This page contains an article which is the first in a three part series entitled A Flying Summer Vacation. This page contains Part II: PWC Pemberton-Whistler Championships. This article was first published in the USHGA periodical, Hang Gliding and Paragliding Magazine in the May 2005 issue.
A Flying Summer Vacation
Part II: 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.
Flying Pemberton, healthy, long lasting thermals and spectacular mountains made me appreciate the sites well-deserved reputation. A typical day is a quick run up the range to a turn point, then back into the "Whistler Wind" which would park pilots still on course when it comes on. This strong inflow happens most afternoons. The last day of the competition I got caught out and battled seriously drifting thermals. I had four kilometers per hour ground speed on glide and finally gave up and flew out to land in the flat farmlands below. 
Pilots from Southern California, the Seattle area and a strong representation from Vancouver showed up for the event. As with gatherings of this sort, the socializing, parties, new friends and old acquaintances are all the best part of the experience. Not to mention good food and drink, strong thermals, sinking out, and a shared awe for the world we discover through paragliding.
The mountains above the Pemberton Valley rise to over 8,000' and most pilots were topping out their climbs within a thousand feet of those summits. The Pacific Coast Mountains hold countless glacier-filled cirques and snowy summits. The views across the valley to Mount Currie, glacier-shrouded ranges, and over the back into the vast northern wilderness continually inspired us.
Naturally, the best conditions of the long weekend came after the competition ended. A few of us made a plan to fly tandem cross-country together. Will Gad and his better half Kim Csizmazia, Jim with Corinne, Ursula and myself. The night before, after some drink, the idea of tandem vol bivouac got kicked around, and soon we were pushing Will and Kim to join us. They had commitments back in Canmore and had to start driving after the flight. The rest of us, however, had time and packed our harnesses with sleeping gear and food. 
Of course the day brought out many of the visiting pilots who stayed after the competition. Chris Muller was looping and SATing out of the sky. Will and Kim were already away, in front as usual. Ursula and I climbed out over launch, while below us Jim and Corrine sunk out. We watched them scratch to the end and land on a sand bar next to the river.
Once again the sport of paragliding taught us about the best-laid plans. Reaching cloud-base, Ursula and I headed north up the range. By now Kim faced the passengers' plight of airsickness and stress. A pilot, she understands the significance of serious mountain flying. Later she described her dizzy feelings of vertigo and a panic attack during their flight. In a sweaty claustrophobic rush, she took off her helmet to feel better. Her story made me appreciate how big paragliding can be, since Kim is also a many times world cup ice climbing champion and an incredible all around athlete.
For her experience, Ursula fully utilized the Dramamine she ate. We planned to camp on a grassy mountainside twenty-two kilometers up the range. The climbs were quick and strong, and a perfect cloud street formed over the peaks. After only three trips to base, Ursula announced she was feeling pretty worked and wondered if we could go down. I looked off in the distance and could see our mountainside LZ waiting. I scooted in a little more under the cloud street over the mountains and stopped turning. The peak we were headed for was still about five kilometers away.
After a few minutes of dolphining along, keeping about even, Ursula asked if we were going down. I leaned forward, tried to be comforting and explained that yes, we had stopped turning in lift. A few minutes later Ursula again queried why we hadn't started down. I had to speak loudly over the beep of the vario, "Yes, yes of course". She looked back and said, with very little humor in her voice, "I'm not stupid, and the vario isn't indicating any sink". She politely mentioned that we were further from the valley than even before. I conceded her point, but countered that we were almost to the peak we planned to camp on. By now she wasn't having any of this, and made it clear we would land in the valley, after just an hour and a half in the air. In the end none of us succeeded in our attempt to tandem vol bivouac, much less as a group. I suppose that should be expected with such a hair-brained scheme.
This was the end of Ursula's tandem flying this summer, however, this wasn't the end of our trip. We crossed British Columbia and spent the next two weeks flying the Rocky Mountains at Mount Seven above Golden.
Flying Roan Cliffs and King Mnt at the end of the trip.
Go To Pemberton-Whistler Championships Gallery
Go To A Summer Vacation. Part I: Northwest Roadtrip .
Go To A Summer Vacation. Part III: Mount 7. Golden B.C.
Go To Flying the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
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