We are pleased to offer tandem flights, HPAC-certified instruction, courses, gear sales, and guiding/logistics for individuals or groups wanting to fly in the Kootenays, British Columbia, Canada.
Check out our used gear priced to move now!
We are located in the town of Ymir, BC at the foot of Mt. Dundee, twenty minutes south of Nelson. Explore the links on the right to find out more!
Interested in becoming an equipment dealer? KPG is the exclusive canadian importer for top quality Pro-Design equipment. Let us know why you'd be a good candidate for the job - apart from having access to gear at dealer prices:-)
We want to make paragliding accessible to anyone with the passion to fly. Contact us and find out how we might be able to help you.
Check out our growing photo album at: http://picasaweb.google.com/kootenayparagliding Last Updated April 4th, 2009
Check out Douglas Noblet's pictures at http://www.wildairphoto.com for some amazing photos!
See one of our first videos: "Urban Session".
Though we mostly fly in thermic conditions, check out some more of our coastal sessions in this clip from "Sessions:Roadtrip".
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The full scoop
Here is the extended account of our latest Northern Selkirk adventure: leaving Ymir at 6am on thursday, March 26th, Joaquin, Rob and I with 2 trucks and 3 sleds between us went to Nelson to pick up Douglas, Fred and Ben.
All loaded up, we left Nelson at 6:30am to arrive at the base of Meadow Mountain at 8:30am. We all got our gear organized, packed, the sleds loaded, and headed up the mountain. Only one spot of trouble on the way up: a stripped drive belt that was quickly replaced thanks to Rob. The rest of the ascent went smoothly.
Arriving at the peak at 10am, our group was greeted by clear skies and perfect flying conditions. We were all smiles as we had a snack and prepared for our first flights. Fred and Ben were first to test the conditions: showing the rest of us that the air was smooth and workable as suspected. We were soon all launching, soaring and landing on top continually: this would be our best day at this site to date!
Worth a further mention: Douglas gets high and soars Meadow Peak for quite a while! Ben survives his first ever trip into the backcountry and first day ever on a snowmobile (riding tandem no less!) - nice work Ben! Joaquin really "going for it" a few times: attempting some 3-6s and making for some great shots of powder explosions and smiles. Finally, everyone having a great time, being fun to fly with, flying safely, watching out for each other, and holding it together until the end of the day when the sleds were safely loaded and we were driving home:-)
Check out all the photos in our "KPG friends at Meadow March 26, 2009" gallery!
Great day everyone! Let's do it again. April 5th - 6th looks good... overnight at the cabin?
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Thursday, March 26th
We got out to the "Northern Selkirks" site AGAIN! 6 pilots, 3 sleds and a full day of flyable weather.
Pictures can be seen in our online gallery soon, but for now find some at Douglas Noblet's website: http://www.wildairphoto.com/ in the paragliding gallery. Beautiful work Douglas!
We all ahd a great day and got home safe after many hours of playing in the high alpine. Can't wait to get back!
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Saturday, March 21st
Wow...
Just a week after our last flight Joaquin, Rob, and I all decided we had time, so it was worth a trip to launch on Dundee. Armed with an extra driver (Paul) we proceeded up the mountain with the confidence of an easy retrieve.
The day looked nothing special to say the least. Thick overcast skies threatening drizzle spread out as far as we could see - all we could hope for was a straight flight to "downtown". Encouraging us to all lay out in sequence, Joaq was also the first to try a few times. The direction was about as cross as launch would allow, and coupled with its light strength made for difficult inflations (not to mention running in the deep isothermic rotting snow).
As second in line, I got my chance to try after a couple of attempts by Joaq in some unestablished wind direction. Looking down at the beautiful and brand new Pro-Design BURST ACRO wing I had laid out, I was struck at how tiny the thing was - at just over 18m squared it looked like a child's wing. This was to be its maiden flight - I had just removed the plastic bag and tag from the riser set and hooked in. Honestly, I really had no high expectations of its glide performance, and was anticipating a quick, yet fun, trip to the valley floor. I couldn't have been more wrong...
After an easy inflation and launch run, I was airborne under the postage stamp of a glider. To my suprise there was a few small bumps of lift over the length of the SW face of Dundee. Half way to "the Point" I came accross 2 bald eagles: moving in under me and starting to circle and climb. I thought there was no way that my tiny peice of fabric could match the climb of the eagles, but stayed around for the show nonetheless. Well, the eagles out climbed me, but not by much - and they did cheat with a few flaps here and there:-) Actually, more to my advantage was a light but steady SW being pushed through by a small snowstorm down the valley: the little ACRO wing was able to maintain, and even slowly climb with some careful work.
Well, the eagles buzzed out and benched up the mountain to join a newly launched Joaquin and Rob. I was really happy that they were getting to share in some of the experiencce with the raptors. Following the eagles, and wanting to get closer to all the action, I started to really concentrate on squeezing every single meter of lift from the BURST in these conditions. To my suprise, I was able to bench up the mountain to join Rob and Joaq near launch for about 20 minutes of passes back and fourth: the adult eagles had disspeared, but we were now joined by a single immature baldie who seemed happy to soar the light conditions with us!
As our flights progressed Rob and Joaq were both able to top-land to help our driver Paul get the sleds unstuck ;-) and decide between them who would drive and who would get a second flight. Meanwhile, I was sprinting to town with big-ears and speedbar engaged to beat the thick of an approaching and growing snowstorm. Heading straight for Ymir with sleet collecting on my googles, I prepared to spiral and land downtown to beat the weather. 3 things I learned on the descent to town: first, the BURST is spirally neutral for me (maintains the same descent rate when brake is released in the spiral for my 75kg load - suggested weight range is 80-100kgs) but responds well to opposite brake and, secondly, comes rocketing out of a spiral with huge energy (straight and level) when the spiral is bled off earnestly. Thirdly, the thing flares like a dream: I was curious to see what would happen as I approached the ground a little faster than normal, but with a solid (no wrap) flare was easily able to halt the BURST for a tip-toe no-step landing in the 4kph headwind.
