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July 2003 Paragliding Road Trip
- a story in pictures -
Copper + Aspen + King +
Harrison
by Jérôme Daoust , revised 2004/1/1
I joined a trip organized by the good folks at Sky Bee. Here is the story in pictures (higher resolution available)…
Day 1. Driving day from Los Angeles. 14 hour drive to near Denver, Colorado.
Day 2. Copper Mountain, Colorado. We join with Gary Walker, owner of Summit Paragliding.
Launch is at 3745 m (12282') MSL after a 15 minute hike from the vehicule.
Reaching 4745 m (15600') MSL reveals what lies behind launch.
View of the flying "bowl" which includes the ski resort.
Going XC to the city of Frisco past the ridge.
Time to choose a landing zone, as clouds around me are dispensing rain.
Day 3. Aspen, Colorado. Shuttles are provided by Aspen Paragliding.
Walshes launch in the morning. A crosswind from the left mixes with the early thermals.
Ruthie's launch for the late morning flights.
The "bowl". Launch is on the right/middle of the picture.
Following the spine towards the LZ.
Day 4. Aspen, Colorado. More of the same. Can't complain.
Day 5. Point of the Mountain, Utah. Telluride is rainy, so we shift to King Mountain, Idaho. Point of the Mountain is a logical stop along the way.
The locals provide the entertainment before the masses launch. Good conditions on the North side allow for a close-up shot of Nicolas Pisar's new wing (Aerodyne/Shaman).
Day 6. King Mountain, Idaho. Last year's missed opportunity. Allen of King Mountain Gliders , Bill Anderson of Rising Air and Jim Masterman provide the required local knowledge.
Launching at 18:30 and rewarded with 6 m/s (1200 fpm) climbs.
The top ridge behind launch.
Time to go XC towards the city of Arco.
Looking back at King Mountain (back ridge).
Following the ridge to the town of Arco.
The ridge near Arco reveals some history of past graduations.
Day 7. King Mountain, Idaho. Morning conditions rapidly turn strong and windy. Pilots wisely land prior to be blown-out.
Day 8. Harrison, Idaho. A fly-in organized for the weekend draws us to this site.
West launch is a smooth one.
Pilots can pitch their tents around the lake.
Following the ridge to the LZ in the company of Zvi Eshel.
En route to the LZ, which is 16 km (10 miles) from launch. An XC flight in itself.
Day 9. Marshall, California. Last vacation day and we stop at our home site to make sure we can still fly in lower altitudes. 2-hours flight in late afternoon answers the question.
The trip : About 3500 miles, 12 hours of airtime, and memories of meeting very nice people.
PS. A big thanks to our wives who let the boys go on paragliding road trips. J