Soaring in Invermere

Last fall when Andrew and I were in Invermere, standing on the paragliding launch of Mt. Swansea, we got buzzed by a local sailplane flying by the summit. It intrigued us! Andrew later mentioned it was something he would love to do sometime. Christmas shopping list - check!

Awesome view of Mt. Assiniboine in the distance

The Invermere Soaring Centre is home to several world record flights and certainly the views from up high can't be beat! Once the glider is released from the tow plane, the basic idea is very similar to paragliding -- find the ridge lift and thermals. Sometimes it seemed like the wing was so close to the terrain! Our pilot, Trevor, has over 23 years of experience though so I didn't think there was much to worry about. 

The 007 on the plane confirmed this was the same one we'd seen and taken photos of last fall. 

I insisted Andrew go first as it was his Christmas present. Trevor headed north with him, just past Radium. On my flight, he headed south past Fairmont. Each flight was about an hour long and, for me at least, the highlight was seeing Mt. Assiniboine in the distance. Andrew got a bit of lesson and got to fly the plane for a short while as well. I declined the offer due to feeling a bit light headed and claustrophobic by that time in the flight.

It had been fairly cloudy in the days leading up to this and I'm so glad we waited for a clearer day. Definitely a fun thing to do in Invermere and worth the wait!