Joaq came in to LZ not too long after, and we were able to begin going over the many suprising and wonderful aspects of our flights. Soon we were joined by Rob and Paul on the sleds for a full fledged beer-accompanied flight de-brief. What an experience our seemingly inpotent gray and drizzly afternoon turned out to be!
Looking forward to the next one...
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Friday, March 13th
Ooo... lucky we're not so superstitious as we flew today regardless of the date.
It will be the last chance for a while as a huge low pressure system is moving in bringing rain and snow for the next week.
Rob and I snowmobiled up Dundee to find steady SSW winds and lightly soarable conditions. I had an extended sledder with a mix of min sink soaring and terrain skimming. Rob squeezed the mountain for all it was worth, came in high over LZ, then cranked and banked it up happily burning altitude in a series of Wingovers and over-the-nose spirals.
At the end we were both safe and happy on the ground looking forward to the next time we get to fly. April is usually very good flying at both the Northern Selkirk site and Dundee - thermals will start popping now!
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Thursday, March 12th
Douglas and I headed up to the Northern Selkirks site for an afternoon of playing over (and on) the high alpine. Upon arrival we were blessed with the proper wind direction and strength that make the site work so well.
The two of us had at least a dozen flights each, top-landing in the huge and soft meadow-like plateau. Douglas was having alot of fun buzzing back and fourth in the ridge lift: practicing low passes and having fun in/over the deep snow. I was practicing some aggressive manouvers close to terrain: taking advantage of the deep powder to cushion any crashes.
The weather was incredible: snowstorms dumped all around us, and yet a small strip of blue sky with full sun shining though stayed above us for the duration. We were flying in flurries that were beautifully lit by the sun!
I took some time between sessions to snap some photos of Douglas at play: http://picasaweb.google.com/kootenayparagliding/NorthernSelkirksMarch09#
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Monday March 9th
A little catch-up to do here...
Winter flying has been sporadic to say the least. Being a new dad surely hasn't increased my chances to get out, but the local pilots have been making a go at it.
All told there were probably 10 flying days at Dundee between December and March. Extremely poor weather forecasting contributed to many missed opportunities, but overall it was life that seemed to get in the way.
Fred, Douglas and Jeff all have aquired many hours flying in southern skies over Mexico this winter - well done guys, I'm understandably jealous - but not for long:-)
March 9th Rob and I took a trip to the top of Dundee: lauched, soared a little and landed downtown Ymir - all in a light snowstorm. It was alot of fun
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October has been presenting some smooth and organized flying conditions so far. We've been blessed with half a dozen more "bluebird" flying days since the last entry. The XC potential seems to be shut down until spring, but soaring flights are happening regularly in SW flows with small thermals or in ridge lift on the North side of Dundee.
We are all anticipating enough snow by the end of this month to block access up to launch for most of November. When the snow line creeps all the way to the valley we'll be granted access once again by snowmobile.
Looking forward to a good winter of flying here and in Mexico!
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Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday October1,2,3
All three of these days saw pilots flying at Mt.Dundee in Ymir. Beautiful warm and clear autumn days gave up smooth and small thermals for the pilots to work. Landings in town happened on all three days as winds in the valley were calm: conducive to landing in the otherwise rotor-strewn small downtown field or main street.
Rain is on the way now, but we may yet get some more chances for solo and tandem flights before the steep road to launch becomes a dangerous mix of mud and snow.
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Monday September29th
More high pressure presenting "blue-bird" skies. Douglas, Jeff and I enjoyed some late afternoon soaring in tight smooth thermals. Small climbouts to above launch were possible, but most of our time was dedicated to maintaining altitude. Our flights ranged from 20-40ish minutes, and all 3 of us landed downtown Ymir.
A good forecast for tomorrow...
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Sunday September28th
Today's high pressure and steadily building conditions made for easily predicted smooth flying. Fred, Jeff and tandems with Joaq/Shan, and me/Mike all had smooth flying in friendly skies punctuated with narrow themals: all adding up to extended sled runs of 20-25 minutes.
Everyone was safe and happy on the ground after their flights. Congrats to Shan and Mike for braving the skies. Good work to Jeff who put on a good show as wind-tech and masterfully worked the narrow thermals, ending up with a 40+ minute flight in light and technical conditions.
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Saturday September27th
Fred, Rob, Louise, and Rick got themselves up to launch on this very unsettled Saturady. Conditions were a mixed bag from this mornng right through to this evening: calm, strong, ripped cu's, and high cirrus waves were all seen at some point during the day. Regardless the 4 keen pilots headed to launch to try their luck.
It was repoted that condittions on launch were smooth but dynamic at 15-20km/hr. Ridge can be expected in this scenario, and that's just twhat the pilots found: Dundee acting as a massive ridge.
All pilots got off Dundee and back on the ground safely, with a little playing around in between.
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Saturday September20th
Tyko and Rob snuck a ridge/thermic flight in today before things got too hairy from the impending low front. The rest of us succumbed to important fall chores, spurred on by the equinox: harbinger of colder weather and (sigh) less flying.
We are hoping for a few more XC days before the snow flies however...
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Friday September19th
Rossland resident Todd came out for some flying today. We got in two flights before 2:30pm. The air was once again quite smooth and difficult to work with small and light thermals. However, I did manage to work one to about 200m over launch and stretch out my flight to 40minutes by scrounging for whatever I could. Fred and Tyko got out for a 3pm-ish flight to cap off the day. Everyone we safe and happy on the ground by the end of the day.
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Thursday September18th
Fred and Douglas flew two times each today in smooth conditions with Joaquin and Rebecca joining them on tandem for the second round. Congratulations Rebecca on your successful initiation to the sky!
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Wednesday September17th
Two tandems today featuring Joaquin/Lisa and Jeff/Paul. Bluebird conditions and extreme high pressure made for smooth, stable conditions but small hard-to-work thermals. Both tandems launched and landed safely with happy passengers wanting to go again. Of particular interest was long-time-driver Paul's flight. Well done Paul finally a taste of the sky!
