This page contains teasers and links to paragliding articles Jeff Cristol published in 2005. They include Flying the Sacred Valley of the Incas which was published in the summer 2005 issue of Paraglider Magazine. Also posted on this webpage is a three part series entitled A Flying Summer Vacation: Part I North West Roadtrip. Part II The Pemberton Whistler Championships. Part III Mount 7, Golden B.C. These were published in Hang gliding and Paragliding Magazine through the spring and summer of 2005.
In the 2005 Summer issue of Paraglider Magazine:
Flying The Sacred Valley of the Incas.
A Flying Summer Vacation
With the desire to fly new paragliding sites and meet new friends, my wife Ursula and I drove seven thousand miles during the summer of 2004. From Telluride, Colorado we traversed a huge loop through the northwest corner of North America. At the end of June snow still blocked the road to our Gold Hill launch, but it was summer in the desert. 
Our first stop was the massive hill of Peavine, north of Reno. Strong winds over California's Sierra Nevada's meant flying west off the backside. Even with two flights, at noon and one thirty, I only flew for forty-five minutes. I got above launch both flights, where strong thermals drifted back. Rather than commit to the leaning column of rising air, I went out front, only to find even stronger sink. The second flight I rode 1200 fpm sink right to the ground. High pressure and strong prevailing wind kept the thermals small and me on the ground, once again denied the experience of a big cross country from Peavine.
That afternoon we left and headed into the insane traffic of the Bay Area. I hoped to get some coastal flying time at the Dumps in Pacifica, just south of San Francisco. As always the Pacific wind blew into the grassy hills. Local pilots claimed the air was "hollow and bumpy" but it was the smoothest I'd flown since winter. After a couple flights it was time to head north for some bigger inland flying.
The afternoon of our third day we stopped at the Whaleback next to the snowy massive of Mount Shasta in Northern California. Conditions were perfect and I climbed out over and over again as the sun dropped toward the horizon. After a couple of hours I flew down to the camp Ursula set up near the landing zone. We cooked dinner as the snowy slopes of Mount Shasta turned orange. 
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PWC Pemberton-Whistler Championships
We crossed the border from Washington State into Canada during the cover of darkness, passed the industry and lights of Vancouver and pulled over next to the highway in the very early morning. Truck traffic sped by just feet from our heads and wrenched us from our fitful sleep. Next morning we zipped past Whistler with its condos and ski area. Arriving at our destination, we saw with relief that Pemberton is definitely not Whistler. 
The beautiful mountains and thick coastal forests are the same however, and the image of woods full of mosquitoes and bears isn't far off the mark. But it wasn't for the wilderness experience that we came, it was to visit friends.
I first met Jim Orava in Nepal in 2000 while shooting the documentary paragliding video "A Higher Calling". We met again years later at a flying site in Southern India after both of us had gotten married. My wife Ursula, is from Peru. Jim's wife, Corinne Stoltz, is a pilot from France. Coincidentally the first annual PWC, or Pemberton Whistler Championships (a kind of, not really at all, maybe in the future Pre World Cup) was scheduled for the same time.
The previous seven days I flew every one of seven sites visited. This left us frazzled and confident that our good luck and weather couldn't hold, but the first day a task was called. The last week had taken their toll though, and atypically I needed a rest day before taking to the air again. Jim had just flown back from Europe, and literally arrived home during the first task. Instead of flying, we relaxed in their cabin with a beer, and wondered how the first task was going.
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Imagine a continuous line of mountains extending off into the distance. Above the jagged peaks a continuous row of fluffy cumulous clouds grow. Below a highway runs up the beautiful valley with green fields scattered amongst the dense green forest. To either side more ranges rise; cradling large glaciers with granite spires rising towards the sky and sharp snowy summits stretching out into the distance.
This is a place where on a low cloud-base, bad cross country day pilots regularly land after five hours and seventy kilometers. On a good day several pilots fly one hundred to one hundred fifty kilometers. Because it's midsummer and so far north, it stays light until eleven pm and thermals keep popping until seven or eight.
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Flying The Sacred Valley of the Incas
Cuzco Peru is best known for the spectacular ruins of Macchu Picchu, but for paraglider pilots the nearby Sacred Valley of the Urubamba is just as alluring. 
The deep agricultural valley of the Urubamba River maintains a timeless beauty. Rising above the small central town is the Cordillera Urubamba, with the Cordilleras Vilcabamba and Vilcanota to the north and south, both with summits reaching six thousand meters. Nearby are arguably the world's most famous ruins, Macchu Picchu. In these mountains local "campesinos" go about their lives, planting crops and herding animals, as they have for centuries, traditionally dressed, speaking mainly Quechua. 
The culture is vibrant; the food is basic and good, and best of all the flying is huge. Launches are around three thousand five hundred meters and cloud base often breaks six thousand meters. The Sacred Valley also has a well-deserved reputation for seriously rowdy air. Pilots come back with stories of big whacks, full frontals, trouble getting down and near falls into wings.
At the same time, the potential for big cross-country flights is vast. Good roads lead north and south, so getting back is simple on local buses and colectivos. Wide-open valleys offer lots of clear fields for landing. It's important to be sure to land before the air gets too trashy, as afternoon thermals can be gut wrenching and stronger than any pilot enjoys.
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