Podz-Glidz, the Lu-Glidz podcast.
Stories from the cosmos of paragliding.
Today with Vera
Poloschek and
Lucian Haas on the mic. The
Red Bull X-Alps is the most famous and, from its structure, also the most fascinating hike-and-fly competition in the paraglider scene. The participants only have to get from Salzburg to Monaco by flying and running over several checkpoints. That's over 1,000 kilometers and it takes more than a week. They are accompanied by a whole convoy of photographers and filmmakers. Their job is to capture the performance, the agony, and the joys of the athletes on their journey across the Alps in images, so that the viewers, who mostly follow the race online via live tracking, get the feeling of being right there with them. Of course, it's also about putting the sponsors in the right light. For this year's X-Alps, it's important that they are genuinely enthusiastic about it themselves.
In June, Vera Polaschek was there as a camera operator. The Austrian is an enthusiastic paraglider herself. Documentary filmmaking is her profession. For ten years, she dreamed of being allowed to accompany the X-Alps with her camera. Then she got the assignment. During the race days, she mainly documented the action at the back of the field. She accompanied pilots there like the Colombian Alex Villa, the Japanese Kaoru Ogisawa, Chikyong Ha from Korea, and especially the New Zealander with Polish roots Kinga Mastalerz. Since the person in last place at the X-Alps is eliminated from the race every two days, there were some really exciting battles there as well. In this eleventh episode of Podz-Glidz, Vera talks about the dramatic moments of the race that she filmed.
But it's also about the enormous commitment the X-Alps demands from the camera teams, and why Vera would still want to film it every single time.
Vera, I'd like to play a little game with you today so the listeners can get to know you a bit. I'll just give you a few short keywords and you say one, two, or three sentences about what comes to mind right now. Let's see what kind of image actually forms in the listeners' minds. Let's start very simply. Something you surely enjoy doing: paragliding.
Yes, I love doing that. The view from above.
Second keyword, ethnology.
Subject combination, very exciting. I'm also applying it in my job at the moment. Why?
One of my passions is making documentaries abroad. I've already been to Bangladesh and Ethiopia, and I was able to apply my knowledge regarding the issues there very well. And I'm just very interested in other cultures, in people, in customs, and so on. A film camera. It's been my favorite toy since I was a child.
So you were already messing around with a camera at the age of three?
Yeah. I don't know how old I was. Maybe six or seven. There was this old Hi8 or Super 8 camera. It's actually still in my living room. I just looked through it and basically played with the camera. And I just noticed that it fascinates me when I look through something and I can then set it in motion.
When did you shoot your first film?
Relatively late. That was the film for the film academy entrance exam. At 18, 19.
Next keyword. Colombia.
A paraglider documentary. Filming from the paraglider. Also working ethnologically. Filming the locals. An exciting and great time. Nova. I've been a Nova team pilot for almost ten years. Stilt houses. That was my first assignment with my drone. I live at Lake Keutschach. And there are 4,000-year-old stilt houses there. So you can also fly by a bit closely with the paraglider. And that was just great. It was actually also a science shoot. I was able to film and observe a science team there. And that was very exciting.
Hike and fly.
I do that very, very much. It relaxes me. I do it almost even more than cross-country flying. I also did it competitively once, but not anymore.
Then we're at the X-Alps.
Big hike and fly.
I've always wanted to do the X-Alps. The Red Bull X-Alps is actually a lived dream for me. Something I've wanted to do for over ten years. I've always wanted to tell that story. And after ten years of being annoying, calling all the time, and sticking with it, I was simply allowed to do it this year. And I succeeded.
That was on May 6th. I still remember that. I read it on your Facebook account. You wrote, "I got the job. Finally. The one I've been working toward for ten years and almost gave up on." What does it mean to work toward something for ten years? How did I imagine that?
Ten years? Well, at the beginning, I didn't dare to think about the X-Alps at all. I just thought, wow, I'd really love to tell that story. Then I was lucky enough to be there in 2013 as a supporter for a team at the X-Alps. And I also met the producer, Mario Kreuzer, who has been doing it since the beginning. I introduced myself to him once and said hello. And I also gave him some material. And then, for about two years at a time, I kept getting in touch with him again and again. And yeah, he didn't really know me that well. They just have their fixed team. And this year I thought, well, maybe I just can't do it.