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Monday September15th
Eight people took to the skies over Ymir today. Arriving at launch on a bluebird day Tyko and Douglas flew solo to test the waters for tandem combos of Jeff/Hanna, Joaquin/Janice, and me/Jim - a triple-header!
The air was as smooth and easy as we had hoped, and we all had soaring flights of 20-30 minutes: staying aloft by hopping back and fourth between narrow thermals. Well done to Janice, her daughter Hanna and cousin Jim - nice launches and landings everyone!
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Sunday September14th
Fred and Douglas got some sled runs in midday today, but then returned to launch with Rob at around 3pm for some soaring flights. All three pilots climbed above launch with the highest close to 700m over. The air was reportedly smooth with gentle, friendly thermals. Alltogether the boys had alot of fun.
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Saturday September13th
Five pilots and two passengers took to the sky today. Fred was first off trying out his new setup of Cayenne2 with and CultXC harness: finding some good lift right away, he spent most of his time high above launch. On the way to LZ he put the Cayenne2 though its paces and ended up really happy with the entire experience. Tyko launched second and proceeded to put alot of work in with very little reward: ending up with an extended sled ride and walk home from LZ - flushed again.
The tandems comprising of Jeff /Denida and me/Bruce both had soaring flight of about 25minutes where we were all able to circle in thermals and pass close enough to call back and fourth. Well done Denida and Bruce!
Rob was our anchor man for the day: having fun with manoevers on the way to LZ and a beatiful landing near the center of the spot.
All ended well with everyone up, down, soaring around, then safe on the green and brown.
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Wednesday September10th
Today looked as though it could provide some good soaring, so Tyko, Jeff and I went up to launch with our driver-for-the-day Chris (thanks Chris).
After arriving to good cycles and promising cloud development, I was first to launch followed quickly by Jeff. I hunted around for some lift with mixed results until almost 10 minutes into the flight when I found something I could really use. Jeff found some lift of his own at that point, and soon I had transfered into his thermal and we climbed together. This became the theme of our 1hr40ish minute flight. We climbed together (often wingtip to wingtip in smaller thermals), usually at the same altitude, and we went on glides together (flying side by side for a wider lift search). It was the closest either of us had flown with another pilot for such a long duration, and was great fun!
After our climbouts over Dundee, glides to Jubilee, extended lift searches maintaining over Jubilee, glides back to Dundee, and another 40 or so minutes playing in scattered lift around launch, we headed to town to land beside the river and the throngs of people congregating for the "Micheal Franti and Spearhead" concert. We later found out from Tyko that his flight had started with a roar, but sadly ended with a whimper as he got "flushed" all too early.
More flying soon...
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Thursday September4th
Tyko, Jeff, Denny and I all made it up to launch today. Launch cycles were steady and fairly strong at 10-15kph. Clouds were growing, but drying out before towering. With a NW drift and some excited anticipation of potential XCs, we started to setup.
I was first off, finding a little pocket of lift and worked it to 100m over. Connecting into some stronger lift, I banked it up and punched through a shear layer into calmer winds and a beautifully organized thermal. Riding it to 1200m over launch, the glide was easy to the next peak at Porcupine where a thermal took me to cloudbase - wet and suprisingly cold for my summer gloves. Cloudbase was only about 2850mASL (9350ftASL) and with peaks in the area ranging from 1400-2400m ASL, consequently a little limiting in terms of glide - oh well, more climbs! At this point I was checking on Tyko's progress and saw that he was climbing out over Dundee and hopefully coming to join. Sadly, a sensitive stomach from a recent flu was making thermic flying uncomfortable for him, and he responsibly pulled ears through lift to get himself to LZ ASAP.
My next glide took me to Rusty Ridge, and closer to the ridge than hoped for. A group of loggers were on break and watching me descending through 100m over their clearcut - about 8 km up the ridge from the highway - well, at least there would be a ride if I landed now:-) Luckily an educated guess hooked me into a climb, and left the loggers watching me silently climb out: circling up a 1000m back to the wet, cold, and happiness of cloudbase. My next jump would take me to Reno Mountain and the choice of Salmo or points beyond... Back in the harness my vario was quiet and my stomach was feeling light as I was passing from sink to stronger sink (-4.5m/s). I was running out of options and came to a fork in the road (...sky) : take the safer route and get closer to the highway while passing over the potential LZs of a few cutblocks and logging road, or follow the clouds and commit to a potentially longer flight over uncertain terrain with mature cutblocks (big trees), more obscured logging roads and a longer walk-out to civilization. Well, the strong self-preservation aspect of my flying persona won the descision and I turned and headed down the valley toward the highway: who knows, I might find a little lift and be able to continue on my growing XC... Sadly, no miracle thermals presented themselves even in the most likely spots. At 150m over a cutblock deemed the safest for landing, I was really starting to doubt my chances of elongating this flight and concentrated on setting up for the best chance at a safe and event-free landing. Though there was no sign of wind in to trees, there was a good in-flow at 50m AGL that dictated a landing direction down the valley: and most challengingly down-hill. Losing as much altitude as possible over the block's 5m tall trees, I headed on final down the road. Happily, this part of the road wasn't too steep and didn't lead me on too long before touching down. The trees bordering the road had branches forming a laneway that was a very tight 1m wider than my wing and were keeping me on edge. Just before flare the trees' laneway closed in: the outermost branches grabbing at my left wingtip without altering my course, but leaving me with a few young cottonwood leaves to pick out of my lines.
Safe and sound on the green and brown, both radio and cell phone were unable to contact anyone. I pondered my situation: up an unfamiliar logging road 3? 5? kilometers from the highway. I knew this road was gated and it was unlikely I'd run into anyone. Bears on the other hand are foraging thickly in these parts at this time of year... Concentrating on packing up and reasoning that the walk was probably not too bad, I kept busy and prepared for the hike. Halfway through packing up my kit I swore I heard a truck: and then again. 30 seconds later a smiling timber worker named Gennvieve was asking me if I "came from the sky" and would I like a ride? Would I? "Yes please, that would be great!" She had to go a kilometer or so up the road, but would be right back - sweet! Dropping me at the highway, I stuck out my thumb and caught the 6th passing car who also happened to be my neighbour! Thanks Gennvieve!
