Cloudbase Mayhem Podcast

This past XContest season (2025) Ariel Zlatkovski decided to take on a fantastically bold and totally mind-bending mission: Fly 100, 100km flights in a single season. To pull it off he'd have to spend a full 10% of his hours on Earth flying (nearly 20% of daylight hours), he'd cover 12,000 kilometers of open distance, and rack up 893 hours in the sky. He'd live the entire year away from home in In...

Two weeks ago at the World Championships in Costelo, Brazil a competition pilot was killed. This tragedy sparked an immediate and fiery response on social media calling for a top-down change at CIVL, the governing body of Category 1 competitions. Interestingly, two years ago during the World's in France there were over a dozen incidents, many which lead to serious injuries...but the blame was more...

Sebrand Warren got his start paragliding just a few short years ago in the US but got hooked immediately and set his sights on the ultimate challenge- the Red Bull X-Alps. Last year he dedicated himself 110% to the race by moving his life, job, and girlfriend to France to learn the intricacies of the Alps and the relentless physical training that is required to compete. In this episode we discuss...

In this episode I dive in once again with Calef Letorney to explore advanced cross-country techniques, focusing on thermal flying, the impact of wind, the concept of shark flying and a lot more. We discuss the importance of understanding day conditions, recognizing when to shift gears in flight, and the strategies that can lead to more efficient navigation in the air. The conversation is rich with...

Austrian athlete Simon Oberauner has competed in the Red Bull X-Alps five times and has always finished in 6th place or better. In this year's race he placed third for the second time, a mere seconds behind Lars Meerstetter after over 1200 kilometers (course line!) and 8 days of ferocious racing across the Alps. Simon reflects on his amazing experiences in this years race and the importance of att...

We depart from the Red Bull X-Alps in this episode and dive into a whole bunch of questions that have come in this past year from our listeners. And instead of answering them on my own we return to Karlis Jaunpetrovičs, former test pilot for BGD and current head of his own instructional SIV, coaching, and guiding (as well as running competitions) company Flying Karlis. We cover a lot of very solid...

Join us as we delve into the remarkable flying career of Celine Lorenz, a passionate paraglider who took to the skies at a young age. Discover how a tandem flight gift sparked her lifelong love for flying, leading her to save every penny for her license and equipment. Celine shares her early experiences, from working at her mother's refuge in the Alps to fund her dream, to the determination that d...

In this conversation, four-time competitor and 2-time color commentator Gavin McClurg and 9-time competitor and Red Bull athlete Tom De Dorlodot discuss Tom's continued recovery journey after a serious injury over a year ago snow-kiting in Norway and his recent emotional return to flying. They reflect on both of their recent Red Bull X-Alps experiences this June, exploring the dynamics of risk man...

Just hours after some of the athletes finished this years stunning Red Bull X-Alps I caught up with Tanguy Renoud-Goud (FRA 4), Rémi Bourdelle (FRA 5), Jared Scheid (USA), Juraj Koreñ (SVK), Jean De Biolley (BEL 2) and Shane Tighe (AUS) to quickly get their highs and lows from the race, most memorable moments and the toughest question to answer- will they do it again? We are releasing this podcast...

dutch pilot Koen Vancampenhoudt shares his journey as a paraglider, highlighting his record-breaking flight in Mexico, the challenges he faced, and his early experiences flying with zero information in Fiji. He reflects on the importance of safety training, the thrill of downwind flying, and the lessons learned throughout his flying career. Koen emphasizes the need for proper instruction and the v...

French pilot and serious adventurer Antoine Girard has laid down some of the boldest lines on Earth, and he's been doing it for a long time. Antoine competed in the Red Bull X-Alps four times, starting in 2013 where he found himself on the podium (3rd), again in 2015 (4th), 2017 (badly injured), and 2019 (retired due to continued trouble with the injury sustained in 2017). He's pulled off some of...

This week I sit down with Tom Peghiny to visit with Malcolm Jones, two legends in the world of hang gliding. They share their personal journeys into the sport, from Malcolm's early experiences with water skiing and the very first known towing of hang gliders which later became the Wallaby Ranch, the first aerotow facility in the world. The discussion covers the evolution of hang gliding competitio...