Or maybe I'm too weak or whatever. But it's the X-Alps again, so I just call him again and say hello again. And yeah, this time he also said, yeah, okay, I'll put you on the list. We're a fixed team, but if someone drops out, I might get in touch with you. Well, and months and weeks went by. I thought, okay, nothing's coming. Well, that's just how it is, maybe I'm just way too weak and maybe it's better that way. And then, actually rather later, two weeks before the X-Alps started, an email came asking if I still had time. And interest. And then for about five minutes, I think, I hyperventilated. I thought, oh my god, no way, wow, right? I finally have the chance to do this. And then, of course, the preparation started, the kind you'd usually need three months for.
And yeah, then suddenly I was there with the camera at the X-Alps, first take. And I actually almost cried, it was really awesome.
What was it about being there as a camera operator at the X-Alps that appealed to you so much beforehand?
Yeah, I really did think about what the answer could be. I think there are certain things you just want to do. Period. Yeah, it's like an intrinsic need. Of course, I'm also interested in the individual athletes' stories. Like, how are they doing? What's happening to them? And so on. But the Red Bull X-Alps are also a completely different challenge. Yeah. You work there with very little sleep. So, you're actually under constant stress, constant pressure. Yeah. We have to, just like the supporters, follow the live tracking to see where our athlete is. Where do we find them? Which path are we taking now? Then, of course, the technology has to work.
There's a huge amount of organization behind the scenes to make all of this work. And that's also a challenge that I find incredibly appealing. It starts way back in the preparation phase. There's so much to take into account, both technically and so on. And then, once on-site, I have to tell a story every single day. And I don't have much time. You also have to build a rapport with the athletes. You have to film people who are under a lot of stress. And as I said, you have no time, but you still have to do it well.
So you say you accompany these athletes and have to film them on the road. How much freedom do you actually have in what you film? Or is there really like a head dramaturg who tells you that you have to deliver these and those shots? And with that, you have your assignment for the day and know, okay, I have to capture this and that, and that's it. What can you still decide for yourself?
I was actually able to decide on a lot. I mean, of course, the Red Bull X-Lab is a sponsored competition and the products simply have to be placed in the right shot. I mean, everyone noticed that, that's very clear. Yes, that is also our top priority. And then it was just like this: I offered them topics, like, how are the supporters doing, what's for breakfast today, and so on. And if they thought, okay, we already have that topic, I'd get a call in the morning. Like, today we need blood, sweat, and tears from Kinga, for example. Yes, we want to see her suffer, we need action today. That was really funny because Kinga, whom I looked after most of the time, she just didn't cry because she was actually doing great.
But that's what I tried to capture.
And otherwise, we actually had a lot of freedom.
You just said yourself that you make topic suggestions. Is it like that with all the camera people who are there, that they always say? Like, they work as journalists and then say, I'm observing this now and I'm offering topic X and topic Y.
Exactly. So that's also the documentary style of working, just seeing what turns out to be interesting. And because of my own paragliding background, I also asked some specific questions. I just thought about what might interest you too. And then I asked, hey, how was it in the air today? Was it gusty? Was it stable? Hey, did you have a collapse? Or were you scared at any point? How did you feel? So I actually asked almost normal landing field questions.
Or, for example, how are you doing with the food and things like that? Just things that I was personally interested in.
And were you a camera operator? How many people in total were part of the film team for these Red Bull X Alps? How do you have to imagine that? How big is it?
So there were seven teams in total. I think five of them were there constantly. And as I said, we always got an assignment in the morning from Klagenfurt. That's where the headquarters was. And we were told who we had to film and, in some cases, what might be thematically interesting. For example, "Korea, please get a close-up of the feet, of the blisters." And then we filmed that. And I then had to make a rough cut. That had to be sent via WeTransfer by about 6 or 7 p.m. at the latest. And from these different rough cuts, this one-minute daily clip was basically edited on-site in Klagenfurt until late into the night, so that it could be seen again the very next day.
So this is a one-minute clip, but was it only one minute of your material? Or one minute of the material from all seven film teams, or all five teams that were there constantly?