Lucky to the end, I was happy to have taken the safe route when presented with the choice. Happily reuniting with Jeff, and Denny in Ymir for retreive and de-briefs I learned that they had smooth extended sledders, and Tyko was at home trying to feel better. Everyone was safe and happy. It was another good flying day in the Kootenays! More this weedend?
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Monday August18th
After 2 days of threatening thunderstorms and not flying, the forecast shows rain for the next few days. Well, we could do with a little precipitation out here these days...
I've finally put some pictures from our Idaho Peak trip in our web album. Check them out here.
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Saturday August16th
Some good flying today with solo pilots Rob, Tyko and Fred getting in some soaring. Peter and I took the tandem for a flight and did quite well despite tight thermals.
Potentially more flying tomorrow if the weather holds out.
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Thursday/Friday August14th/15th
Everyone came back for the last 2 days to get in on some good flying while this high pressure system stays put. Thursday saw solo pilots Matt, Fred, Tyko, and Todd thermalling around Dundee: Matt becoming more and more comfortable, Fred working hard to get in the groove and stay up, Tyko making it look easy and having alot of fun, and Todd returning to the sky after a long time on the ground. We also had 3 tandems flying for 45 minutes plus each: Joaquin with Cassidy thermal hunting with a good extended flight, Jeff with Paule getting up and going on tour around Dundee and the valley, and me with Duncan who is 93% blind(!), an assisted launch, and getting a 1hr40minute thermalling flight with repeated out and returns to Mt.Elise, Ymir, and Stewart Creek totalling 36kms! All 3 tandem passengers and 4 solo pilots were safe on the ground and elated after their flights. An awesome afternoon!
Friday saw all pilots returning except Todd, and 4 more tandem passengers ready to go. The first round had solo pilots Tyko, Matt, Fred, and Pete flying off to try their luck at thermal hunting: Tyko worked some lift right off launch beatifully to approx 1000m over and played, Matt used his growing knowledge of the site to his advantage for some nice soaring, Fred enjoyed his new vario at 1200+m over(his best climb at Dundee so far- nice work!), and Pete had an extended flight cut short by a mis-adjusted harness causing him discomfort.The tandems consisted of Joaquin and Israel with a beautiful launch and a smooth but shorter flight to LZ, and Jeff with Ocheia getting a beautiful soaring flight around Dundee. All piots and passengers were safe and happy on the ground after their flights, and some of us ready for round 2.
The second round saw Joaquin and Austin, and Damien and me flying tandems while Fred flew solo. A conservaqtive second flight for Fred with 2 smooth 20 minute flights for the tandems. It was getting late and the thermals were lazy, but oh so glassy: resulting in dreamy flights in beautiful evening light. Well done Damien and Austin: welcome to the sky guys!
Hopefully more of the same tomorrow...
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Wednesday August13th
A solid group of solo pilots getting up over Dundee today! After Fred's morning pioneering flight of a new site outside of Nelson: he, Jeff, and Matt came out to Ymir to meet and fly with Joaquin, Rob and I. We got to launch at around 4pm with cloud cover just leaving the valley. Things started to heat up and Rob, Joaquin, and Jeff all launched to find thermals to take them to 7500ft ASL and beyond. Fred, Matt and I launched for some happy hunting of our own: with thermalling flights of up to 1hr20.
Of particular note were: Fred and Rob's beautiful saves on Dundee's point with monster climb-outs for both (Rob's to past cloudbase), Matt's excellent work for his first time at Dundee and first time flying since the winter(!) - smooth flying Matt, some nice climbs! Joaquin and Jeff chased each other up to 7500ASL and went on tour to Elise: Joaquin landing in town and Jeff playing around over the valley in seemingly endless lift. I was last off and was lucky enough to catch a thermal at 300meters below launch and ride it up to 1550meters over, took a 12km out-and-return, and landed back on top of Dundee to drive our vehicle down - The Pro-D Jalpa feels beautiful!
One of the best days we've had at Dundee this year and tomorrow looks just as good...
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Thursday August7th
Today we took a chance on Idaho Peak in New Denver, and it paid off. With a plan to do 3 tandems simultaneously Joaquin, Jeff and I headed out to meet New Denver locals Rain, Nathan, and David. As word of the trip spread, we were joined by Douglas, Fred, Rob, Pete, and Trevor: all keen to get in a little flying.
After organizing the whole crew and driving up the mountain, we waited for conditions to calm and eventually all launched between 6:30pm and 8pm. Flying together in a large gaggle for a little over an hour, we all retired to LZ before it got too dark.
Well done everyone! Special congratulations to Rain, Nathan and David who were brave to run off the mountain, and fullfill the dream of flying over their hometown.
Pictures to come...
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Wednesday August6th
Time for the instructors to have a day off, and what did we do? Fly, of course. Jeff, Pete, Tyko and I all headed up to launch for midday with the hopes of catching thermals, having a little fun and maybe fitting in a little XC, though high pressure and some obscuration from cirrus clouds conspired to make the conditions quite sedate.
I was first to launch and caught a nice thermal which I held on to until 800m over launch. Tyko, Jeff, and Pete were quick to follow, but weren't as lucky: scratching around and finding short lift here and there.
A big sinking feeling hit us all as we simultaneously started to lose altitude quickly: dropping from our respective different altitudes. I looked down at my vario to see -6m/s sustained for almost 2 minutes (despite my best efforts to escape): a loss of over 600m(2000ft)! Jeff and Tyko found themselves landing at LZ while Pete and I attempted to squeeze some more lift out of the day. Pete fought well and extended his flight for a little while, while I was a little luckier: eventually I climbed from 300m below launch back up to 100m over - a small feat that actually felt like a good accomplishment given the conditions. From my newly acquired position I was able to line myself up for a good top-landing opportunity that paid off. With everyone safe on the ground, I drove the truck down and picked up the boys as they were walking home.
