Philippe Nodet and Philippe Arn were both recently in Central Asia, getting high in new territory! With his Magnum, Philippe Nodet went for another amazing Vol-Bivouac adventure, which has become a yearly tradition for him... this time in Tajikistan. In Phil's words: "We're just back from Pamir Tajikistan... all in one piece and totally happy! My friend and I completed a bivouac adventure of 500 km through the Fann and Turkistan range, Pamir Alai and High Pamir (along the Uzbekistan, Kirghistan and Afghanistan borders). We finished less than 200 km from the end of the Pamir due to a dangerous final landing: A furious thermal wind threw us into a boulder and injured my friend's leg. "It's hard to explain this last great adventure.... it was so fantastic and also difficult. The first week we spent walking through a deep gorge, over glaciers and in a remote, windy valley. We were close to giving up.... But the second week was amazing and we managed to get really high and fly some long XC courses: 130km, 120km, 80km... and always between 5500m and 6200m in altitude. Pamir in Pajikistan is without doubt a another incredible region of the Karakoram. Last but not least, it's difficult to explain how nice the Tajik people are. Nothing would be possible without their hospitality. And I won't say anything about the women... other than that in Tajikistan they are beautiful, and magic!" Meanwhile, back in Kazakhstan, Philippe Arn was tearing up the Central Asian Championships and the Kazakhstan Open Championships. Philippe took overall first place in both competitions flying his Mantra M2. Nice work Philippe! Although Phil spends most of his time piloting a desk in the Berner Oberland of the central Swiss Alps as part of our Swiss Ozone distributorship there (www.birdwing.ch) he obviously hasn't forgotten how to fly XC! Philippe spent three weeks soaking up the Kazakh culture, and visiting with the local pilots. Congratulations to both Philippes, for excellent adventures in far off places (the best kind)! Cheers from all the Team, and enjoy your explorations!