About 5 years ago I went on a NOLS expedition and did a lot of talking with my instructor who combined mountaineering with paragliding. Since then I’ve tried all I could to make going back down as much fun as the climb up. I’ve invested in a randonee skiing setup, and tried to make my gear as light as possible. Lets face it though…some stuff you just can’t ski down…(well…I can’t anyway…I try to avoid cliffs as much as possible). So a couple weeks ago I finally bit the bullet and signed up for lessons. The closest I could find is a three hour drive away in Cashmere, WA by the name of Aerial Paragliding. I didn’t know what to expect, and the cost was high, but I tried to keep my expectations low. I was pleasantly surprised though. They run their outfit from a ranch house way up in the hills away from the city. Some dude that hit it big with Microsoft actually owns the land, and they are jointly building a new facility next to the cabin that will be much bigger. For $10 a night you can stay up there too, so they have a really nice set up with beds and everything.
Anyway, the first day I was already flying solo hundreds of feet off the ground, and I was hooked. I signed up for the full P1-P2 course from there and never looked back. I will probably have to continue my training next year as school is in session and they only have about a month left until winter comes. The gear will have to wait, but hopefully I will be able to get some used stuff next year.
It’s a new adventure every time I go there, but I guess I’ll just leave it to the pictures now and update this post (and my blog) when I can. I’ve set up an album to look at, and you can see it here:
