The Challenge

The X Lakes Challenge is a ‘hike and fly’ event that will be run in June 2024. Its aim is for entrants to experience the wonders of the English Lake District and to do so by ‘bagging’ as many of the 1,000-foot Wainwright Fells as possible, either by foot or paraglider.

Pilots must pre-register but can change category up to the point of registration on the Thursday evening prior to the 2-day event.

All competitors will be welcomed to registration followed by an optional event briefing at 7pm on the Friday evening immediately prior to the event. During the briefing local weather and routing information will be discussed by a Task Committee drawn from the participants including discussion of one-day routes for the prevailing conditions.

Safety :

There will be a compulsory safety briefing for the 2-day event which is typically held at 7 am on Friday morning. Participants will be informed of any changes to these timings. During the safety briefing equipment may be spot-checked.

Social and Prize-giving:

Dependent on attendance and weather conditions there may be informal talks/discussions held at the event HQ on some of the following subjects:

Lightweight and Vol-Biv gear
Wilderness medicine and First-Aid
Selection and use of personal trackers and GPS beacons
Local ‘hike and fly’ videos

On the Saturday at 6pm there will be prize-giving and a free meal/Barbeque to which all participants and their supporters are invited.

Trophies are awarded for the winner of each challenge event with prizes for runners up. Prizes are also available after the event is concluded for the best event photography and video report that is shared with organisers.