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THE AKU HIKE&FLY TEAM

Hike&Fly a rapidly growing sport

Starting out on foot, climbing mountains if necessary, following mountain chains driven only by our legs and the gentle or powerful force of the wind.
This is called Hike&Fly.

AKU strongly believes in this new discipline that combines free paragliding with mountain hiking .

An eco-sustainable and environmentally friendly discipline: it is permitted to climb only on foot to the take-off points, mostly on mountain paths, and then fly to the landing point using winds and currents.

AKU Hike&Fly Footwear

Hike & Fly competitions were also the testing ground for the Flyrock GTX and Rocket GTX. The athletes of the AKU Hike&Fly team walk and fly with AKU fast hiking footwear, designed for the most demanding off-road adventures where traction , protection and high cushioning are required.

The AKU Hike & Fly Team

AKU participates in the main Hike&Fly competitions with its own team of athletes , united by a great passion for the mountains and paragliding.
Young promises of Hike&Fly who, like AKU, live the outdoors and adventure with a free but conscious spirit , enthusiastic about every experience in contact with nature.
In addition to their free flight skills, the team's athletes have great experience and athletic ability to walk and navigate any terrain. Competitions require them to be able to travel dozens of kilometers a day with thousands of meters of altitude difference , until they reach an optimal take-off point from which to fly with lucidity towards the next turnpoint.

Sudden landings and overnight bivouacs are possibilities that Hike & Fly athletes know they can face when taking part in a race.

The charm of the mountains crossed, still authentic and wild, combined with the dynamism and energy of Hike & Fly , make this discipline perfect for stimulating the interest of an audience that wants to experience the mountains to the full .

  • Simon Gruber

    36 years old, professional freestyle snowboarder . He spent several years in the Italian national team competing in the world cup with good results. Over time the focus has shifted, from the snowpark to off-piste, using the whole mountain as a natural snowpark where he can do his tricks. He has been living in Ortisei for a few years and there his passion for the mountains was born, even in the summer version, from cycling , both on the road and on a mountain bike to paragliding , where the discipline of hike&fly has become a great passion.

    "I consider myself a very lucky person, I have already achieved many of my goals and I am living the life I have always dreamed of. For now I continue to live my dream. "

  • Mirko G. Nenzi

    33 years old, he has been wearing ice skates since the age of 6, dreaming of participating in the Olympic Games. For 15 years he was an Elite athlete in ice speed skating, competing in numerous international competitions and two Olympic Games (Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018) . He has cultivated his competitive commitment without giving up his studies, graduating in Motor Sciences . He has been flying since he was 14, a passion passed on by his father, a pioneer of this discipline. Today , Hike&Fly allows him to move around the mountains in complete freedom and this is what led him to approach this world. The competitions have become a source of new stimuli, after his career as a skater.

    "I think I'm lucky and have achieved many of my dreams as an athlete, but if I think about the future, participating in the RedBull Xalps wouldn't displease me"

  • Daniel Paolazzi

    23 years old, passionate about the mountains and especially flying since he was a child. He started flying at the age of 14, in 2018 he obtained the qualification to carry a passenger; since 2019 he has collaborated with the flight school "Scuola Parapendio Trento ASD ", as an assistant instructor. He practices this sport at 360° from cross country flights, to hike & fly competitions , through acrobatics and paramountainism . He has participated in various competitions: Dolomitisuperfly in 2018 and 2020 ; Hike & Fly Italian League ( 4th Bassano - 2nd Feltre); Eigertour 2022 ( 13th ); Hike & Fly trophy 2022 ( 1st ); Triveneto Levico Terme ( 3rd ).

    "I've always had a dream: to take part in the Red Bull X-Alps , I hope it can come true soon! In the meantime I'm planning some flights, travelling for days on foot, with ascents and take-offs from several peaks above 3000-4000 metres ."

  • Julia Rivosecchi

    37 years old, she comes from a life of competitive field hockey , she played for the national team of her country, Argentina , but also in Spain and New Zealand . At twenty she began aerial acrobatics on fabrics and trapeze. The love for freedom and for the mountains led her first to climb them and then to fly over them. She started flying five years ago in the French Alps, living beautiful Hike&Fly adventures in Europe and in her beloved Patagonia . She shares her passion for paragliding with her activity as a researcher in molecular biology at the University of Trento.

    "I dream of becoming a senior pilot. That is, of flying all my life and cultivating my two passions: scientific research and mountain sports and, who knows, one day merging them ."

  • Obejrzyj Scalet

    38 years old, he lives in Primiero under the Pale di San Martino , in the province of Trento. He was an athlete in sky race competitions and ski mountaineering , an activity that he now practices, together with racing bike, as training to stay in shape. He is an alpine ski instructor in the winter (as well as a federal coach, freeride instructor and telemark instructor ) and a two-seater pilot the rest of the year: activities that allow him to have a lot of time in spring and autumn to fly and train.

    “I have a big goal for Hike&Fly: to win the Dolomiti Superfly ! I take part in every edition of the Italian League circuit, where I have managed to win twice. Abroad I have taken part in some Wanderbird Trophy races. I like to go beyond national borders to compete with athletes from all over the world.”

  • Julius Testolin

    34 years old, passionate about flying since a young age, he built radio-controlled gliders that he took to the mountains to fly. At 20 years old, his first hang-gliding flight . He began to fly in the Prealps and the Dolomites and to get to know the world of racing with the Triveneto championship , obtaining some podiums. In the meantime, he also became passionate about mountaineering and trail running competitions : feeling the need to experience the mountain at 360 degrees, both on the ground and in flight, he switched to paragliding and began to attend the first hike&fly competitions, also with some para-alpinism climbs .

    "I will never forget taking off from Mont Blanc at eight in the morning on August 10, 2021. I dream of making cross-country flights over 200 km , crossing the Alps in a vol-bivouac style, from France to Slovenia, a project I would like to realize this year."

AKU SPONSOR HIKE & FLY ITALY

AKU Flyrock GTX and Rocket GTX protagonists of the new Hike&Fly season thanks to the AKU – Hike & Fly Italia partnership . A collaboration agreement that confirms AKU ’s role as main sponsor of the competition and as a reference brand in the footwear sector for Italian lovers of this rapidly growing sport.

AKU Hike&Fly Sprint

AKU Hike&Fly Sprint is a multi-stage competition that flies over the mountains of Val Belluna and Alpago until it meets the Venetian Prealps . The Hike&Fly Sprint formula, with AKU as main sponsor , aims to bring even pilots with less experience in competitions closer to H&F races.

As in every Hike&Fly activity, each stage has a hike and a fly section : the pilots climb on foot towards the take-off point, through a free path of about 1000 metres of altitude difference, mostly on mountain paths, and then fly to the landing point.
You can repeat the routes of the last edition through the Komoot tracks uploaded to the AKU channel.

PreAlpiTour Hike&Fly Race

The PreAlpiTour Hike&Fly Race takes place between Veneto and Trentino , embracing the Dolomites , the Venetian Prealps and the Lagorai chain, with a roster of athletes from 8 different nations .

The international competition sees AKU as the main sponsor and combines trekking and paragliding. This competition that runs between the refuges and flies over the malghe manages to unite three different mountain areas : the Asiago Plateau, the Pale di San Martino meet and continue along the Dolomites, to then fly over the Valsugana and the Lagorai group on the way back.

PreAlpiTour Hyke&Fly Race is inspired by the famous X-Alps, but with rules that make the route tough but accessible to new pilots who want to test themselves on important but not yet extreme races. An ideal race to gain experience and then make the leap to hike&fly competitions of several days.