Every season is unique, and although the calm days of winter are ending, they are being rapidly replaced with the energetic and dynamic days of summer. It has been so hot lately, it feels like we have leap frogged over spring and right into summer. With the warming air I continue to fly virtually every flyable day. It seems every month we continue as a group to log dozens of mountain flights. The shorter flights of early spring are now being replaced by flights where both duration and altitudes continue to increase in the thermic air. I have been flying many of our standard hike-n-fly sites, as well as the majority of the sites along the Wasatch. I have also been spending more time at home flying The B is which is a welcomed change.
There are many passions, paths and pursuits in life. Some help shape character, while others simply define it. In my passionate pursuit to live, learn, and experience life to its fullest I find myself anchored into something that not only shapes me, but defines me. As I look towards the sky, see the clouds, and feel the wind on my face I realize, because of a paraglider, I am now metaphorically and literally anchored to the sky.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Friday, May 4, 2012
Wasatch Free Flight
In an effort to give back to the sport I love so much, I have created the "Wasatch Free Flight Group." A place where new pilots can learn about new paragliding sites away from The Point of the Mountain.
I have put this together in hopes of connecting newer pilots with 'mentor' type pilots familiar with flying different mountain sites. I hope you all find this site useful and are willing to become a part of it. In order for this to work, we need pilots (P3+) who are willing to become mentors at their home sites! I think/hope it will help us all become better, safer pilots, and help grow this amazing sport in a positive direction. If nothing else, it may just be a resource to check the weather.....something I get asked about a lot. Please share this with ALL your other pilot friends.
I have put this together in hopes of connecting newer pilots with 'mentor' type pilots familiar with flying different mountain sites. I hope you all find this site useful and are willing to become a part of it. In order for this to work, we need pilots (P3+) who are willing to become mentors at their home sites! I think/hope it will help us all become better, safer pilots, and help grow this amazing sport in a positive direction. If nothing else, it may just be a resource to check the weather.....something I get asked about a lot. Please share this with ALL your other pilot friends.
Monday, April 30, 2012
April in Review
As I sift through the memories, flights, photographs, and videos of the last month I have to just giggle a bit. Spring appears to be falling upon us, but still the cold air of winter lingers. The month has taken us across the state from beautiful flights above the cliffs of Randolph down to great thermal flights off the Provo Y... and everything in between. It was nice to get in the air above my home at The B again, and to be honest, not so bad getting a good hike-n-fly off the North Side at Point of the Mountain. I haven't flown there in months, and you forget how smooth the air is there. So much so, that you almost do not even need to think. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the view. It has been a fantastic month, and I look forward to another fabulous season in the sky.
As many of you know, I rarely fly at the Point of the Mountain as my sights are often set on the surrounding mountains, and beyond. I am finding in my conversations with budding pilots, that everyone is just plain nervous about flying sites away from The Point of the Mountain, away from their instructors care, and therefore many are just falling away from the sport. I feel there has got to be a way to help pilots develop, help the public understand what we do. Perhaps through education and exposure we can overcome some of the challenges that face us here in Utah. Issues like wilderness boundaries, insurance, and general understanding of what paragliding is...I will have to think on that.
As many of you know, I rarely fly at the Point of the Mountain as my sights are often set on the surrounding mountains, and beyond. I am finding in my conversations with budding pilots, that everyone is just plain nervous about flying sites away from The Point of the Mountain, away from their instructors care, and therefore many are just falling away from the sport. I feel there has got to be a way to help pilots develop, help the public understand what we do. Perhaps through education and exposure we can overcome some of the challenges that face us here in Utah. Issues like wilderness boundaries, insurance, and general understanding of what paragliding is...I will have to think on that.
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