Thursday morning, we headed from our cozy chalet in Les Houches into Chamonix and parked at the base of the Plan Praz gondola, which heads partly up the mountain called Brevent. It is the most popular place for paragliding. Unlike two years ago in Austria, Carol said she would join us.
After waiting around a bit, I checked my email – I had gotten the time mixed up, so when our five pilots showed up on time at 10:15, we had been there 15 minutes longer than needed. We headed up the gondola, and Carol got really quiet. It’s what the girls were really looking forward during our time in the Alps, although they ended up loving every part of it.
On the way up, two of the pilots (not sure that’s the right word) had hopped on our gondola, so I asked some questions, including how long they’ve been jumping off mountains. I was quickly informed that "we do not jump off the mountain, we fly off the mountain." It was said relatively good-naturedly, although they made the point clear.
I was the first to fly off the mountain, so I didn’t really see the others for a while. It was just as magnificent as Austria. In fact, more so, because we had great views of Mont Blanc (totally clear morning), Midi du Augille, and all up and down the Chamonix Mont Blanc valley. We also went closer to the cliffs and the mountain than we did in Austria. We were up in the air for a good 15-20 minutes, soaring in circles around the mountain and then down into the valley.
The landings were a little more awkward, at least for Carol, Julia, and I. Their pilots told them to slide, and I ended up sliding despite trying to run. Torie and Maddy had running landings more similar to our experience in Austria.
Everyone enjoyed it – including Carol (that sound you hear is me exhaling in relief). Maddy noted that she likes it even though she feels queasy after a while of swooping, soaring, and circling.
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