Plaine Joux (Passy)

Plaine Joux is the launch above Passy, at about 1,353 m, with a wide and nicely prepared take-off. It can get windy in the afternoon once the valley breeze builds. Two landing fields serve the site, Chedde and Batistock, only about a kilometre apart: Batistock is much bigger and suitable for hang gliders, while Chedde is smaller and more technical but still workable for beginners. Chedde is usually the busier of the two, which also means a better chance of finding a shuttle back up.

Launch & conditions

The take-off at Plaine Joux is wide and well prepared. It can be windy in the afternoon once the valley breeze sets in.

Getting there & local rules

By car it is roughly a 15-minute drive up; if you are on your own it is worth asking around, since another pilot may be heading up and you can leave one car at the landing. At weekends shuttle vans run, and school or tandem vehicles will sometimes take an extra pilot. Public bus line 85 also serves the launch from the Chedde market place — around €3.50 as far as Guébriant, from where it is a 950 m walk, or €6 all the way to Plaine-Joux. On foot, allow about 1.5 hours from the Chedde landing: walk up to the road towards Servoz, follow it for 1 km, then take the signed footpath up to Plaine Joux.

Local rules & hazards

The cliff behind take-off is part of the national park and it is not permitted to fly closer than 300 m to it; the cliff further to the west is fine. At both landing fields use the standard 'C' approach — the sky over Chedde in particular is often very crowded — and stop ground-handling when pilots are on approach. At the Marlioz landing, hang gliders have priority on the approach. If you fly towards Chamonix and Mont Blanc, check the flight restrictions: LF-R30A is permanent and LF-R30B applies in July and August, with no take-off, landing or overflight. Avoid flying in strong west or south-west wind: the landing becomes hard to reach and conditions can be really turbulent. The site is very well protected from the north and stays flyable even in a strong northerly. A west wind here usually means foehn — always check the foehn situation before flying, because conditions are very turbulent when it sits outside the −4 to +4 hPa range.

Check conditions before you fly

A forecast for the valley is not a forecast for the launch. Before heading to Plaine Joux (Passy), read the wind and thermals for the site itself, confirm the day's rules with the local club, and remember the standing rule — when in doubt, don't launch. In the free OutDare app you can open Plaine Joux (Passy) with a 7-day forecast built from high-resolution weather models, see who else has been flying, and get there with offline maps.