice thing to conclude: I wrote a lot about athletes and nothing about gear.
Urs Dubach
thank you so much for commenting this race once again with your sharp mind and your brilliant wording.
Saturday, July 4, 2026; 12:00 PM
10 pilots—including Romy Sweda, the first woman—have reached the finish line. Behind them, 9 pilots are making quite an elegant progress.
Dougie Swanson-Low and, as the first woman, Romy Sweda reached the finish line in Grindelwald Grund this morning as planned, completing the top 10. Congratulations!
Meanwhile, the second group had a great night's sleep at the Blümlisalphütte and cleared their heads. They climbed from the hut through the morning mist up to the "Wilde Frau," caught a thermal in the upper airspace right after launch, and glided effortlessly between Blüemlisalp and Gspaltenhorn towards the Schmadrihütte turnpoint. That was not only quite fast, but also elegant and surely beautiful. If no major mishaps occur, their reward will be reaching the finish line of the Eigertour. Well done, pilots between ranks 11 and 19 (see the leaderboard in the live tracking)! I'm almost a bit regretful that I didn't mention this ascent option yesterday, but as a chronicler, you don't want to come across as a know-it-all.
Behind them, the French pilots Poujauran and Camus might still make it before the deadline, but for the pilots trailing them, it will be very tight to impossible. Either way, they will have another hopefully beautiful, but certainly impressive day of competition.
URS Dubach
Chrigel Maurer defended his lead and claimed victory earlier this morning, ahead of last year's winner Meerstetter and the Frenchman Alongi.
The Sefinenfurgga is a 2611 m high pass between Kiental and Mürren, corresponding to turnpoints 20 and 21. It stands squarely in the way of those heading home to Grindelwald from the west. The author himself once barely made it home by pulling his legs up. The real kicker for the Eigertour pilots is the wildlife sanctuary bordering it to the west. Landing is strictly forbidden—meaning you either clear it, or you turn back! Depending on the cloud base, doing so is often possible in the evening, hopeless in the morning, and a gamble anytime in between.
Because of this, Heiniger and Eschbach hiked this morning, covering the distance from turnpoint 20 to 21 in 2 ½ hours. Meanwhile, Montavon, Michael Maurer, Glatthard, and Romy Sweda flew a wide detour to the north, taking 1 ½ hours. The British pilot Swanson-Low rediscovered the key to the pass shortly after Romy and needed just 30 minutes!
With these names, we arrive at the elite of the field. These are pilots who may not have been fighting for a podium spot but nevertheless treated us to some incredible athleticism. Without falling into "black holes," Maurer, Sweda, and Heiniger might have made it even further ahead. This is great news regarding the depth of talent in Swiss hike-and-fly sports.
Eight pilots have already crossed the finish line. Romy and Dougie are expected to achieve this tomorrow morning after ascending to the Gleckstein Hut. A good 15 other athletes should still have a realistic chance of finishing the Eigertour before the official race deadline at 5:00 PM.
Urs Dubach
Friday, July 3, 2026; 12:00 PM
Chrigel Maurer defends his lead and claims victory this morning, finishing ahead of last year's winner Meerstetter and the Frenchman Alongi.
Chrigel Maurer has completed the 9th Eigertour as the victor in grand style. In a highly spectacular fashion, he tackled the final turnpoints—Eigergletscher, Bäregg, and Gleckstein, all located on evening slopes—almost entirely by flying. To do this, he utilized the opposite Osteck (east corner) of the Eiger, which was illuminated by the morning sun, and refused to be discouraged by an initial failed attempt. His defeat at last year's X-Alps does not seem to have dampened his spirits; on the contrary, it appears to have given him fresh motivation.
Naturally, everyone is now looking at this beautiful line between Stieregg and Bäregg. But if you truly want to learn something from Chrigel, you should closely examine the completely unspectacular and highly effective track between Männlichen and Stieregg instead—particularly the short, clear decisions on when to attempt something and when to let it go.
Actually, Maurer was in a somewhat tricky position this morning: pushing ahead without thermics, knowing that just minor changes in the air mass or a different choice of line by his pursuers could give them the advantage.
