Life is not a spectator sport. So get your butt off the chair and your feet off the ground.

Just being in the Alps is one thing. But for the ultimate experience of these stunning mountains you have to get high. Really high.

Paragliding gives you a taste of what is feels like to be a bird. Maybe even an astronaut...

Paragliding, also called parapenting, involves a soft parachute, and unless you're certified, flights are tandem: just you, the wild blue yonder, and a fully qualified pilot with you every step of the way.

That includes both the first step and the last step. And while we SAY life is not a spectator sport, just watching people fly off the side of the mountain is in fact QUITE a sport in itself. Crowds of walkers and gawkers are attracted to the jumping points off mountainsides and tops across Austria, including the spectacular launch area at the top of the Hahnenkamm in Kitzbühel and Kitzbühelerhorn in St. Johann

"When I say run, run like hell!" enthuses the local instructor. "Three, two, one, run!" With a yodel, you're dashing the steep 10 paces down the hill until your chute immediately fills with air. In but a moment you’re airborne, arcing up and away into the air before floating silently on the thermals, thousands of vertical feet of nothing beneath your sneakers.

Then it’s 10, 20, 30 minutes thermalling above the valley floor, before setting down suprisingly lightly at the landing zone far far below. Thrilling, chilling and not just a little scary, floating and flying the thermals of the Alps is something you've got to do.