Paragliding National Championships

Paragliding National Championships start Sunday
A common sight in the skies above Ketchum this time of year is gliders flying off Bald Mountain. Come Sunday, pilots will be flying for more than just fun, as the area plays host to the U.S. Paragliding National Championships. More...

Hailey pilot sets new paragliding record
When Nate Scales launched his glider off Bald Mountain last Sunday, he knew it was a good day for flying. Six hours and 40 minutes later, he landed east of Dubois, after flying 126 miles. More...

Trailhead Fire threatens Stanley
A plume of smoke, as seen from Stanley City Park, rises from the Trailhead Fire Wednesday afternoon. The fire re-ignited Tuesday and rapidly charged east through dry, beetle-killed pine toward Stanley and surrounding residential areas. More...

2006 US National Paragliding Championships
During recent years, the Sun Valley area has proven to be a wonderful site with excellent cross country flying potential. The latter part of August has repeatedly demonstrated to be the best time of year for consistent XC flying conditions. More...

Practice Day in Sun Valley
The day before the US Nats turned out to be beautiful weather for flying. Many pilots flew north while I did triangles around the valley enjoying the sights. We were easily climbing to cloudbase at 11,500 feet, and transitions to the next wick was easy, although a bit active. Pictures...

Opening Night Meeting & Party
Mandatory pilot meeting was at Apple's Glill in Warm Springs, just 1/2 block from my loft. We elected task, safety and protest committees, then were treated to an unusual visit by the fire women! Chuch said it was the best we could do without going to Burning Man! Pictures...
     I even got some short videos! In Hand - Energy!

First Day was Brilliant Flying!
Day 1 of the 2006 Paragliding National Championships started out perfect! Light winds and higher cloudbases meant our oxygen systems would come in handy. A 74km task was called from Baldy Mountain to Obsidian, then back to Smiley Airfield, a mowed grass runway that was heaven to land on! Pictures...

Second Day was Windy!
The second day of the Nats started out sunny and light, but as the day progressed, the wind at launch began whipping around. A task was called from Baldy up Trail Creek to Twinbridge, then on to Ellis - 124km from launch! About half the field faunched and went on course while many opted not to fly in the challenging conditions. Pictures and a short Quicktime of a few launches...

Day 3: Blown Out - Cave Spelunking
Obvious high winds at launch and in the forecast sent pilots scattering in a variety of activities. We chose to go spelunking in lava caves south of Sun Valley. We were amazed by the caves we found, and spent the day exploring miles of lava tubes underground. Pictures...

Wednesday: Blown Out and Lazy
Another windy day sent some pilots to Twin Falls for BASE jumping. We went looking for agate rocks near Bellevue, cloud watching and eventually to the wednesday night party at Trail Creek Pub. Chuck Smith and Fly Sun Valley provided the beer and panini's for the pilots while we listened to live music and watched the sun and moon set. Pictures...

Mexican pilot leads paragliding standings
Abelardo Laguna took the lead on Monday after placing first in a record-setting competition task that took 12 pilots from the Bald Mountain launch site to landings near Ellis, some 15 miles north of Challis. Event organizer Chuck Smith said the 125 kilometer (77.5 mile) flight was the longest distance ever flown in a paragliding competition task. More...

Thursday & Friday: High Pressure and Hazy
Some residual wind made Thursday's task interesting. The results produced a good shake-up in the standings! Friday had another long task - over 100 km again! The wind was more gentle, but the fires made the air very hazy, and pilots were spread out all along the course. Part of the course took us over the Lost River Range where we flew from King Mountain in '97. Pictures...

In the New York Times! "Soaring for the Title of First in Flight "
Nearly 100 competitors have drifted above the Sawtooth Mountains in central Idaho this week in the United States paragliding championships. The event started Sunday and ends today, when the pilot with the best cumulative result will be the overall winner. Pilots are trying to earn spots on the United States team for the world championships in February in Manilla, Australia. More...

Saturday - Final Day was the Best!
In what was perhaps the best day of racing in the whole event, Saturday's weather was clear and bright - no sign of the smoke from the fires like the previous days. Light & variable winds aloft forecast gave us the weather, and our task comittee gave us the task for a memorable grand finale for this year's paragliding competition. Pictures and a very short video of the launch gaggle.