Paragliding:
a visual journey
Follow along with us as adventurers take to the skies for the first time on a tandem, learn valuable paragliding skills or even catch a glimpse of pilots just goofing around!
This picture just makes me laugh…a friend commented on Facebook that it looks like I'm saying "I own you now!"
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In the summer it's sure nice to wear shorts when paragliding. But when you fly tandem, sometimes passengers accidentally kick you in the shins as they sprint off the mountain. Knee socks do the trick - pull them off before take-off & squish them down in the hot & sunny landing field. Cupcake socks found at my friend's flower & gift shop in Chilliwack - visit QuikPik for a pair of your own! Coming in to land yesterday at Riverside I lined myself up with the train tracks…in warmer weather the tracks can give off lift to extend your flight, but on this smooth fall day it was just a fun game to fly along and pretend you're Superman flying through the air (faster than a speeding train!).
Jason hadn't flown in a couple of years and asked if I'd re-initiate him into the air with a tandem. Of course! Some thermals were blowing through as we set up so I made sure to remind him to keep on his feet while launching, and as you can see from the picture he stayed strong and we flew smoothly into the sky. A few bumpy thermals in the air took us high enough to fly over to Harvest Market for the bird's-eye farmer's field tour…thanks Mark for offering to drive. Now that fall is approaching and the sun sits lower in the sky, I'm seeing a lot more shadows photo-bombing our pictures! Here's Norm & I setting up to land at Riverside, and our shadow soaring the trees for just a moment longer. There's something about the adrenaline rush from a spiral dive that sends people into fits of giggles or shouts of excitement…Natalie was no exception! A fun tandem yesterday afternoon at Mt Woodside, enjoying the peaceful air at the end of the day. Found this picture of a great fortune…my old boss would buy fortune cookies once in a while and we would eat through the bags until we found our favourite message. This was one of mine, and I can't help but wonder what daring adventure this foretold. This was from November 2012 - was it referring to my competing at the Nationals in 2013? Going full-time with my business in 2014? Or is there something more daring yet to come? Do fortunes have an expiry date? So many questions on a Sunday morning...
We've had almost a week of outflow winds…meaning the winds are strong from the wrong direction for flying. A few people have managed a quick flight or two by getting lucky with a lull in the weather - patience pays off! I have been taking care of other business, and planning adventures for the months ahead. There are a few fly-ins coming up across the border - check out the Events Page for info!
Photo below from the Baldy Butte/David Norwood Memorial Fly-In page...coming up at the end of the month The flying season isn't over yet! Lots of sunshine out here in the Fraser Valley, and September's forecast looks amazing. Come out for a tandem flight or just watch the rest of us run off the mountain and snap a few pictures while enjoying the view from our launch site. Make a day of it with some friends or family - Harrison Hot Springs is only a 10 minute drive from where we fly, not to mention visiting the waterfalls and emerald green forest at Bridal Falls, exploring Othello tunnels near Hope, and finding your way through the Corn Mazes popping up all over the Fraser Valley. Don't waste these sunny days! There's plenty of time to clean the house when it's raining in November... I'd heard/read online that the road up to Mt Cheam was closed, which would ruin our planned hike and fly from there this Sunday. I decided to check it out myself the morning while testing out the new 4x4 functions in my FJ. The road was open (called Forestry to confirm when I got home) and the deep cross ditches were no problem in 4-lo! It was such a gorgeous day to be in the forest that even the deer up ahead on the road barely ambled off as I approached!
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