Aonach Mor

Aonach Mor near Fort William is served by the UK's only mountain gondola, taking you to 650 m ASL — a ten-minute walk from there gets you to the main paragliding takeoff at Sgurr Finnisg-aig. The face looks out over Fort William and the Great Glen, and in post-cold-frontal north-westerlies this is the launchpad for some very long UK cross-country flights (as always, take your airspace charts before you head towards Glasgow or Edinburgh). It is a site for experienced pilots: the launch is steep, the landing options are restricted and committing, and getting caught out here in the wrong wind or a shifting sea breeze can be serious.

Launch & conditions

Two commonly-used takeoffs. The usual one: walk downhill (north) from the top of the chairlift to Sgurr Finnisg-aig, a small knoll with a steep NW face. In high pressure or light conditions, some pilots prefer to walk uphill and then generally SW to a spur with a west-facing aspect. Launch is steep.

Getting there & local rules

Aonach Mor gondola car park is ~5 km NE of Fort William, 2 km up a side road off the A82. Fort William is about 3.5 hours from Edinburgh/Glasgow, ~1.5 hours from Inverness. Landings: as this is a big XC site, out-landings are the norm. Landing at the base is doable but can be a lot for less experienced pilots even with the large ski car park.

Local rules & hazards

Strong sea breezes (westerly or south-westerly) may develop in the mid-to-late afternoon and be in a different direction to the higher-level meteo wind — expect wind shear. Large trees around the base car park cause mechanical turbulence in those conditions. During World Cup Mountain Bike events and other large events the car park may be full — if so, fly elsewhere. Site is for experienced pilots — steep launch, committing landing options.

Check conditions before you fly

A forecast for the valley is not a forecast for the launch. Before heading to Aonach Mor, 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 Aonach Mor with a 7-day forecast built from high-resolution weather models, see who else has been flying, and get there with offline maps.