It was a beautiful blue sky morning up on the mountain with a light blanket of low hanging clouds covering the valley below. A PERFECT day for hang gliding!

View from our launch site 

At the bottom of the local ski hill, we suited up in our gear and after a few practice runs with my pilot, Dave, were ready to run off the mountain into the wind, hang gliding over the beautiful valley. Once the winds were just right, it was “Step one, two…RUN RUN RUN!!” as we ran off the cliff and we were off!

Running off the mountain during take off 

Within a few seconds we were up and perfectly horizontal, with a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains and valley below. I have always wanted to hang glide as it is closest you can feel to flying – and it was just that. I felt like a bird as we glided over the trees and floated through the morning air.

We were very lucky too with the low cloud cover in the valley as it’s a special treat to get such a sunny beautiful day but have a chance to fly through a cloud. This has been at the top of my bucket list for as long as I can remember – I have ALWAYS wanted to fly through a cloud – I don’t know why but they have always fascinated me.

Flying through the clouds 

As we flew through the cloud you could feel the air thicken slightly but within a few seconds we were through to the other side with a clear view of the landing field. Dave gave the wing a few swoops and we dove down towards the ground and back up again a few times before we made a soft landing on the field below. It was a really neat feeling landing while still lying perfectly horizontal. I can totally see why people get addicted to this sport – it’s very calming and beautiful yet has some exciting moments with take-off, diving and landing.

Soft landing on the grassy field 

Jordan took off just after me and also had Dave as his pilot. Knowing Jordan wanted a thrill, he took him through a few more dives at the top, steering close to the mountain and popping back up above the clouds. A fantastic way to spend our morning!

Jordan flying through the valley 
Dave taking Jordan for some dips close to the mountain side 

Yet again we were suckered into buying the photos and video as they were just too good to pass up and they make the memory last that much longer. Videos of our glides to come later though!

 

Check out Episode 16 – Hang Gliding