So it was always from one. The best shots were simply taken from all the teams, or rather, whoever delivered the best story that day. And furthermore, this material will also be edited for the full documentary, which will be finished in a few weeks.
That means that actually an enormous amount of exciting stories were just filmed and thrown in the trash.
Yeah, probably as well. I mean, with this film, you unfortunately can't go completely into the depth of the individual, because it's also about covering all the teams that are there, all the nations, somewhat equally. So towards the end, I also had the specific assignment: okay, we still have relatively little from the USA, make sure you get some pictures of him too. Because requests keep coming in from the individual countries. And yeah, it's more of a broad-scale reportage, a sports reportage, and not a documentary where you can really delve further into individual fates.
Did you only film? Or did you also have to provide photos because that might have been an option at the same time? Or is the way of working just so different that they really say, no, we keep that separate professionally, the camera operators should focus on the film?
No, I mainly just filmed, although with two cameras. Once with my Blackmagic and then again for Facebook. So, the Facebook images, which were really well-presented, were all shot with phones, or in some cases, just by an assistant.
The photographers, who also do a really great job, are actually a completely different department. And you really can't do both at the same time. It's not possible. Come...
Do you ever get in each other's way? I mean, I know how it is with film teams—they show up and say, "I need this and that," and they dictate a lot of the setting and stuff. The photographers then have to work around them a bit. Do you have to make space for them in some scenes, or how does that work?
Not at all. I was mostly at the back, and there weren't that many photographers there anyway.
Not at all, no, not at all.
It says "X-Alps" at the back of the field. That means you basically chased the people who were still out at the end of the field. You were like the cinematic sweep vehicle.
Yeah, I've had that battle for elimination often, exactly. And that very important call where they find out at six in the morning that they're out. It was always very, very important that I was there with them at exactly six.
Early in the morning, at six sharp?
Yeah. It can happen that Colombia just kept running even though we didn't think they would. We got a bit hectic for a moment there. Yeah.
And at six o'clock, the call from the race management basically came, and you had to capture that moment? Exactly. Were scenes also, I mean, how do I imagine this, were scenes sometimes reenacted because it didn't quite work out, and they said, well, now it's not six, it's quarter past six, but we'll do it again as if you were being called?
Not really. With Kinga, for example, she was out in the middle of a meadow somewhere and we just couldn't find her at all.
And then at some point, about half an hour later, so at 7:30, she was on the phone with someone with a relatively serious face, and I just kept the camera rolling. So. Let's see what kind of call they cut that into. Yeah. So I made sure to get a similar shot. But no. I mean, the athletes don't stop for you or do anything twice. No. Yeah. So if you film them going uphill, then you have to run after them and please be faster too. Panting, right? At two and a half thousand meters, that's really tough. What worked well, though, was saying, hey, we still need an interview, a statement. When can we do that? Yeah. And that was very easy to plan.
In what form do they plan? They say, "I'll do this, and then I'll take a break"? Exactly. Or "Come after 9 p.m. at any rate, I'll be sitting there anyway, but it'll be dark." That might not be so great with the film. Or are there things where they say, "I'll be sitting at the launch site and have to wait for two hours until the thermals come"?
Something like that. So we coordinated a lot with the supporters. He told us he'd be taking a longer break there, and then we'd do another strategy session, and he had to eat anyway. He had time then. Yeah. And I filmed a bit, asked a few questions, and then you can tell when they're ready to move on. So you save the next questions for another time. Yeah. Or with Mr. Okizawa, I asked him too, and somehow after the meal it worked out. So that was always great.
What did you experience with the athletes? How close do you get to them during a race? Do you get to know them personally at all?
Yeah, well, we actually had a great time with Kinga. I already knew her from paragliding back in the day. And about a week before, the athletes are in this athletes' camp. We were also on-site for about three or four days before the start. And it was really our job to go to the athletes we were assigned at the beginning, say hello, and build trust. Trust in the sense that they have to give us information about where things are going, and that we really won't let it slip. Yeah, so that's a huge no-go, and we already knew quite a bit in advance. And I had a great chat with Kinga beforehand about what the interview might cover and so on.
