Tightness at the launch site in Filzmoos: But when 50 balloons want to take off at the same time, everyone has to move together.
Image: Uwe Stohrer
In the Alpine village of Filzmoos near Salzburg there is always a spectacle in the sky in January: countless balloons fly in front of a picturesque backdrop.
EIt's an icy January day. The thermometer shows minus 15 degrees. Nevertheless, Filzmoos is already bustling with activity at seven in the morning. Here, on the snow-covered take-off meadow in the Austrian winter sports resort, 55 teams from ten nations are busy getting their hot air balloons ready for take-off. That is a lot of work. First you have to unload the balloon baskets from the car trailer, then the tubular cover is spread out on the snow. Now it's getting loud. Air is now pumped into the shell with the help of a fan driven by a gasoline engine. As soon as the balloon envelope is slightly inflated, the gas burner is used. The balloon operator uses the swiveling burner to add hot air into the envelope from the tilted basket.
Now acrobatic effort is required. Because the balloon becomes more and more upright, the balloon operator juggles the burner above the basket and at the same time holds on until the hot air completely erects the balloon and thus also the basket. During this procedure, one or two members on the ground additionally stabilize the shell using a rope attached to the top. Despite the icy air, the members of the ground crew and the balloon pilot are already quite warm.
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