This conversation delves into the rich history of hang gliding, exploring the personal journeys of the early pioneers of free flight. It highlights the evolution of hang gliding, the DIY spirit of early glider construction, and the influential eccentric figures who shaped the hang gliding community. The discussion also touches on the challenges faced in the sport, the importance of safety, and the...

In this conversation, US based climber and relatively new paragliding pilot Nathan Longhurst shares his incredible journey of completing the 100 Peaks Challenge in New Zealand, combining his passion for climbing and flying. He began on 17 November 2024 and ran, rock climbed, ice climbed, bushwhacked, kayaked, cycled and paraglided his way through the list and incredibly- knocked it out in just 103...

Serge Durrant, a former Top Gun fighter pilot turned paraglider, discusses his journey from aviation to adventure sports. We explore themes of mentorship, risk management, and the importance of community in high-stakes environments. Serge shares insights on overcoming fear, the competitive nature of flying, and the mental techniques that have helped him succeed in hang gliding, flying F-18 fighter...

Paris has been flying hang gliders his entire life, and we’re the same age— so a long time. In this episode we explore the multifaceted nature of flying and its psychological implications. Paris has a PHD in psychology and is a practicing psychologist, and he shares his own journey from a challenging childhood and coming from a pretty dark place to finding solace in the skies. We discuss the evolu...

Juraj Koreň is an expert alpine climber and pilot from Slovakia who has been chasing some very extreme (often solo) adventures around the world for the last decade, including his 7 "virgin summits" attempt to climb and fly off the world's highest peaks. We begin this conversation discussing his experience in the 2019 Red Bull X-Alps and how mistakes in his first race have guided his last five year...

A year ago almost to the day professional Red Bull adventure athlete, 9 time Red Bull-Alps competitor, brainchild of "The Search" projects, professional speaker, loving father and husband Tom De Dorlodot was learning how to kite-ski in Norway for a future planned expedition across the length of Greenland when things went horribly, horribly wrong. This wasn't Tom's first major injury, but this one...

Jeff Ayliffe hails from South Africa and has been under some sort of canopy for a great deal of most of his action-packed years, beginning at the age of 5 when he became obsessed with skydiving. Jeff shares his journey from a young skydiving enthusiast to a veteran member of the national team. He recounts personal stories, including the thrill of formation flying and some terrifying, and sometimes...

Eddie Colfox has an unbelievable history with paragliding, beginning in 1991 at home in the UK and later across India, Pakistan, and Morocco. In this show Eddie discusses the evolution of the flying community, the connections formed through shared experiences, and the challenges faced in high-altitude flying. Eddie shares personal anecdotes, including his work with notable figures in the sport and...

In this episode we talk about his journey to becoming an instructor, the challenges and intricacies of test piloting, his passion for acrobatics, his experiences flying in Taiwan, and the vibrant paragliding community he has encountered along the way. Karlis shares his passion for cross-country flying and the importance of mentorship in paragliding. He discusses the significance of finding the rig...

Four years ago almost to the day we released a podcast with veteran UK pilot/adventurer Tim Pentreath that explored his "Gumball Rally"- a vol biv adventure open to anyone in the Alps every summer. At that time Tim and his friends were just getting getting started. This show is a follow up with Tim to find out how it's been going. The answer- quite well indeed! The Gumball continues to grow, conti...

In this continuing series on legends in the sport I sit down with Butch Peachy to discuss his over 40 years of flying hang gliders and his continued passion today. We begin with Butch's early days in hang gliding, his unique adventures including being (likely) the first to vol-biv with a hang glider, and the evolution of the sport. Butch shares crazy stories from the 70's, his experiences in compe...

On June 10, 2023 Arne Kristian Boiesen, a veteran paraglider from Norway stepped off one of his local sites outside of Oslo hoping to go pretty big. 9.5 hours later he'd flown his Niviuk Peak 6 343 km from launch, a remarkable 90 km farther than anyone ever had in Norway, flying nearly due north across epic terrain, landing just south of Trondheim. The record stands today.

Free flight tends to attract some rather big personalities to its crutches. And among its most interesting and passionate devotees is American pilot and pioneer Chuck Smith. Chuck learned back east on the dunes in the US with his brother in the late 80's under the tutelage of climbing legend John Bouchard. From there the search for airtime and the love of the flying community brought him all over...