And with Matt, I don't think people really noticed him that much. He was basically the second supporter who was always driving the e-tron. I did a lot of e-tron shots with him. It wasn't that easy, though. Because e-tron was one of the main sponsors. And this
the Audi SUV is that,
who's always front and center
had to show up somewhere.
Yeah, it's great that you noticed that. I actually filmed more of this e-tron than any paraglider. And then I had to somehow convince the people, including Matt and the whole Kinga team, to go somewhere with me in this e-tron so I could take the pictures. But that worked out great, because I often talked to the athletes about other things too. Like with the Colombians, I talked about flying in Colombia. With Matt, I talked about ice climbing in New Zealand. And that's when you realize that you're actually cut from the same cloth. And then I had no problems at all. Not at all. Quite the opposite, really. They were very, very accommodating.
You certainly get some behind-the-scenes stories from the athletes, but maybe also some quirks or things like that that don't show up in the films at all. What are some small details you might be able to share? Tell me some of the background stuff you experienced there.
So, something funny stood out regarding Colombia. I interviewed the supporter for a longer time and he just noticed, well, the Colombians have to wash themselves somehow every day. And even if there's no shower, they jump into the ice-cold stream every day. It just has to be. And that the team is very, very important to them, and that they really care about the athlete, and that the athlete gets a kiss from the whole team every morning. There was an incredible warmth in that team. And I think you can see that in the picture where he's eliminated, that they're all hugging each other. You could really feel that. And I think we helped him with something. Then he gave us a coffee. Okay, they're not quirks, but not every athlete in their team certainly got a good morning kiss.
Yeah, now I have to think about that for a second. The Korean guy? He got some kind of Korean superfood. Some kind of sauerkraut that he swore by, which helped him keep going. And yeah,
Well, I think he came across as a pretty tough guy. And in the last interview he gave me, he said he kept fighting because he wants to show his kids to never give up. And I thought that was a really beautiful scene. I don't know if that's in the documentary, but it really touched me.
The Korean guy, that was Ji Kyung Ha. And he was basically on the verge of dropping out several times in a row. And then he somehow still managed it. And the problems he was having, I believe, were that he could hardly walk with his feet anymore, not really properly. The decisive or most exciting battle was when he eventually went up against Kinga Mastalerz, the Pole you also accompanied, and basically had a real battle with her. Tell me, how did that go down and how did you cover it?
Yeah, that was really, really exciting. Basically, Kinga was on her way up. And I was accompanying Matt in the car. While she was actually already flying back down, this car got stuck in the mud. And we were stranded up there. And I see Kinga is down there. And I should have actually filmed her down there. And I thought, damn, what do I do up here now? And at the X-Alps, I've just been incredibly lucky so many times. And in this case, an advanced P-pilot and X-Alps fan came around the corner in a small van and drove me down towards Kinga. And while I'm driving down, I see on the live tracking, OH! Something really exciting is happening now. I called the production and said, guys, I'm staying on this, take a look.
And then the task was really who do I film now, when and where, so that it actually cuts well. So, am I with the Korean guy now or am I up front with Kinga? And then the second challenge was, do I shoot this now with my phone for Facebook or with my Blackmagic for the documentary? And it was incredibly exciting. I have to admit, I was a bit subjective and was also cheering for Kinga from the car. And yeah, what I also noticed—I hope you saw this too—was how Matt was also screaming. And it really was like that. And how the Korean guy would, he'd get slower sometimes, then he'd get faster again. It really affected him that Kinga was right there behind him, and then the moment they overtook each other.
And I'm actually a bit proud of it, because X-Alps lives on the images that are captured. Yes. Yes. And the story or this battle you saw, that also lives on the images and, of course, on the editing. And it was really a very, very exciting thing.
In terms of the sequence, the Korean guy was out front and Kinga slowly caught up and eventually overtook him. Did they talk, or were they speaking to each other at that moment? Did they turn on each other or what happened?
Yeah, there were a few sentences thrown back and forth. Yeah. I didn't hear exactly what was said, but it sounded pretty confrontational somehow. And the Korean guy, as nice as he usually was, it annoyed him a bit. You could see that, though you wouldn't see it in the film. Yeah, but it's understandable, like.
