A Sunshine Coast paraglider is preparing to run, hike and fly up to 1200km across the Alps.
Shane Tighe has been selected to represent Australia in the Red Bull X-Alps, which is dubbed the world’s toughest adventure race.
The 33-year-old will be the only Australian among 30 competitors in the two-week long event, from June 15.
He will fly up to 150km per day across iconic mountains, valleys and peaks, as well as hiking up to 4000m of vertical ascent a day and running as much as 100km.
The competition is an incredible test of physical endurance and will be only the second hike and fly race that Tighe has competed in following his third placing in this year’s X-Pyr challenge, which was a 487km race across the Pyrenees.
The Caloundra-based paraglider pilot started flying in 2009 on the Sunshine Coast, where he got his licence with the Sports Aviation Federation of Australia (SAFA), Australia’s sporting body, which has about 3500 members across dozens of clubs.
He has been fascinated by flying since he was a teenager and enjoys pushing himself physically.
“The X-Pyr was a good indicator of my ability and I would love to test it on a larger scale in the world’s toughest race – the Red Bull X-Alps,” he said.
“I plan to spend a significant amount of time preparing physically and mentally for the race, lots of physical training and time in the Alps to become familiar with the terrain.”
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Tighe’s other paragliding achievements include a solo flight in Pakistan flying at altitudes above 7000m and camping wild, plus dozens of 200km flights and one 300km in length.
He regularly flies at Rainbow Beach, where he is the site record holder flying 260km from a 30m-high hill.
“My favourite site in Australia is Rainbow Beach in Queensland,” he said.
“I learnt there and have spent hundreds of hours playing around on the dunes.
“The site offers easy soaring with the ability to get high enough for basic acrobatic paragliding, and a nice large dune to play around.”
The line-up of Red Bull X-Alps is a global mix of veteran and rookie athletes and anything can happen due to the number of variables such as weather conditions and route decisions.
Each year the route over the Alps varies, traditionally starting in Austria via several turn-points across several countries.