However, Meerstetter first had to serve a penalty due to a missed turnpoint from the previous day, and Alongi suffered bad luck during his landing below the Männlichen, forcing him to make makeshift repairs to his glider. As a result, it became clear fairly early on that the winner could realistically only be Maurer.
Meerstetter caught up with Alongi again on the Männlichen and secured second place by utilizing his specific knowledge of the Grindelwald area, flying over the Schattwald and the First region. This leaves the skilled and brave Frenchman with third place on the podium. However, he thoroughly impressed me—he is definitely someone to watch out for in the future.
Urs Dubach
Proverbs!
After crossing to the Stockhorn, the leading duo of Heiniger and Michi Maurer had to watch the field overtake them. Chrigel Maurer is now leading the race.
"He who comes too late is punished by life"; "the last shall be first." As we know, for every proverb and guiding principle, there is also its antithesis. In many X-Alps races, a small lead turned into a massive one because the chasers just missed a window to clear an obstacle or ran out of thermals in the evening. During the last edition, however, it was quite the opposite: all the breakaway pilots squandered their lead rather quickly. This morning, Michi Maurer and Nicola Heiniger suffered a similar fate. They arrived too early at the Niederhorn turnpoint before the tricky crossing to the Stockhorn range. Of course, in hindsight, it would have been better to wait for the pursuers. But you can never know that for sure—just as proverbs merely illustrate facts rather than predict the future.
For Nicola Heiniger, the damage seems to be very limited, but Michi Maurer now has a gap to close. Out in front are "The Eagle" and the magnificent Romy Sweda. However, the lead group is still tightly bunched together.
"Advantage Maurer"
After a sensational day of flying, only the top trio of Chrigel Maurer, Meerstetter, and Alongi still have a chance to win the Eigertour, with a slight advantage for Maurer.
"Hike and Fly" is a rather unfitting name for our sport. "Fly! Don't hike" is the actual motto—or at least: fly as much as you can, walk only as much as you absolutely must. Of course, today's route from Marbach via Rochers de Naye to the Lauterbrunnen Valley, with 15 intermediate landings, was a sensational achievement. However, it was primarily made possible because reaching the turnpoints and launching from them required little to no walking. The timing was perfect: the Prealps with their varying aspects throughout the day, followed by north and northwest aspects along the main Alpine ridge in the late afternoon and evening. The huts were located neither too high nor too low. With such rapid progress, any gaps opened up at the beginning of the day were nearly impossible to close, a lesson Michi Maurer unfortunately had to learn the hard way.
Chrigel Maurer led the race from the Stockhorn range onward, while behind him, Lars Meerstetter and Tim Alongi increasingly emerged as the only serious contenders. The question was: would Maurer eventually hit a section that was no longer flyable, or would a door slam shut behind him first? Catching up or a premature decision! For the time being, the "Hohtürli" between the Kiental and Lauterbrunnen valleys remained open, and people began to consider a third possibility: that the 8:30 p.m. time limit would simply freeze the gaps. On his way to the Lobhorn Hut, Chrigel landed near Winteregg. Would Alongi and Meerstetter manage that as well? No, they only made it as far as Mürren, but at the same altitude and slope aspect as Maurer. Nothing is decided yet, but in Wimbledon, they would still call it: "Advantage Maurer!"
Not only the top trio, but particularly the chasing pack up to and including Romy Sweda, showed excellent flying performances. It is a pity about her "mésaventure" on the evening side of Lauenen. Romy, perhaps you can take comfort in the fact that you are not the first to misjudge these somewhat complex slopes—the author included—and you certainly won't be the last to leave this spot cursing and on foot.
After the rain, the sun will (hopefully) shine
The athletes kicked off the 9th Eigertour under foul conditions. Starting tomorrow, the outlook is significantly better, which is crucial for the Grindelwald-Entlebuch-Lake Geneva-Grindelwald circuit.
