Ridge soaring

Fly figure-of-eight beats in the lift band in front of the ridge, turning away from the hill every time, share the ridge by the local rules, watch the wind, and leave early to land at the bottom.

In this lesson you will

The first time you turn along a ridge and the vario keeps beeping, you stay level with launch, then climb above it. It feels effortless. It isn’t: you are flying close to terrain, in wind, among other wings, and ridge soaring needs its own habits.

Soaring comes after the basic student stage. SafePro lets students soar only under an instructor’s control, starting in smooth, steady wind¹. When soaring and top landing come into your training differs between systems; Ridge lift compares them and explains the air.

The beat

Ridge soaring is flown as a figure of eight in the lift band in front of the slope: beats along the ridge, adjusted for drift, traffic and terrain, with a good lookout and a landing field always in easy reach².

After launch, fly out from the slope and along it, away from the compressed air near launch, to find the band³. Pick a landmark at each end of your beat before you start.

Turn away from the hill

At the end of every beat, turn away from the hill, into wind⁴: it slows you over the ground and keeps you in front of the ridge. A turn towards the hill swings you downwind, fast over the ground, towards the slope or over the top; for the same reason, fly no full circles close to the ridge³.

If the wind blows at an angle to the ridge, one beat covers ground faster than the other, so start the turn at its end sooner³. On that beat, don’t brake because the ground rushes past: USHPA’s ridge-soaring skill asks you to soar a crosswind without stalling on the downwind legs⁵.

Figure: From above, wind from the top. Notice the crab, every turn away from the hill, the early turn behind a slower wing and who moves out head-on. The second variant turns towards the hill.

From above, wind from the top. Notice the crab, every turn away from the hill, the early turn behind a slower wing and who moves out head-on. The second variant turns towards the hill.

Crabbing along the ridge

To fly along the ridge you point partly into the wind: you crab. Holding that angle stops you drifting back over the top⁶; keep two landmarks ahead lined up to check it⁷. Your crab angle is also your wind gauge: the further into wind you must point, the stronger the wind⁶.

Where to fly

Below the top, the best lift is close to the slope; above it, the band moves out in front of the ridge the higher you climb, and further out again in strong wind⁸. So move out as you climb.

Don’t scratch along the hillside. The DHV’s rule is to stay at least 50 m165 ft from the slope where you can, because even a docile wing can lose 20–40 m65–130 ft in a big disturbance⁹. If you can only stay up closer than that, the day is too light for you: fly out and land.

The sink around thermals passing up the slope can cancel the ridge lift for a while or roll you towards the hill, so always plan for the lift to disappear¹⁰.

Never behind the crest

Safety-critical Stay in front of the crest

The wind speeds up over the top: an engineering guideline gives roughly 80% more just above the crest of a smooth ridge 100 m330 ft high than upwind of it¹¹, so a margin that feels comfortable on your beat can vanish, or turn negative, near the crest. Behind it the air sinks and tumbles, at about 10 m/s1,960 ft/min or more near a steep ridge in strong wind¹², roughly ten times a school wing’s minimum sink¹³. Never fly on or behind the crest, turn away from the ridge every time, and crab so you don’t drift over the top¹⁴.

Everyone flies the same band, so scan every sector before each turn¹⁵.

Head-on. The pilot with the ridge on their right holds their line, because they can’t turn right into the hill. The pilot with the ridge on their left gives way by moving out, away from the ridge¹⁶. The BHPA calls this common sense rather than law¹⁷. Give way early and clearly.

Overtaking. Everyone agrees the slower wing has right of way, you pass well clear, and on a busy ridge it is usually better to turn back than to overtake¹⁸. Which side to pass on is where the conventions differ:

Standards differ Overtaking on a ridge

Common ground: The wing being overtaken has right of way. Pass well clear; on a busy ridge, turning back is usually better than overtaking¹⁸.

USHPA (USA): USHPA’s own ridge rules are not public. US site rules say pass on the ridge side, between the hill and the slower wing, so it can still turn away from the hill¹⁸. US air law says the overtaking aircraft passes well clear to the right¹⁹.
BHPA (UK): Overtake on either side, giving a wide berth; turning back is often safer than overtaking¹⁸. UK SERA lets one sailplane, including a paraglider, overtake another on either side²⁰.
APPI (international): Either side, with good clearance; when ridge soaring, turn rather than overtake²¹.
FAI/CIVL SafePro (international reference): Ridge-soaring priorities are Stage 4 knowledge, and national law and local site rules come first²²²³.

Summarised from each body’s published material, which changes over time. Check the current official documents and follow your school.

