Last Thursday I went paragliding for my first time. My neighbor, Martin, works on the chairlifts and had some paragliding instructor friends, so not only did I get to go, but I got a VIP pass up the mountain and paraglide down all for free! If you ever get the chance to go paragliding for free (or not free) just do it--it is the best view of the world you will ever have.
Here is a video of me on the way down, I forgot to turn off my camera for a bit..
However, I witnessed another unfortunate thing yesterday. It was about 85 degrees out, sunny, beautiful, not a cloud in the sky, and the SHWOOOSSSSHHHH, BOOM! Huge gusts of wind hit from the west over the mountains, dark clouds bringing rain, lightning and hail the size of marbles. Andy rushes into my room and says, "Quick, we must secure the boathouse!" So we sprinted down to the lake, with a rush of excitement because Seattle storms are never this sudden and dramatic. I look up and see a paraglider trying to gain hold of his parachute way up in the clouds. After we secure the boat house, I see the same paraglider 15 km east, still trying to gain control. Then CRACK!!! A lightning bolt hits him. He and his chute fall quickly over past a mountainside out of sight. I think I lost my stomach at this point. I grab binoculars to try and see if there is any sign of him, but the clouds and rain proved this to be difficult for visibility.
I pray that this poor glider is safe, and hope for good weather for the rest of the week. Another scary aspect about this event is that I had a choice to either go yesterday or Thursday at the exact time the storm hit. I chose Thursday.
Anyways, I have to make this post sort of rushed and choppy since I am about to go survey the glaciers for the next 5-7 days!!! This will be a great test of engineering and wilderness training, and I am very excited. Hope for good weather for me!!!
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