On Sat, 07 Jul 2007 18:34:35 -0500, Michael Ash
wrote:

I must object to this, as some of the most spectacular soaring can happen
in the dead of winter,

Assuming that paragliding is similar, one of the great treats of
skiing at Aspen is watching the fliers play off the open slopes
(pistes to the lad in the UK) and forests.

I've never seen a hard-shell glider doing this, perhaps because the
airport is near 8,000 feet and the tow plane would really have its
work cut out for it.

The paragliders just ski down the mountain a few hundred feet, then
pop the chute out of a very large backpack.


Blue skies! -- Dan Ford

Claire Chennault and His American Volunteers, 1941-1942
forthcoming from HarperCollins www.flyingtigersbook.com