Then night came, and Kinga was ahead, and she actually had to stay ahead until six o'clock the next morning so she wouldn't be eliminated, taken out of the competition. But that didn't work out. Maybe you can tell the scene again.
Yeah, so it was really like the path she basically took was along a main road. And the path she actually should have taken was to turn right once onto a smaller road, something like that. And she described that herself over and over again. Normally, she always double-checked the paths she was told to take. Just not on that day. And Chris, her supporter, basically dictated the route to her. He told her, we have to go this way. Yeah. And they then ran past us too. At first, I didn't get at all that she had actually lost her way, because that was a main road going to the left. So I think anyone would have taken that path too. Yeah.
And at some point, we just see the Korean supporter grinning like that. Aha. And then he told us Kinga was going the wrong way. And then we thought, oops.
They filmed it again, but of course, they didn't say anything to her. I mean, that's not allowed. And then everything just spiraled out of control.
When Kinga basically took the wrong turn, were you with Kinga or with the Korean? What altitude were you at? I mean, they were relatively close to each other, I think, like a kilometer apart or something.
I think we were just driving behind someone ourselves. The funny thing is, she didn't even turn the wrong way. She stayed on the main road. And on the right path, you would have had to turn. It was such a short way. Yeah. So we were relatively nearby. But because of all the work and filming, I didn't really notice it myself. Only much later, actually. Yeah. And yeah, that's just part of the X-Alps. You have incredible stress, a lack of sleep, and everyone makes mistakes. Really everyone. Yeah. Some bigger, some smaller. Mhm.
Kinga's disappointment was, understandably, completely huge.
Were you still allowed to get really close in that moment, or were you allowed to get close and were you able to capture that at the time?
Unfortunately, we weren't there at that moment because we just couldn't find her. We arrived about three-quarters of an hour later, which in that case might have been quite good. Chris was really devastated, and she actually comforted him. At that moment.
And she took it with composure. She even gave me an interview. And I have to say, when it comes to the media, Kinga is a real professional. Yes. I mean, she speaks very well. She also knows how to behave.
Yes, it was very sad, but she still put in a great race. That's for sure.
Does that ever happen, or has it happened in the X-Alps, where pilots have just said, "Stop, not now. Don't film me"? Are they even allowed to do that? Or is there a rule that when our film teams—I mean, the ones from the X-Alps, our film teams—show up, you have to be ready to be filmed, or rather, you have to let them film you?
Yes, basically. I mean, they already have the order to be filmed. There are always cases where I think the teams and the pilots don't quite click. In my experience, I think it only happened once where I asked them for something and I got sort of an exhausted sigh. I interpreted that and said, okay, I'll step away for a moment.
Otherwise, it worked because I think I was very empathetic and always put myself in their situation. And because I just asked them, "Hey, for the interview, when would be a good time?"
And yes, on the other hand, you also just have to endure it. You just have to push through if you want to get certain shots.
Well, you were just with Kinga. That was like woman to woman. Maybe there's a good, easy connection to be found there. What was it like when you, as a camera operator, approached the men? Was it different? Or were they less open toward you? For example, the Colombians, who might say, "I'm maybe more of a macho type here, so what am I supposed to tell a woman or something?" Are there differences there?
Not at all. Oh, Colombia, that was cool because we first talked about "flying Colombians." No, not at all. So, absolutely not. It was more like the producers said, "Oh, you go there. You're a woman or something." No, not at all. No, not at all.
Were you, as a woman, perhaps more responsible for these personality stories or these empathetic stories? Because they said, wonderful, she really knows how to break people open.
I can't really say. I mean, you can't really answer that like that, because every camera team had a pilot assigned to them. Yeah. They were assigned, and it wasn't about "this is a difficult guy, you do him" or anything like that. But if I'm allowed to be there next time, I'll make sure to get some other pilots as well. Yeah, athletes, because I find it really interesting to work with them and interact with them, and to see how they tick.
So you were basically the sweep car during these X-Alps, mainly filming the people at the back. Did you wish at some point, "I want to go all the way to the front, that's where the interesting pilots are"?
Well, I mean, that's my job and I do what I'm assigned to do. I didn't find the back any less exciting, I have to say. And it just happened that way. Yeah, and sitting in the car for eight hours all day just to end up further ahead or somewhere in Monaco wasn't really on the cards right now. Yeah, so next time I'd like to be a bit further up front. But I also think for the first time, it worked out great. It suited me perfectly.