The longest of our flights was a mere 1hr and 10 minutes, but we had a very good time nonetheless. I was able to fly my new Pro-Design Jalpa and was incredibly impressed by its manners and feedback in thermals, and precision for top-landing - I think I'm going to fly it exclusively now:-)
Maybe Idaho peak in New Denver tomorrow? Hopefully the weather presents...
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Tuesday August5th
A day of flying variety today as we explored new sites. Starting in the early a.m. (on launch at 8:30) Douglas, Rob, Jeff and I found ourselves atop Elephant launch overlooking Nelson. Thanks to some dedicated work by the local instructors, the launch area is now quite clean and snag free.
Rob was first off to find light thermic bubbbles and a beautiful spot for some acro over the West Arm of Kootenay Lake: right in front of town. Douglas was next to launch and had a smooth flight: exploring the mountainside and finishing with a small tour over Lakeside. Jeff launched 3rd and worked the light lift enough to be awarded an extended flight. I drove down to facilitate our next flight at "Eagle".
Meeting everyone at the LZ we then proceeded to Eagle where Douglas and I had the 2 inaugural flights, pioneering the site. The launch area could do with a little more grooming , but is huge. Once airborne, it is an easy 4:1 glide to reach the spacious LZ beside Kootenay river. The River is wide, deep and very lazy at this point so presents no dangers for water landings. The beach/grass LZ is enourmous, and I understand it is known by local fixed-wing pilots as a good emergency strip in case of engine failure. Needless to say, it works great for us!
Big congrgatulations to Douglas for completeing his required 30 high flights toward his Novice Certification! Well done Douglas - great job!
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Monday August4th
Douglas came out to do a little soaring with me today and we launched at 4ish into cycles peaking at 10kph. Soaring was very technical and difficult below launch, but smooth and workable above. Douglas made a good effort on his flight and retired to LZ after an extended flight.
I was able to thermal up to 500m above launch, and unexpectedly met Will Gadd. Will happened to be passing by on his way from Slocan Ridge. I landed on top to retreive the truck and Will landed in town: succeeding in catching a ride back to Nelson with Douglas.
Overall a good day. Hopefully, more to come.
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Friday July25th
After a few days of thundershowers we have resumed flying again. This morning's conditions were smooth and building steadily through to 4pm.
Douglas, Jeff and I had 3 flights each this morning, catching some thermals on our third flights. This afternoon Joaquin took Paul tandem while Jeff, Douglas and Denny flew solo. There were thermals to be caught, though the conditions were fairly technical and sadly shut down near the end of our session. Regardless, Jeff did quite a good job of staying up and exporing lift at launch height for a while. Also importqant to mention was student Douglas's first spiral. Well controlled Douglas!
It seems we may take a break this weekend as tomorrow looks to be strong conditions. Maybe some solos and a little XC for the instructors on Sunday?
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Monday July21st
Another great day for flights today! The high pressure allowed Jeff and Douglas a record 4 flights each before lunch! Some solid progression to tight 360's, big ears with speedbar, smoother turn transitions, and flying in stronger thermals filled out Douglas' morning.
Sadly, some Day-Taster hopefuls drove out from New Denver only to get stone-walled by unrelenting strong conditions lasting all afternoon until past dinner time. Low pressure front moving in?
We will try our best to make it happen for David, Nathan, and Reign(sp?) tomorrow. All we need is a little co-operation from the weather...
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Sunday July20th
A great day for flying today! Some big numbers were posted thanks to the great help of our driver-for-the-day Paul. All in all there were 17 flights from Mt. Dundee: Jeff flew 4 solo and 1 tandem, Douglas racked up a fantastic 4 solos and 1 tandem, and I had an unprecidented 7 flights including 2 top-landings on main launch. Conditions were super smooth and ideal for Douglas who got his total to 18 - nice work!
The large flying window was made possible by a beautiful high pressure system which will hopefully stick around for another.
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saturday July 12th
This morning had all the indications of a perfect mountain flying day: great forecast, high pressure, light winds aloft, and a good lapse rate. We watched eagerly as we waited for 3pm to be our perfect soaring/cross-country launch time. Contrary to all weather data, winds became strong out of the NW (light SW forecasted) at 11:30am and continued to build until 4p.m.
Really wanting to fly, we decided to head up to launch and wait for conditions to calm in the evening. By 6:30 cycles were now rolling through at 8-10kph rather than 20-25kph. Chris launched into boaty conditions, followed quickly by Tyko and Jeff. All 3 flew around in beautiful looking air inspiring Joaquin and Paul to set up the tandem, Fred to fly anchor, and me to drive down.
All of a sudden Jeff reports to launch that Chris has landed "out" near our North launch. Raising Chris on the radio we learn that he is quite sure he broke his foot during a rough put in. Joaquin, Paul, Fred and I pack up and jumped in the truck to drive as close as possible to North launch. With 1st Aid accoutrements in tow we hiked the 12-15 minute technical trail to Chris' location near North Launch.
Arriving on scene, we assessed Chris for other injuries and any sign of shock. Overall Chris was unscathed and in good form, save for his foot which was very likely broken. Immobilizing his foot and ankle, we decided on the best transportation option and got to work. Cutting 2 seven-foot maple trunks thick and green enough to support his weight, we treaded the trunks through his harness and had a man on each corner shouldering 1/4 of the weight. Hiking back up the trail was challenging and required strict co-ordination and communication between the 4 bearers. Chris remained in good spirits as the passenger, though his injury was obviously very painful. We arrived at the truck tired but focused as we loaded Chris smoothly into the back seat with plenty of support and elevation. Trying to make the bumpy ride down as smooth as possible, we were in the valley 15 minutes after arriving at the truck. Chris was then taken to hospital for treatment.
Total time elapsed after Chris hit the ground was 1hr5min, not bad for the situation but it could have been far longer if the scenario did not involve trained rescuers with the proper equipment.
