Port Moody and Flying Woodside

Yep! Waaaaay behind in finishing some blog posts!

On our July trip we headed as far west as Port Moody to visit my niece, Julie, and her boyfriend, Kurt. They live within walking distance of the water and some excellent hiking trails. Oh! And a delicious ice cream shop! :-)

We had our first opportunity to fly at Bridal Veil Falls near Chilliwack, thanks to a group of local pilots who were heading up one afternoon. The launch is a bit tricky because of usual cross winds and, after watching a couple local and more experienced pilots botch a couple of their launches, I decided not to try it. Those who did fly said it was a rather bumpy ride so I'm just as happy I stayed on the ground! Andrew is far more brave than I am and had a great launch, flight and landing. 

We camped near Harrison Hot Springs and, after supper, enjoyed the sunset view over Harrison Lake. 

Woodside is always one of my favourite places to fly. Great launch area and nice big landing zone!

Pulling Strings

I often find it difficult to figure out what to get people for their birthdays. I don't like getting "things" that aren't needed. This time, all the stars aligned (the timing of Andrew and I being in BC, weather, wind, and availability of all the other required parties) and my niece, Julie, and her boyfriend, Kurt, were able to get tandem paragliding flights! Or, as Julie says, "My aunt pulled some strings (pun intended) to get us flights." :-) 

Thanks to Jim and Colleen at FlyBC Paragliding for helping to make this happen! 

At launch, looking over the Fraser Valley.

Contemplating what's to come. Big family crowds waiting to watch relatives take tandem flights.
It's not always this busy at launch!

And . . . they're off!

Jim and Julie in the air.

Doing a little spiral downwards.

Kurt looking relaxed!

Kurt and Colleen above my wing.

Kurt and Colleen coming in to land.

Whew! Safe back on the ground! 

Flying Woodside

After two long days of driving, our first stop was FlyBC Paragliding near Chilliwack (or, as Ms. Google pronounces it, "Chili Whack"). 

Within minutes of arriving, we jumped in a truck with one of the locals and headed up to Mt. Woodside launch. It was cloudy so we weren't expecting much but it was surprisingly thermic and Andrew and I both had great flights. It was the first time Andrew flew his new wing (an Ozone Geo 5) so he was pretty happy for an hour and a half in the air. 

It was still cloudy the next day and no thermals but we managed to get in three sled rides (basically just going from launch straight to landing) of about 10 minutes each. It was very busy as Jim had both students and an instructors' course going on. Nothing like being stuffed in a van with 13 guys and 14 wings to remind me that I'm in yet another male dominated sport! 

Despite the clouds and the haze in the distance, the scenery in the Fraser Valley is always gorgeous! 

FlyBC HQ

The bulls eye LZ is right and lower third of the photo.

Andrew and his new wing!

The typical boot and view shot!

Getting closer to the LZ.

They're not looking at me! I happened to be standing by the wind sock and they're watching it, waiting for a good cycle of wind. Very light so most people were doing forward launches.

Run, run, run!

Andrew setting up for landing.