Paragliding Over Lake Tahoe

Who: Dave and Ryan from TMS with Ed from Daydreams Paragliding and Mitch from Lake Tahoe Paragliding

Where: Daydreams Launch above Kings Beach

When: Summertime

Gear: Smith sunglasses, Salomon Mission Shoes and a Paraglider

Whenever the wind is blowing at moderate speeds and the weather seems to be perfect, I always see 3-10 people launching off the open ridge area above my house, soaring to great heights, hanging out like a bird in the air and then landing on one of the most beautiful beaches around Lake Tahoe. These guys are paragliding and to watch from the ground as they soar and then come in for a super smooth beach landing is one of the favorite past times of many a Kings Beach local. Being a kiteboarder, these big wings that these guys use are clearly the next step as it is a very similar setup to a foil kite that I use on the snow. After stopping by the shop a couple times, it was time to work out a deal and get up in the air for my first paragliding flight.

Luckily, this past Sunday night, a couple of their booked tandems dropped out leaving room for Ryan (the TMS hardgoods manager) and I to jump at the opportunity in front of us. It didn’t take more than a second for either of us to accept the invitation of a tandem flight.

After a 20 minute hike up to the launch spot referred to as Daydreams (named after a Squaw Valley 70s era Beck Bros. movie filmed locally with some hang-gliding footage), it was timed to get geared up, roll out the wings and get ready to fly. These guys sure knew what they were doing because within about 10 minutes of getting to the launch spot, wings were rolled out, lines were checked and the first in our group was ready for lift off.

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