Photos by Richard Schear |
Can you imagine jumping off one of the mountains in the Swiss Alps? I can't begin to imagine doing it myself, but this week we saw people who do it ... one floating serenely in the blue of an Alpine spring sky, one appearing near to (but probably quite far away from) a gondola lift, and one re-packing his parachute after surviving this amazing experience. Apparently, this isn't a new idea, either. People didn't wait for interpersonal communication devices, or for Global Positioning Systems, or for variometers to tell them what the birds already knew: whether an air current is rising or sinking (good to be born knowing, as birds are, but humans aren't) as mentioned in this Wikipedia article. When people first began jumping off mountains to enjoy that floating flying feeling, they didn't have these instruments. Paragliding? Not for me, but when the Alpine skies are blue, some people love it.
Posted for Sky Watch Friday
20 comments:
It's not for me, either. I have enjoyed watching them in Yosemite but since they now only allow it on the weekends and we try to avoid being there on the weekends I haven't seen it in years.
Gorgeous!
My Skywatch, have a nice weekend.
Looks like it was a picture perfect day to do go paragliding.
Have a great weekend, Kay.
Amazing! Wish I had the courage to do something like that! Great post for the day! Hope you're enjoying your trip! Sounds marvelous! Have a great weekend!
Sylvia
This is fun - wondering where you are going to post from next!!
I am not sure whether it would be for me. Part of me would love to experience that free feeling and another part of me is just screaming NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Oh dear! I do seriously like keeping my two feet firmly on the ground.
Great capture, Kay! I would be lucky just to feel comfortable riding in the gondola much less jumping out. They are brave. Happy skywatching!
I'm with you on this one, Kay! No desire whatsoever to be jumping off of cliffs or out of planes!
Have a fabulous Friday!
Hugs,
Debbie
Amazing images!
And they are brave people, I think I could not face this adventure!
hugs
Léia
Hi Kay, good to see you again! I haven't jumped off a mountain but have done a tandem sky-dive over England. A big hug for Lindy from me. Are you back home again? Blessings and (((hugs))) Jo xxx
The feeling of freedom must be astonishing - after the initial screaming fear;-)
i could never do it...
Beautiful shots!
I would be so happy if you could visit my Sky Watch at Kids e-Connection, thank you so much!
They certainly are thrill seekers. We have a friend in Switzerland who does that. I love Switzerland, which part did you visit? I came over from Gattina's blog and I can see some of my friends are here too. I have just enjoyed browsing through your blog.
Nothing for me ! I rather watch the sky which is wonderfully blue !
It looks like fun. Lovely pictures, great post. Thanks for this.
All the best, Boonie
Hi Kay, I hope you enjoyed your month in Europe even though you didn't get to Knott End to see me. Is that you up there in that dangerous looking gondola hanging from a wire?
No jumping for me either. Even though I like to fly our airplane, I prefer keeping my feet on the ground otherwise. - Margy
OMG! (I read that that was recently accepted to the dictionary as a real word. It certainly expresses how I feel about what these guys are doin.
Sounds like you're having a great time.
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