Hike'n'fly

I joined some of the local flying hippies for an early morning jaunt up Beacon Hill for some exercise and a flight this morning (I know, I know... ANOTHER post about flying). November has been particularly mild, and since I can't raise enough loot for a season pass, I am hanging on to the nice days of paragliding to fill the outdoor recreation-shaped hole in my heart.

Its crazy what people will do to get their thrill on. Icy temps and the grueling hike certainly sucked, but did not deter me from logging a flight today. Beacon Hill is located north and slightly east of the U of U campus, so you hike up Red Butte Canyon to reach it. Conversation with the local flying duders includes such subject matter as previous flights, what kind of a current rig you are using, weather, other gnarly activities, and of course, jokes. Heard this one on the way up:

"Whats the difference between a rectal thermometer and an oral thermometer?"
"The taste."

HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR!!!!!
Anywhoms, its nice to see the city you live in from a different angle. It makes everything just look so tiny. Here are some visuals. Enjoy, and be easy to one another.


The launch site


Flying into the gross. Looking at the U of U and downtown SLC.


From the landing zone. Beacon Hill in retrospect.

Birds of a Feather

Nicky (my brother) and I got my dad a tandem flight for Father's Day back in June. We finally got him up in the air a couple weeks ago. It was a picture-perfect soaring evening down at the Point of the Mountain. The instructor let Dad fly the rig, and even pull some acro moves on the way down. The Old Man had an ear-to-ear grin when he landed.

I got out in the air and flew along side Dad and my instructor, Chris. What a dope experience that was. Now if only I could get the rest of my nearest and dearest out under some Skytex...

"Now you know why the birds sing man..."

Thats what my sky diving tandem partner said to me after the first jump. Cornball to the nth degree, I know. Kinda insightful though, don't you think?

One thing is for certain though: free flight is awesome.

I managed to affix my little camera on to my harness the other night with a gorillapod . Enjoy this little POV video I captured the other night on a desert tow.

Pick a color

I mentioned that I started paragliding lessons a little over a month ago in a previous post. Hop in your DeLorean, switch on the Flux Capacitor, and punch in June 13, 2008. As soon as you hit 88 mph, you will find out that I have logged over 30 flights and I am basically a certified P2 paraglider pilot. Excellent (in Wayne Campbell voice). I snapped this picture with my cell phone; the dotted line across the middle of the photo is actually rush hour traffic, southbound on 1-15.

Things are going along just swimmingly, which is ironic, because well… I am flying. Almost as ironic as rain on your wedding day or a free ride when you’re already late. Anywhoms, I have entered a critical stage of the paragliding experience... which color glider should I buy. Here are the options, vote for your favorite.
























There ya go Christine.

Glad tidings of great joy

Lots of changes in Ol' Duder's life. I have to dedicate this post to all of the latest and greatest of my life. As my faithful readers know, this webspace is NOT my travel log, but a place for my brain to spill some html code. That being said, too many good things have happened recently to just ignore. Here's whats been up:

Moved into a new house: After 2 years, my tenure at the beloved Dojo (1804 S. 1700 E.) has come to an end, due to the fact that our landlord sold the place. The Dojo was the scene of many wonderful gatherings (including 2 sweater parties), several Tiki Lounge sessions, and the venue for our reggae band, the Needy Greedy. If the walls of that place could talk, they would most likely say "Repent", but they would also chuckle at all of the great memories made therein. *Sigh. Oh well, gone are the days of living in a weird old house, paying way too much money for utilities, and dealing with a ridiculous landlord. We were so happy to be out of there, that we lit off strings of firecrackers inside the house for about the last 2 weeks of our stay.

Our new place is tentatively being called "The Cove", in part to its proximity to Olympus Cove. Its a cozy place, but hasn't proved to be a memory maker just yet. More to come on the Cove...

I graduated from the U of U: This one was 6 years in the making, but at last it is over. Yeah its only a BS in Marketing, but you know what, I have never graduated from college before, so its a big deal for me. No more group projects, no more pretentious professors, and NO MORE fighting tooth and nail for a mini parking spot at the U of U.

I got a new job at Alliance Health: I spent 11 months as an intern at a marketing agency called Studeo Interactive Direct, and I was counting on a smooth transition into a salaried position, but to my surprise, I was denied such an offer. No matter, because I quickly found a position with a great little start up called Alliance Health. My skills learned at Studeo are being exercised to their very limits at this new gig. Although challenging, I am excited to finally be appreciated in a professional sense.

Last but not least, and what I am most excited about, I started paragliding. My mother, bless her heart, treated me to lessons as a graduation present. I can't even begin to describe how me paragliding is. Those that know me well will probably agree. In two weeks, I have logged 10 flights: a handful of tandems, and several solos, including a solo from 1500 feet. Needless to say, I have fallen deeply in love, and I hope to buy a glider rig in the next month or so. More to come on this...

Anyways, just thought I would share a few happy bits of news with you all... life feels pretty good right now.