At 2a.m. the following morning we received word that Chris' x-ray had shown 4 broken metatarsals (ouch!) which may or may not require surgery. One of the morals of the story would be that landing "out" is never a planned event: Wearing the proper safety gear including sturdy boots, a helmet, a radio(!!), gloves, and a harness with at least 17cm of protection significantly reduces forces on the body inflicted by a strong mechanism of injury. Also, flying with friends who are certified in (at least) level 1 First Aid, but preferably Level3 with a Transportation endorsement and the proper 1st Aid equipment, is critically important when an accident situation arises. Paragliding most often takes place over remote areas that are not accessible by vehicles. Please carry a proper 1st Aid kit and fly with pilots who are trained in proper extraction techniques!
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July 3rd-8th
With Fred and Douglas tree-planting, and huge development and threatening thunderstrorms, all pilots have been stuck on the ground. While the boys are a way Isabelle will be honing her skills to position herself to take full advantage of the next flyable windows. More good weather on the horizon and we plan to take full advantage!
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June
Arrgh! So, I've been away from my desk (and flying!) for quite a while.
The beginning of this month saw quite a few flights by intrepid hanggliders and our own Rob Rey on PG. For the most part the conditions were too strong for students: save a few mornings and evenings that we took advantage of.
Between June 1st and 9th, students Douglas and Fred were able to log more flights and are ever-closer to their goals of 30 toward Novice Certification. While the weather was strong or rainy, we scouted for new sites and were successful: finding sites facing west, south and east!
Between june 10th and 25th, my family was visiting our parents and friends in Ontario and Quebec. I also had the opportunity to sneak off with Andy and Tyko for some more filming on super-low ridges: hopefully some of the footage will make the next film...
We returned home to Ymir to hear that a few pilots had been successfully logging flights while we were away. Jeff had a few flights from Elephant mountain, Pete has been flying near the Valhallas, and Rob was steadily logging flights from Dundee.
Our students Douglas and Fred used the good flying conditions between June 26th and July 3rd to continue logging flights, with Fred completeting his required 30! Combined with his written and practical exams Fred has now completed the Novice Certification Course! Well done Fred, you have developed into a solid pilot! All we need to do now is send in the paperwork and it'll be official.
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Saturday April26th
Bit of a late update, but I should report that we flew 2 pilots and 2 student pilots this saturday.
Conditions looked promising from the valley, but were fairly strong on launch at midday. After a timely conditions report from Rob, we took our time getting up the mountain with hopes of coinciding with more student-friendly air. This time of year marks the beginning of a difficult period for launch approach: large lengths of mud and rock are appearing between residual strips of snow. We are pushing our snowmobiles to the limits of their performance, and will soon have to wait for a full melt and the opportunity to use our 4x4s again.
Once we got to launch, an assessment of conditions resulted in Chris' desision to launch and relay his experiences to us. On the ground, we could all tell that the thermals were still stronger than ideal for students. We patiently awaited our window of opportunity, and upon its arrival we sent Joaquin out to prove our assumptions. Watching Joaquin's flight and hearing his feedback made me quite confident that flying was now safe and manageble for students Fred and Douglas.
Fred was first to launch scoring a "5,5,5" for launch, flight and landing - well done Fred! Douglas was next and also had a great launch, flight, and smooth landing: bravo Douglas - well done for your 10th high flight!
At the end of the day 4 pilots flew, all 4 were safe on the ground, and all vehicles involved in the ascent (2 snowmobiles, 1 quad, and a truck) were unscathed! More turbulent weather is on the way as cold nights and warmer days make for big lapse rates at this time of year. It's blowing strongly outside my window even as I write this. Now we're hoping for a quick and complete melt, so we can get the summer season underway.
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Tuesday April22nd
Blue skies punctuated with perfect little cumulus, and calm valley winds got Fred, Chris and me excited about the prospect of flying today.
All 3 of us reached Dundee south launch by just after noon, finding smooth 7-10kph cycles rolling through consistently. Although this was very encouraging at first, after watching conditions for 20 minutes or so, some big releases sent whopping 20-25kph cycles our way. Retiring to a sheltered sunny spot, we waited and watched. After an hour or so, we were happy to see things calm down and return to smooth, steady and workable.
Chris was first to launch and did a great job of relaying his experiences over the radio while flying. He climbed and sank repeatedly as thermals intermittently released and dwindled. After almost half an hour, Chris found himself beside launch and in perfect position for a safe top-landing - nice work Chris!
After talking with him for a few minutes, I decided to set up and take a "sledder" to the valley to join my family down below. Fred and Chris stayed on top and waited for their ideal opportunities: taking advantage of some nice flight windows.
All of us ended our days on the valley floor, safe and happy after some very spring-like active thermalling conditions. Nice work Fred and Chris!
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Saturday April19th
Some of thenew photos are up in the gallery! Check out the beautiful new Pro-Design design scheme on the new 2008 Thema.
Nice weather forecasted for the next few days - we're keeping our fingers crossed!
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Saturday April12th
A rather late entry of our trip to the "northern Selkirk" site this past saturday. In anticipation of smooth ridge flights from a high alpine (6000' abpove the valley floor) site, we coordinated 9 pilots, 5 snowmobiles, and 4 vehicles for a 2 hour trip up north.
Leaving Ymir at 6:30am, we met the rest of the crew in Nelson by 7 for snacks and hot morning beverages. With most of the convoy together, we drove to Kaslo to meet the last member of our group - Pete. A big thanks to Pete for supplying 2 of the 5 sleds needed for this mission, and for his guidance to the backcountry flying site.
After arriving at the mountain's base, and an epic 50 minute sled ride up hill (2 people per sled standing side-by-side wearing PG packs!) we arrived at the site which could only be described as jaw-dropping. Checking out photos of the location in our web gallery is a must!
By the time we were ready to fly, it was just past 11am and conditions were just starting to come alive. Interestingly enough, the site never acted as it historically has (ridge lift), but instead provided fat and usable thermic conditions. Due to the massive snow-covered launch area (>5 football fields), many top-landings and touch-and-gos were possible throught the day. Everyone got to fly! At close to 3pm to conditions turned cross and sadly never came back. At just after 4pm, we decided to pack it in. 3 of us were lucky enough to get an opportunity for a flight to the valley floor: a straight flight lasting just over 24 minutes (22 when spiralling in over the LZ) from a launch of over 6000'.
