Flying in Rustavi, July 2011

You have seen it before, but this video by Levan Iasashvili (in the air with Alex Iskandarov) gives you an even better idea of the gorgeous time one has in Rustavi when the wind is right.

Great video, guys!

Paramotoring over Sighnaghi

Nodar and Rostom flying over Sighnaghi.

For the (pretty amazing) video, click here.

Tsalka Kiting | Plateau

We went to the kiting site in Tsalka once more, about 90 min. west of Tbilisi. The ice on the lake was excellent, but we also found kiting on the plateau just before Tsalka to be awesome. The main bowl is quite flat, but there are some variations that make it interesting, including a chance to go uphill a little further east. Lots of space to race back and forth. The tips of the arrow in the image above are more than 2 km apart.

A close-up shows how well the mountains even funnel the wind.


You may see the light patch running through the fields like a stripe, from top to bottom. That is the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, and the security guards at one of the stations will likely be a bit curious about what you do.

We have now also made out a good restaurant, right in the center of Tsalka, on the right as you drive west, just off the main square. It's called Pontia, and while it is simple the people are very friendly. They now already have seen the first guests come in with ski boots, so likely will not be surprised.


Film to follow.

Tsalka Kiting | Wind, Sideways

So we like wind, and if there's too much of it, we go windsurfing, and if it's a good winter, there is Plan C: ice-kiting.

It only takes about 90 min. to get out to Tsalka, over the great new road (short plug for American development assistance). The ice is thick, although you may want to watch it since it is a reservoir and the lowering of water levels does create some gaps. Not all of those freeze over quickly. Also, there are some fishing holes that are not marked. In the video, you see me looking at one of them. You wouldn't want to sink your skis into one of those. Next time, I will be wearing a life vest.

(My hands were cold, so I had not yet hooked into the harness.)

Preferable kites size would be between 1.5 and 3 sqm, with one or two larger ones in reserve. Average wind speeds were between 30 and 40 km/h, although earlier in the day they reached 60 km/h, at which point the Ozone safety chart for the 3 sqm Flow Kite suggested in firm wording that even Expert Kiters watch instructional DVDs, rather than trying their luck with the winds. Sharpening edges may also be a good idea, given the sheer ice. And you want to take an ice axe, so that you can secure the kite when it is down, and potentially claw your way out of a hole. (Definitely: helmet. On my first kiting day in the season, I was taking it easy, and my GPS still read out speeds of more than 46 km/h. Good idea: radios. So we can use pretty much all our toys. Yay!)


This is a happily exhausted me, after three hours on the ice. Haven't yet checked out the Tsalka restaurants, so as to support local people a bit, but that's next on the list.