Red Bull X-Alps
The Red Bull X-Alps is a paragliding adventure race in which athletes hike or fly approximately 1,200 km across the Alps. It first launched in 2003 and has taken place every other year. Around 30 athletes take part, navigating their way via a predetermined set of turn points that vary with each race. Every kilometer must be covered either on foot or by paraglider – athletes either hike carrying their wing, or they fly, carried by their wing.
Teams consist of one athlete and one official supporter, whose role it is to provide strategic advice, weather reports, and psychological and nutritional support. In practise, many athletes have two or three supporters.
Originally the race followed a course from the Salzburg region to Monaco. Inherent in the race’s early appeal was the adventure of journeying from the mountains to the sea, following the length of the Alps from east to west.
The race last finished in Monaco in 2019. For the 2021 and 2023 editions the Red Bull X-Alps followed a circular route around the Alps finishing in Zell am See, Austria. The 2025 route is a figure-of-eight course, also finishing in Zell am See. The exact route is normally unveiled in March before the race start.
All editions of the race from 2009 to 2023 were won by Christian Maurer, while Aaron Durogati won the 2025 edition. Red Bull X-Alps is often credited with the revolution in lightweight paragliding equipment design, helping to kick-start "hike and fly" as its own paragliding discipline.
History
The concept for the Red Bull X-Alps was developed by Austrian pilot Hannes Arch who saw a TV documentary in which German pilot Toni Bender crossed the Alps from North to South by paraglider, carrying all his equipment, sleeping rough and hiking parts of the way.
"I thought it would be cool to base a paragliding competition on this format and developed a basic concept for it - and the idea was born! Together with Red Bull, we have developed it over the years to be the Red Bull X-Alps it is today - the toughest and most extreme endurance and outdoor race in the world. Its simplicity is what makes it most appealing. We start in Salzburg and whoever arrives in Monaco first wins. That's it. It's about body and soul, not about hundreds of rules and regulations," Arch has said.
When conditions are good, athletes use paragliders to fly, and when they are not they must run or hike, carrying their paraglider and other mandatory equipment. The use of tunnels and all other forms of transport are not permitted.
The first edition led from Austria's Dachstein Glacier to Monaco via Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze, Mont Blanc and Mont Gros in France. Seventeen athletes and their support teams covered a distance of 800 kilometers as the crow flies.
Over the years the route and the turn points have changed. From 2009 to 2021 the race started from the Austrian city of Salzburg. During the Monaco years due to airspace restrictions, the clock officially stopped for athletes at the turn point above the city state, situated at Mt Gros, then later Peille. Athletes would then make a ceremonial flight to a landing float in the sea. This was situated off the beach of Le Larvotto. By 2019 it was becoming increasingly difficult to secure permissions and the landing float was moved to Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.
At 1,031 kilometers, the 2013 course was the longest in the history of the race and the race has steadily increased in distance. In 2019 the route was 1,138km, 2021 it was 1,238km and 2023 it was 1,223km. The 2025 route is 1,283km.
New to the 2015 race was the Powertraveller Prologue, a one-day hike and paragliding contest in the Salzburgerland region. Starting and finishing in Fuschl am See, athletes were required to hike or fly a 38 km course around two turn points, the Zwölferhorn and Schafberg peaks. It was won by Paul Guschlbauer in 2h 21m. The Prologue has been a feature of the race ever since.
Thanks to GPS-Live Tracking, all athletes can be followed in real time on the official website throughout the race.
Rules
The first athlete to reach goal wins the race, which ends 48 hours later but not before a set finish time as defined by organizers. Athletes who have not reached the final destination within this time are ranked according to the distance left to the final destination.Since the 2011 edition, athletes are forced to have a mandatory rest overnight and stay within a radius of 250m of their resting position for safety reasons. In 2013, the mandatory break was extended by 1.5 hours, from 22:30 to 05:00. In 2023 the rest period was increased by half-an-hour. Athletes had to rest for a minimum of seven consecutive hours everyday between 9pm and 6am. Between the hours of 9pm and 6am athletes are not allowed to fly.
New in 2013 was the so-called Night Pass, which allowed athletes to hike through the night. The idea behind the Night Pass was to allow athletes a chance to gain a strategic advantage. In reality, it can help an athlete reach a better overnight location, but using it to hike all the night comes at a cost of increased fatigue, which is not helpful to flight.
Since 2013, prototypes are banned from the competition and all equipment, including paragliders, harnesses, and helmets must comply with EN or LTF certifications.
X-Alps 2003
Route
The first course took the athletes from the Dachstein Glacier in Austria to Monaco. It was defined by two turn points, all of which had to be taken within a radius of 100 meters. Over the years the route and the turn points have changed.| # | Turnpoint | |
| 1 | pass over Verbier | |
| 2 | Mont Gros |
Teams and results
Of the 17 competitors who started the race on July 14, 2003, on the Dachstein, only three made it to Monaco. All others completed between 30% and 90% of the course.| Rank | Team | Athlete | Time | Distance covered | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | SUI |  X-Alps 2005RouteDachstein Glacier, Austria, to Monaco.
Teams and results17 athletes, two of which were women, competed in the second Red Bull X-Alps, starting on August 1, 2005. Four teams reached the final destination while three teams had to withdraw from the race due to injury. All others completed between 25% and 88% of the distance.
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