Competition News

Hello and welcome to the first meteo update for the 2026 Disentis Open, in preparation for tomorrow's training day.

Overall, after the passing of a weak cold front and an inflow of a little cooler air from the North today, the wind will turn back to South-West, bringing increasingly hot air to the Alps over the next few days. This air brings a lot of instability, which is great for thermals, but also great for thunderstorms, especially in the Alps.

Tomorrow we expect a sunny and hot day in the Disentis area, with highs around 32°C. The wind will be mainly from the South-West, with 20-25 km/h at 3000 m and above at noon, dropping to 10-15 km/h in the afternoon.

An inversion at around 2000 m should be heated through by noon, giving way to moderate thermals up to about 3000 m, which will increase both in strength and altitude in the afternoon, up to about 3500 m.

The problem is the wind down low: While the South-North pressure gradient is a moderate 2-3 hPa, the strong thermals in our area combined with cloudy, rainy weather to the South of us leads to shallow overflow over the nearby passes. This will increase throughout the day, as thermals increase. Instead of the usual valley breeze, flowing East to West, we expect increasing winds from the southern valleys flowing down the main Rhine valley, West to East, with increasing turbulence, especially where those side valleys enter the main valley.

There is also a chance for thunderstorms in the afternoon, as early as 13:00, mainly to the South and East of us.

Recommendation for Sunday
You fly at your own risk! If you feel that the conditions are OK for you, get your ticket at HQ early, at 9:00, take the 9:30 cable car and then chairlift to launch and take off as soon as possible. Consider landing in Trun (L02 - a short walk to the train station) or after 12:00 in Ilanz (L12 - a bit of a walk to the train station). Watch out for over-development and expect the wind to go in the "wrong" direction at the valley floor. Be on the ground again by 14:00 at the very latest.

Given the conditions, we will not set a training task. If you feel up for it, check out the wildlife protection zone X05, next to waypoint B09. I personally would not recommend crossing the main valley towards the South.

I will give another update tomorrow at 8:30.