As always, this year's Eigertour requires navigating a course defined by mountain huts, either by flying or hiking. For the past few years, however, a new region has been incorporated into the route setting alongside Grindelwald and the Bernese Oberland. This time, it is the Entlebuch region, featuring the Heftihütte near Sörenberg and the Marbachegg. Instead of the traditional Niesen chain, the route then follows the Stockhorn/Gantrisch area to the westernmost turnpoint, Rochers de Naye, high above Montreux. Finally, it heads back along the "classic" Bernese High Alps to Grindelwald, where the athletes must arrive by Saturday at the latest.
The field is led by the grandmaster Chrigel Maurer, who has just won the X-Pyr (the Pyrenean equivalent of the X-Alps). His toughest challengers are likely to be Lars Meerstetter and Michael Maurer, who beat him last year. Nicole Heiniger certainly has an outsider's chance as well. Led by the strong Tim Alongi, the Grande Nation (France) is represented by no fewer than six athletes. Among them is Solène Rombourg, who, along with Romy Sweda and Mirjam Barrueto, makes up the female contingent in the 41-player starting field.
Conditions from the start were dreadful with heavy rain, but it is expected to improve slightly by this afternoon, and flyable conditions are anticipated starting tomorrow.
Paragliding Eigertour Edition 9 2026
Wednesday, July 1, 2026; 8:30 PM
Rain marked the beginning of the 9th Eigertour. However, as the weather improved in the evening, the excitement built up. Michi Maurer and Nicola Heiniger managed to pull away slightly.
Due to the weather, today’s race up to Habkern was initially dominated by hikes and glides. From Pfingstegg and Alpiglen, athletes even had to march downhill. Nevertheless, the field stretched out—far from a final decision regarding the top ranks, but still providing a glimpse into the athletes' current form in terms of tactics, athleticism, and technique. The expected frontrunners took control, but without pushing too hard.
Then, at the end of the day, things got exciting after all. Nicola Heiniger and Michael Maurer caught the best evening thermals from Hohgant, managed to reach the Heftihütte and Marbachegg turnpoints, and pulled away slightly from the lead gaggle. Meanwhile, last year's winner, Lars Meerstetter, ran into difficulties because he didn't take the Gantrisch flight option. However, by the end of the race, he managed to find his way back into the chasing group alongside all the other favorites. Romy Sweda's performance was also highly impressive, making her the top-ranked woman.
The day also presented an interesting option for the pilots further back. Since the control zone of the Meiringen airfield ceased activity at 5:00 PM, the opportunity arose to glide from Schynige Platte to Brienz instead of Habkern, and to hike up toward the Rothorn chain from there.
Tomorrow, under better conditions, the route heads toward the Stockhorn and Lake Geneva. It will be interesting to see whether the two leaders can defend their advantage or if the chasers will catch up again soon.
This year's route goes over 260km, 26 turn points all around Bernese alps.
Eigertour 2025: Great Success and One Big Question
Behind Lars Meerstetter, 13 more pilots made it to the finish in Grindelwald—around 30% of the participants. Despite this proof of a very broad leading group, the question arises whether performance categories should be reintroduced.
From a sporting perspective, the Eigertour 2025 was a great success. Swiss X-Alps heroes Michael Maurer and Idris Burch engaged in a duel of absolute world-class level. Romy Sweda delivered the best performance ever by a woman in the tour. Incredible—she only started flying in 2022! Thanks to the weather, a large part of the impressive route could be flown.
Looking ahead, the question is whether categories should be reintroduced. Of course, it was great that all 50 participants were able to measure themselves against Meerstetter, Maurer, and the others. But one issue became apparent with the extension of the route decided after Day 1: For the top pilots, this was absolutely the right call—they would otherwise have reached the goal after just one and a half days. However, for some pilots in the back of the field, this likely took away their chance to complete the tour and experience a personal success. In terms of safety risks, the demands—despite the broader top group—are still not equal for all participants. That said, pilot self-responsibility must always remain paramount in this kind of competition. A multi-day task over such a vast area can never precisely account for all weather uncertainties and route options.
Whether with one or two categories, we’re already looking forward to Eigertour 2026. And judging by the satisfied faces at the award ceremony in the Eiger Lodge, the pilots are too.
Overall rankings: https://www.burnair.cloud/event/ranking.php?ids=140
Urs Dubach
