Chief Airtime – Dec 18

It was time to try out my new (used) hiking wing (a 3.8 kg Swift). When I suggested a hike&fly from the Chief it didn’t take much to convince Paddy and Pete. Hiking with my new light weight kit was a lot more fun compared to my full size set-up (16 kg instead of 22 kg).

On top of the smooth granite dome the conditions were somewhat sub-optimal with light outflow (northerly) wind. Although the summit is a wide plateau the smooth granite rolls off towards the edges and the windward north side was wet and slippery since it hadn’t seen the sun for a while. But a few bunny hops on the training hill gave me confidence in the Swift (and there was some room for an abort before the slope steepened). After a reset the wing came up nicely and off I went.

Although the lightweight glider doesn’t quite have the same solid and re-assuring support as my normal wing, I was in the air well before the drop-off and flew out over the cliff. Definitely one of the more exciting sites I have launched from! I find it exhilarating to fly over terrain that suddenly drops away (like swimming/snorkeling over an underwater cliff or flying in a helicopter over a ridge). After a few passes along the cliffs we had scaled in our climbing days I flew out and with plenty time to sass out the landing (since I was first to launch I was also first land).

What an amazing place to fly! But this is about as much adrenaline as I need. And for the next time we’ll pick optimal conditions. Below is a short video friends took on a different day (but it looked and felt very much the same).

PS: I only remembered after being back on the ground a more somber story associated with the Chief for me, a story that curbed my enthusiasm for taking my wing up there for a couple of years. Years ago I met a friend of a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time, and since I had heard that he had taken up paragliding, I asked him how this was going. ‘Not doing it anymore because it’s too dangerous’ was his answer. A couple months later he jumped off the Chief. Whatever you were looking for, I hope you are in peace now…