By the end of the day, we were all safe and smiling despite being tired, sunburned and facing a solid drive home. Great job everyone: Rob, Joaquin, Chris, Tyko, Jeff, Pete, Fred, Douglas, and me.
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Tuesday March25th
Another great afternoon of soaring started with a break in the weather: encouraging Tyko, Chris and me to sled up to launch on Mt. Dundee. By the time we arrived cycles were strong at 10-15kph, but organized and flyable.
I inflated first and had an uneventful launch followed by a respectable climb to a few hundred over. Flying around for a while, it was apparent that the thermals had good strength and were exploitable. Staying close to lauch, I watched Chris and Tyko set up to go. The wind on the ground looked stronger than it felt in the air, and their uninflated wings were being blown around.
With good timing, Chris took advantage of a soft cycle, inflated nicely and ran off: climbing out quickly to join me. Together we made many passes back and forth above launch while calling to each other excitedly.
After a good session of more wing wrestling on the ground, Tyko was able to make it all happen and come out to join Chris and me. We all flew together for about 20 more minutes, then headed to LZ when the sun disappeared behind a large expanse of higher-level cloud.
All three of us had textbook landings in the snowy LZ, pack-up and talked happily about our flights as we walked the 1km back to Ymir.
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Thursday March5th
After a looong run of downtime due to snow, snow and more snow, 4 of our Team members took a spontaneous trip to a high alpine ridge site a few hours from here. Joaquin, Tyko, Jeff and Chris all had multiple flights at the beautiful, wide and friendly snow-covered "Northern Selkirk" site.
The ridge's 500 meter size requires only 10kph of steady wind to work well. Due to its length and smoothly rounded snow-covered top, flying at all altitudes is both possible and safe (even really low).
Upon their return home, it was easy to see how much the boys enjoyed themselves from their smile and stories. Check out the pictures by clicking here.
A big thanks to Pro-Design for our new incredible wings! Check out the new 2008 line-up here.
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Wednesday January23rd
More winter flights today with 3 people flying in total. Tyko was first to take to the air: coaxing up a reverse inflation during a light cycle on the south launch. A very smooth launch and landing with a little soaring in between - particularly impressive considering it was Tyko's first flight on a new pro-Design Accura 1-2.
Next off were Joaquin and tandem passenger Elyssa. After a great inflation and run, the two were airborne and enjoying an extended "sled ride" before touching down safely in the snowy LZ. Elyssa really enjoyed her flight and even managed to record some of it for later enjoyment. Nice going Elyssa!
Unfortunately, I was the anchor man and by the time I was set up and ready to go the cycles were not co-operating (read "catabatic"), so I resigned myself to returning the snowmobile to the valley. Hopefully, I can chaulk the experience up as a small deposit in the karma bank for later.
More sunny weather on the way and we're planning to take advantage of it!
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Friday January 17th
Wow, it has really been awile since we've flown! with the exception of a few flights by Ymir locals that didn't get published on the webpage, the flying has really been sparse - mostly due to the outrageous amounts of snow we have been receiving.
Today started out sunny and clear with gentle winds from the southwest. It was perfect conditions for a smooth student flight, so we encouraged Isabelle to take advantage. After an uneventful snowmobile ride to launch, Isabelle set up and executed a perfect forward inflation and launch: finding herself back in the air for the first time in over 3 months! Allowing her the freedom to make her own decisions, Joaq and I watched her fly a conservative course to LZ: where she set up a solid figure-eight approach and landed softly in the middle of the LZ.
Congratulations Isabelle, you did great from beginning to end! With more high-pressure days in the forecast, we hope to log more flights throughout January. Keeping our fingers crossed!
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Thursday September6th
Taking the yesterday's late start into account, we headed up the mountain half an hour earlier today. When we arrived up top, we found conditions to be cycling 7-10wnw and building. By the time I was laid out to wind tech, the increasing cycle speeds and larger cumulus development seemed to indicate that it was not a morning for students. Soon after I launched it was apparent that our suspicions were correct. Conditions were erratic with disorganized lift and sink. Sharp edges could be felt while entering and exiting turbulences - not good for students, particularly on their third flights ever! As Chris and Tyko are more experienced, they came out to feel the air for themselves. Though the lift was hard to work, both Tyko and Chris did a good job: with Chris climbing out, and benching back over launch. All three of us were greeted with tricky landing conditions: reinforcing the good decision to keep the students on the ground.
We are hoping for another chance this afternoon, but it doesn't look good as high west winds are in the forecast.
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Wednesday September5th
A full day today with flights in the morning and evening! Both students Jim and Douglas had their first and second solo flights today! Congratulations guys! This morning had us waiting on launch for a good direction until about 11am. When it finally turned we were ready: I left first followed later by Douglas, Jim, Fred, and Tyko: well done on all your flights.
This evening presented some beautiful mountain ridge soaring with a steady 12-14km sw on launch. Rob launched first, shouted down that it was inddeed glassy smooth air, and was soon followed by Tyko, Chris, and Joaquin. The students and I watched the spontaneous ridge soaring clinic for 15-20 minutes or so before launching. Douglas was first off again with a nice inflation and launch: getting a special soaring flight for his second ever! Not to be left out was Jim. Taking the "anchor position" he showed good poise on launch: choosing not to comit on his first inflation. Jim's second inflation came up well and was transformed into a controlled launch. On his second ever solo paraglider flight, Jim was also able to enjoy some soaring before heading to LZ. After everyone was off, I was content to drive down as the day turned to dusk.
Good safe inflations, launches, and landings by everyone made for a great day of flying for everyone! There's similar weather forecasted for tomorrow, and we're hoping for the best!
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Tuesday September4th
We headed up the mountain early this morning for a chance at some smooth rides. The skies were overcast and launch was dead still until 10:30am or so. As I was doing a tandem with student Douglas, we patiently waited for some light cycles to ensure a safe inflation and launch. Our patience was rewarded, and we had a smooth flight straight to LZ, with Douglas flying almost half the time.
