08 Mar 2024

PG XC Pan-American 2026 to be held in Monroe Utah, USA

By the majority of votes, CIVL Plenary has approved the 7th FAI Pan-American Paragliding Championships to be held in Monroe Utah, USA. The main event will be held on September 12-19, 2026. While the test event will be held 2 years before on August 31-September 6, 2024 (The test event website can be found by this link, registration opens on April 1, 2024). The event is organized by Gavin McClurg from Clousbase Mayhem with the support of USHPA and the local municipality.

Monroe has 4 world-class launches and two others we can use within a 90-minute drive. Monroe Peak is the main launch, at an altitude of 11,171 feet, and faces SW. It is an astonishing 6,000′ above the valley floor! Huge distances have been flown from Monroe (many over 300 km). A list of the top flights can be found by this link. Drive from town to Monroe launch is 45 minutes. There were several tasks of 100+ miles in past events.

Central Utah has the most reliable flying weather in the Intermountain West. CUASA, the local club hosts an annual fly-in at the end of September every year and it is nearly always flyable every day. The event is hosted right after the monsoon, when OD becomes much less of an issue, and yet the days are still long and XC potential is still fantastic. The fall colors will be setting in and the terrain is nothing short of mind-boggling. Expect long and varied tasks (FAI triangles, downwinders, and out and backs) that utilize the most of every day. To view the tasks from the 2023 event go here.