And you're saying right now, driving for eight hours, that would be to get to the front. How did you imagine a day like that? I mean, how did you do it yourself? You always have to have it ready. When they get up, you basically have to have the film camera ready already. How much did you sleep, and how much did you actually film of the day's time? And how much did you maybe just sit in the car to get from one place to another and watch the mountains go by?
So, filmed? I filmed relatively little because we weren't allowed to send over that much raw footage yet. Yeah, so I might have had maybe 15 minutes of raw footage at most, but well and cleanly filmed. Pro-
15 minutes a day or 15 minutes in total?
Well, at most. Per day, sorry. Exactly. Yes, in the morning it was usually around five o'clock for the day watch. So, depending. So if I filmed the morning scenes, I got up around half past four, shuffled over once, and then shot a few pictures.
"Hinübergewackelt" means you actually already...
Sorry, regarding the athletes. We usually camped near them, yeah.
That means you've already picked one out, said I'll park my car next to it, and then I'm ready to go first thing the next morning.
Exactly. So, for example, I was actually assigned to Kinga for several days. First, I requested her, saying I'd like to accompany Kinga. And then you really stay directly with this athlete for a few days. And then you get the order: "Hey, tomorrow we need some breakfast and the departure. We'd also like to have a start. We need action tomorrow, like her running. And then we need the e-tron, and the e-tron, and we need the Audi too." That's roughly how it went down, yeah. And yeah, then you get up in the morning, film the departure and how she's walking. Then you film a few more shots of her actually being out in the meadow. I was there in Aschau, went up the mountain with her, filmed the start, and then marched back down. And then you sit in the car and do the same thing the supporters do.
You look at where the athlete is flying to. And then you think, just like the supporters, she's probably going left, she's going right, where is she going to land? Is that doable? Can we manage to film her at the landing? Or do we drive straight to the Turnpike towards Aschau? And for Aschau, do we go left past the Hochkönig or around to the right? And, and, and. Those were really demanding and stressful things at times. There were some strategic considerations we just had to, yeah, make. Those were really exciting Anti-X-Alps. The filming itself, okay, Kinga lands in Aschau, a small statement, that wasn't really difficult. But that's also the cool thing about the whole thing. Making a rough cut in between, sorting through the material,
exporting from the editing software and then sending it via Wi-Fi transfer. And finding a place where the internet works well. And then it was usually 10, 11, or 12 o'clock at night.
So, if I understood you correctly earlier, you also had a sort of supporter with you. Someone who accompanied you. Was that your driver, who always took you somewhere? And were you able to work in the passenger seat, saying, "I've got the laptop on my lap," and you could already start cutting during that hour we're driving, so you could upload everything and do the rough cut accordingly?
Exactly. So that was really a huge help. I also managed to make some private contacts through a lot of luck. I was allowed to borrow a kind of Pösslbus that I already know very, very well. And I really had my office in the back, sometimes with two laptops and the charging station and the batteries and so on. And I really edited and worked while he was already driving somewhere. And he also really helped by thinking strategically along and looking and considering. Like, how do we do it and how do we make it? And yes, he also cooked. So he was really a great supporter and a huge pillar of support, yeah.
Back to the film itself. Is there actually anything from Zoom? Yes. Or is that included in the organizer's or Red Bull's main sponsorship? Is there something like a predetermined visual code that says what must be shown, what can be shown, and what absolutely cannot be shown?
Sure. There's a five-page image briefing on-site. So, beforehand, yes. I mean, that's very clear, all the sponsors have to be shown. And the competition can't be in the shot. It's that simple. So I've already been using a bit of a trick sometimes... What does competition mean now?
Not in the shot? So what would be a competitor's product? Like, you can't have a Mercedes next to the Audi, right? Exactly.
So my supporter car wasn't allowed to be in the shot. No other drinks were allowed in the shot. Only this specific watch. Canopy, for example. I was actually very clever in just subtly taking the wrong canopy off the athletes and putting the right one on. I always had a spare canopy with me, you know. And these are very clear things. These are very clear specifications. So, for example, the athletes have to wear their Speedarms every day. And if they don't wear them, they get a hefty penalty.