After we landed, both Tyko and student Fred were able to launch before the conditions became too strong for students. Both Tyko and Fred had nice flights and good landings.
We hoped for good conditions again this evening, but strong and eratic northwinds set up and were still not subsiding by dusk. Hopefully some more consitent weather tomorrow!
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Wednesday August 22nd
The day after returning from a cross-country trip to see family, flying conditions presented well and we got a crew together to head up the mountain.
By 4pm conditions had calmed with light cycles of 3-5km rolling up from the west. Tyko, Jeff, Joaq and I all launched into glassy conditions and each enjoyed nice sledders. Joaq, jeff and I all got a chance to get to know our new Pro-Design wings in the neutral conditions. The Accura, Thema, and Jalpa all looked and performed beautifully inducing big smiles on their respective pilots.
We are keeping our fingers crossed for the good weather forecasted for the next week: hoping that cooler days will present more subdued conditions than the wild summer thermals that have kept us ground-bound for so long.
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Thursday August 9th
With fresh new Pro-Design wings in tow Joaquin, Andrew, Douglas, myself, and Jeff met at Lakeside for the first of many fun kiting sessions on their new gear. Unfortunantley there are still over-development issues daily in the valley with some dry thunder and lightening cells today.
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sunday Aug5th
We snuck in some flights just before sunset tonight. Visiting pilot Glenn led the charge: showing us that conditions were smooth despite towering cu's in every direction on the horizon. Launching quickly afterward were Joaquin, Terry, me with Jim as a tandem passenger, and finally Tyko bringing up the rear. Conditions were glassy and we all had smooth launches, flights, and landings.
We are all hoping for more sedated mornings and afternoons in the weeks to come. Come on weather!
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sunday July22nd
Well, we'll take it when we can get it... A full 10 days after we last flew, conditions finally presented themselves again as "flyable". Joaq, Rob, Tyko and I set out to fly in what looked to be calming evening conditions with steady winds of 10km/h in the sock on launch. All signs pointed toward what would be steady ridge conditions with occasional thermic bubbles, but as weather has been so inconsistent lately, we were all weary of potential suprises.
Rob was first to launch and confirmed our predictions of smooth and easy soaring - YES! Upon hearing Rob's radio confirmation of what we saw, the 3 of us launched in fairly rapid succession to go and join him. Everyone's launches were very sedate and beautifully controlled - solid work everyone:) Once we were all "out in it", we jockeyed a little for optimum soaring locations: soon spreading out into our own workable zones. Soaring was indeed a mix of ridge and smooth thermic bubbles of 2m/s - predictable and relaxing.
I had the pleasure of flying a brand new Pro-Design Jalpa which felt incredibly balanced, and handled in an impeccably proportional manner. I can't say enough about this wing, and I'm really looking forward to flying the other new models in the Pro-Design line-up. Luckily, there are more on the way!
After about 40 minutes of soaring, we all decided to head to LZ. Both arriving high, Rob and I had the opportunity to push our wings through some paces: Rob enjoyed a couple of SATs, while I tested the Jalpa's performance through tight 360s, mellow spirals, reversing turns, and entry and exit from different bank angles. Everything felt really good. The Jalpa offered up no suprises: keeping me confident right through the flare until my feet were planted on solid ground. Joining everyone else, we all talked about our flights and were happy to be flying again. Thanks for driving Paul!
Potentially more good flying weather on the way...
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thursday July12th
Finally some more flying! Pete, Jeff, Rob, Tyko, Andy, Joaq and I all had soaring flights this afternoon through to the evening. Rob launched first at close to 4pm, while I landed last at close to 7:30pm. Conditions could not have been better, with smooth organized thermals from 1m/s up to 4m/s. Almost everyone had nice out and returns to Jubilee. All flights except one lasted at least an hour, with the longest at close to 3 hours. Checking my gps after landing, I noticed that I had tracked over 98kms over the ground: as I stayed within a 10km radius of the site it equates to a whole lot of turning!
Everyone performed beautifully on their launches and landings. After such scattered and rare good flying weather so far this summer, it was great to see everyone doing so well.
The forecast is calling for a weeks worth of thundershowers, but we are still hoping the outlook may be better.
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July6th,7th,8th
A little tired of being blown-out for so long, Joaq, Tyko, Jeff, Pete and I took a trip to the Lumby/Vernon area. Our travels went well, but we arrived to find similarly windy conditions. Not to be discouraged, we checked out the Baldy launch near Vernon which was facing the prevailing west winds...
Well, we were initially stonewalled as the winds became too strong by the afternoon. Luckily, saturday was not as windy: allowing us to all have numerous "sled rides" with a little playful soaring. I was great to be back in the air! Joaquin was able to practice his tandem skills (completing 4 by the end of the day), while the rest of us either enjoyed being passengers or flying ourselves.
Sunday brought suprisingly good conditions with lighter than forecasted winds and some decent thermic activity. Joaq was able to do more tandems while the rest of us helped out, and flew solo. With a good ridge/thermal mix we were all able to have extended flights in the sunny and HOT Vernon weather. The temperatures reached 37 degrees celcius by 2 pm!
By the end of our trip we were all happy to have had the chance to return to the air. Tyko, Pete, and Jeff also had the opportunity to fly with other pilots in more crowded skies: a very important situation to be comfortable with. Well done guys!
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Wednesday June20th
Sorry for the tardy update... great flying today with 5 pilots in the air soaring from 45 to 95 minutes in mixed ridge/thermic conditions.
We were able to fly quite close at times when conditions were smooth: talking easily back and fourth without radios. Andy, Tyko, Jeff, and Pete made the most of their flights: showing good decision making, solid soaring skills and adept right-of-way knowledge. I was happy to look on, proud at how far the now graduated students have come.
A first for Kootenay Paragliding pilots: Pete landed in our LZ to find he had to share it with a fair sized bear. Luckily, the black bear showed no interest in Pete or his tasty blue glider :-) I was lucky enough to get an opportunity to topland and therefore officially logged two flights.
Beautiful day with great flights finding everyone safe on the ground at the end - perfect!
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