Spring Soaring Safari

Here's some photos from the last two weeks on the road.

Riker Davis took this one of me kiting my toxic green Zulu Explorer on the South Side

"Aussie" James Mills took this pre-launch photo at the Perrine Bridge

JR Nershi took this one while we were cruising the North Side glass one evening

The Spring Soaring Safari Triple Ram Air Wrap-Up Gloat

SKYDIVING: I skydived at 3 DZ's on this trip: Mesquite, Nevada, Ogden, Utah, and even the rarely jumped "tandem only" DZ at Moab, Utah. The Moab jump was incredibly scenic - and lucky. I happened to drive right by the DZ on my way home to New Mexico, so I dropped in just to break up the drive and have a look at the "tandem mill" in operation. I didn't expect to jump because I knew that all four slots on every Cessna 182 load that they fly are always filled with two tandem pairs. Much to my surprise, as soon as I walked through their front door, they told me that they had a slot available on a load leaving in 15 minutes! By the time I'd signed the waiver and turned my Cypres on, the plane was boarding. The usual 182 style 20 + minute epic ride to to altitude passed very quickly because there was so much stuff to look at during the climb. The panoramic view of the canyonlands just kept getting better and better! On jump run at 10,000 agl the scenery was breathtaking. I spent the whole freefall and canopy flight doing lazy turns and gawking at the view. Everyone at the DZ was super friendly and told me to visit anytime I was passing by. They admited that it was rare for slots to open up for sport jumpers, but they said that they are always happy to sell solo jump tickets when they can. I paid $20 for the jump, repacked my parachute, and got back on the road. It took a little over an hour to pull in, manifest, ride to altitude, jump, land, pack, pay and leave! Five miles down the road I wasn't even sure it really happened.

PARAGLIDING: I got kiting, soaring flights and sled rides aplenty at the Point, including 2 stellar evening glass off sessions at the North Side. Paragliding is so much fun, I wish I lived in a friendlier place for those ugly bags of mostly air.

BASE: I made my first beginner BASE jumps during my week in Twin Falls. I took my lessons in low altittude parachuting from Tom Aiello at the Snake River BASE Academy. A short day at the BASE Academy involved 12 hours of jumping, packing and lectures with discussion, followed by a group dinner and a few beers. On a long day we would skip the beers and return to the bridge after dinner for some night jumps. Despite the fact that the weather wasn't the best, I still managed to log 13 jumps. A week, even an intense one like this, isn't nearly enough time to learn much about a complicated sport like BASE jumping, but it did give me a pretty good idea of the risks and rewards involved in BASE.