In continental Europe, the EHPU summary’s general overtaking rule is to pass on the right, and on the left only if the right is not possible¹⁸. Ask for the local convention in your site briefing; Right of way has the full rules. In the UK, new pilots fly with a red ribbon so that others give them room²⁴.

A building wind: leave early

Soar only in wind well inside your limits. USHPA’s recommended P2 limits are a base wind of 19 km/h12 mph and peak gusts of 24 km/h15 mph²⁵; APPI caps its students’ ground handling at 15 km/h9 mph²⁶; the BHPA leaves student limits to your school²⁷. Your instructor’s limit for the day comes first (Student wind limits).

Climbing takes you into stronger wind, so the higher you go, the smaller your margin²⁸. Watch for a bigger crab angle and slower progress along the ridge⁶. Strong, smooth lift with a shrinking margin is a warning, not a gift. Leave too if a cloud forms on the ridge, as the lift can carry you into it²⁹, or if it is too crowded for you¹⁵.

Act at the first sign: point straight out from the ridge into wind, use the speed you have been trained to use, never turn towards the hill, and come down early, out in front³⁰. Flying out to the landing field, or not launching at all, is always a legitimate choice³¹. Sources disagree about adding big ears with speed bar: some list it as a way down while staying out in front; the DHV warns that ears cut your forward speed³⁰. Your instructor will teach you their version; Blown back and cloud suck goes further.

Leaving the ridge

Decide while you still make clear progress into wind.
Cue The landmarks ahead still move towards you.
Why Once you stop making progress, the wind can carry you back towards the crest; lower down it is usually weaker³²²⁸.
Turn away from the hill and fly straight out from the ridge.
Cue The crest falls behind you and you point into wind.
Why Away from the rotor over and behind the top³¹, and from the crest, where the wind speeds up¹¹.
Lose height out in front, well clear of the slope, as your instructor briefed.
Cue The landing field at the bottom stays comfortably inside your glide cone.
Why Arrive with height for a planned approach (Airmanship).
Join the landing pattern (circuit, in the UK) for the landing field.
Cue Into wind on final, hands up, standing up.
Why Top landing comes later.

Land at the bottom

Top landing stacks the risks against you: the strongest wind at the crest¹¹, sink and rotor just behind it, and an approach over rising ground. The DHV reserves it for practised pilots trained with an instructor on the radio in smooth air, and SafePro tells soaring students to avoid it³³. Until your instructor teaches it, land at the bottom.

Common mistake Turning towards the hill

Symptom: Halfway through the turn the ground rushes past and the slope fills your view.
Cause: A turn the wrong way at the end of a beat, or a full circle close to the ridge.
Fix: Every turn away from the hill, into wind. Decide the direction before the beat ends³.

Common mistake Braking on the fast beat

Symptom: With the wind partly behind you along the ridge, you add brake and the wing goes quiet and soft.
Cause: Judging airspeed by the ground rushing past.
Fix: Keep your normal speed, and start the turn at the end of that beat earlier⁵³.

Common mistake Overtaking near the end of a beat

Symptom: You start to pass a slower wing near the end of the beat, and it turns while you are still alongside.
Cause: Overtaking out of impatience, too close and too late.
Fix: Don’t overtake near the end of a beat. On a busy ridge, turn back early, away from the hill; if you do overtake, pass well clear, on the side your site’s rules say¹⁸.

Instructor's note Light days and windy days trap different pilots

On light days students creep closer to the slope to stay up; on windy days they climb into wind they can’t penetrate. Same mistake: letting the lift choose your position. Choose it yourself, with the landing field in reach. If someone is thermalling on the ridge, the European EHPU summary says ridge rules still come first on the slope³⁴.

Questions students ask

Why can’t I turn whichever way looks clear?

Everyone on the ridge expects the turn away from the hill, and a turn towards it carries you downwind towards the slope⁴³. If the way out is blocked, keep flying along the ridge, turn as soon as it is clear, and let your instructor brief the ends of the ridge.

What if the lift stops?

Fly out from the slope and land at the bottom. Plan every soaring flight for the lift to disappear¹⁰.

The walk back up is long. Can I land on top?

Not yet. Top landing is an advanced skill your instructor teaches later³³.

Key points

Beat in a figure of eight in the lift band, turning away from the hill every time; no full circles near the ridge.
Crab to hold your line. A growing crab angle and slower progress mean the wind is building.
Move out as you climb, keep clear of the slope, and never fly behind the crest, where the wind speeds up.
Head-on, the pilot with the ridge on their left moves out. Overtaking sides differ, so turn back rather than overtake.
Soar only well inside your wind limits. When the wind builds, leave early and land at the bottom.

Ground to Solo is a study aid. Paragliding is learned in person with a qualified instructor at a recognised school; nothing here certifies you to fly.