Penalty in what form? A time penalty, a financial penalty, or what?
A time penalty. And there was one time I was supposed to film an athlete, but he just wasn't in the mood. And I thought, okay, I won't film him right now. I don't have to do that to him. Aha.
And are there also things where you're like, that absolutely cannot be filmed? Even for things that happen? Like, for example, if there had been an accident or something, and it's like, no, you're not providing us with those images at all, or something like that?
No. I haven't actually heard that. I've seen images before that just weren't used, where I thought, wow, that might not look so good for the X-Files if they see it. An athlete on all the machines in the hospital, yeah, it just doesn't fit into this story. No, but I mean, I would have told the story anyway, and whether it was used or not wouldn't have been my responsibility.
If you were to briefly look back on all your experiences from the X-Alps, what stands out the most for you? What is the image where you say, wow, that's the quintessence of what I experienced there?
So, the best part for me was definitely the Kinga-Korea-Battle. That was just incredible. Even as a camera operator, you realize that you're really just acting on instinct when you're so immersed in a story like that, and then seeing the product of that work in a one-minute clip—I'm just really, really happy and glad that I could tell you all about it.
You mentioned earlier that you were also at the X-Alps in 2013, but back then as a supporter for Thomas Hofbauer, who also dropped out relatively early. Which perspective was actually more exciting for you personally—being a supporter for the athlete or being a camera operator now?
Interesting. I mean, if you drop out really that early like we did back then, I have to say from my experience, you haven't really gotten into the race properly yet. But it was actually always my dream to be there as a camera operator. And because that's really my personal challenge, to do a good job there. And if I had the choice now between supporting or filming, I'd probably prefer to film again as a camera operator at the X-Alps.
There's also the third option, where you say, "Alright, I was a supporter, I was a camera operator, now I'm going to be a participant in the X-Alps too." You also like Hike and Fly. Could you imagine that?
Not really, because it actually takes so much energy and time that I don't really want to invest in that at all. First of all. Secondly, I already know what it feels like to have your feet go for over 100 kilometers straight. It's not pleasant. Thirdly, in competitions, I pretty much kill myself. I don't have that under control anymore.
But there are surely other great women who are also much stronger physically.
Well, you had about ten days of X-Alps, where you really had to be there all day. The athletes themselves sometimes say it takes a few weeks until you become a somewhat normal human being again. How long did it take for you?
I think I was there for a week and then I was in Sweden for a week. I didn't do much there, except flying around the dune and sleeping a lot. And after that, it went back to normal. I'd say yeah, about one or two weeks.
And if in 2021 it says the next X-Alps are coming up, would you definitely join in again right away?
Yes, absolutely, because I learned so much that I'd love to put it into practice again. Absolutely. And the camera crew, we're a really great team. It was so much fun with the colleagues. So, I'd very, very gladly be part of it again.
What would something like that be, if you were to say you learned something at the X-Alps—what would be the most important thing you can take away from that?
I don't know. Maybe, independent of the X-Alps, it's simply that you have to stick with your dreams. That you have to be really persistent and keep asking every time you really want to achieve something. Because I experience that myself; it's just the greatest and most amazing thing when you make those kinds of heartfelt wishes. When you can actually fulfill those kinds of heartfelt wishes. And yeah, no matter what it is, those are actually the X-Alps for me. A truly fulfilled heartfelt wish that I really earned.
That was Vera Polaschegg in conversation with Lucian Haas. If you want to learn more about Vera's work or the Red Bull X-Alps, the relevant links can be found in the show notes for this podcast episode. They can be found on the Lu-Glidz blog or on Soundcloud. You can also find more episodes of Podz-Glidz there. You can also subscribe to the podcast. This can be done via RSS feed or through well-known podcast catalogs like iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn, or podcast.de. If you enjoy Podz-Glidz or Lu-Glidz, please don't hesitate to send me a voluntary donation via PayPal or bank transfer. Lu-Glidz is financed solely through donations from listeners and readers. You can find the relevant links or the necessary bank details on the website www.Lu-Glidz.blogspot.com.
I'll just say ciao for today, see you in the next episode of Podz-Glidz.