I can remember paragliding as a ten-year-old. We were on a family ski trip in Verbier and, immediately upon seeing tandem paragliding being offered from the top of Les Ruinettes, I tugged on my mum’s coat, begging her to let me go. What followed was an experience so mind-blowing and meaningful that learning to fly wasn’t an if, but a when.
Fast-forward fifteen years and I was back in Verbier with my friend Doug, learning to fly together under the legendary instruction of the Belbas twins. With us were perhaps 10 other students and two additional instructors, and over the course of those two weeks we did everything together.
We celebrated every moment, reflected on poor take-offs and landings, discussed the weather, and daydreamed about the future. Those first 20 or so flights will live forever in my memory as some of the most meaningful experiences I’ll ever have.
One week later and we were back in Colorado, eager to become involved in the local paragliding community. The experience was sobering, to say the least. Despite the unbelievable community of pilots here, to say getting started was difficult would be an understatement. We didn’t know where to go, when to go, who to talk to, or any of the other important considerations.
Most painfully, the...
