Fabi Buhl
Do you have a nickname that you go by?
Not really, most just call me Fabi.
Where do you live?
I am from Oberstaufen in the very south part of Germany, but for about 4 years I have been living in the Hautes Alpes in southern France.
What do you do for work?
I don't call it work and feel extremely privileged about it, but so far I can make a living out of my mountain activities.
What year, and how old were you when you started flying?
I started flying in the fall of 2018, so I was 28.
Did a family member introduce you to paragliding? Does anyone else in your family fly?
Nobody in my family is flying. I got introduced through my friends from Allgäu, Maxi Knapp and Manuel Nübel. I am very thankful that they tried to persuade me for some time. I always said that I don't have the time for it with climbing and mountaineering. As I came back from a Pakistan expedition, the time was ripe and they showed me.
What other passions do you have, or activities do you enjoy?
I do like climbing, mainly bouldering and multipitch climbing. I do love mountaineering and moving fast and efficiently in the mountains, whether it is on foot, on skies or with a glider. Being in the mountains makes me feel very alive.
Another passion of mine is music. I really like to listen to good music.
Why is flying important to you, and what does flying mean to you?
Flying for me is first and foremost freedom and the ultimate game.
I started out in order to just fly down from mountains where I have either hiked or climbed to the top. The more and more I understood about paragliding the more I wanted to fly xc in the mountains and learn everything about it.
Now I try to imagine the invisible flow of the air mass the best that I can and I enjoy it even more, if I don't know the place I am flying in. It gives me a great feeling to climb out somewhere not really obvious and a bit sketchy. And just because of all the experience from the past years, I can make it work and go up again. Once I am up high again, I feel more relaxed and the higher I get and climb out of the valley or the flank of a mountain the more options I get for my next move. This process amazes me every time.
List as many notable accomplishments (big adventures, competition results, bivvy trips, etc) that you’ve had over the past few years.
I think my main accomplishments are in climbing, so probably not so interesting for the flying community.
The highlights of my paragliding are:
- Climbing the Ragni route to the Top of Cerro Torre with my friends Raphalea Haug and Laura Tiefenthaler and then taking off from its summit.
- Doing the first ascent of Gulmit Tower in Pakistan, together with Will Sim.
- Imaging the infamous line of Col Izoard and flying 300 FAI triangles from there
- Flying 298km FAI triangle Pakistan
Do you have any goals, dreams or plans for the next 1-2 years that you want to share?
I want to fly more competitions, because I see the top pilots flying so incredibly efficient, it leaves me in awe. I just want to learn how to fly more efficient to be able to fly bigger flights in the mountains.
When we did the first ascent of Gulmit Tower, we flew to the base of the mountain and then climbed a new route to the unclimbed summit. It is ridiculous how easy it can be if you have the right partner. It makes mountaineering so joyful that's the reason I love combos. It is my main drive to find similar objectives in the Karakoram and hopefully get lucky once more in the next few years.
