Paragliding in the French Alps

One key goal Ben had for this trip was to paraglide in the Alps. After his research he found a company in the French Alps he felt good about. The location was in Chamonix, France which is the location of the famed Mont Blanc peak.

We departed Annecy, France in the morning and arrived in Chamonix with a lot of time before our scheduled paragliding appointment. Ben has been interested in paragliding for a long time. He went skydiving many years ago and had an incredible experience and thought paragliding may give him some of the same sensation he experienced before. He took powered paragliding lessons in Des Moines. But, typically paragliding is done in a mountainous region (not requiring the "powered" part) and you (very basically) run toward the edge of a mountain cliff to get your chute in the air and by the time you reach the end you are taking off.

Chamonix was a beautiful mountain resort town with winter skiing and summer hiking, mountain biking and of course paragliding. There are beautiful mountain glaciers high in the peaks which are a huge draw for tourists as well. Contacting our instructor, we learned that there was a mistake made and we could not go at our scheduled time (which was an issue with us due to needing to return the rental car in Geneva later that day). After some back and forth and rearranging we were on a cable car ascending the mountain at 12:30.

It is still snowy at the top of the mountain and we knew in advance we would be taking off in the snow. The sun was out and the temperature fairly warm. We didn't have snow boots with us but made due with what we have in the snow to get to our launch point. There we stood, high in the Alps looking at what appeared to be a huge drop off, a glacier within sight and the Mont Blanc peak behind us. This was a tandem flight and so we were harnessed to our instructors. The instructions: on the count of three run toward the mountain edge.

And, so we did, both of us falling with our instructor on the first try for different reasons. Running in the snow was a huge challenge. Additionally, I wasn't prepared for the backward pull of the wing (the parachute) and mostly felt like I was running my a$$ off but going nowhere. This whole time is a blur, I was unaware of the mountain edge and had no fear running toward it, all I remember is looking down at my feet and watching them go, while I worked so hard, and wondering if I was actually doing anything. During this process, Ben lost a shoe in the snow when his instructor stepped on the heel. He left the mountain top but his shoe did not.

Suddenly we were airborn, my feet no longer in the snow, we were smoothly drifting through the air and I was amazed by how high up we were, it was not scary but I definitely had a moment where I had to stop myself from looking down to overcome the psychological impact of being that high. I asked the instructor at the time how high we were, I don't remember exactly what he said but think it may have been on the proximity of 2300 meters.

The flight was mostly amazing. Ben flew for a slightly shorter time then me. And, as we neared the end of my flight, my skilled coach asked if I would like to try a couple of tricks, and in this moment, without really thinking, I made a terrible mistake and said yes.

Well, a couple of tricks later, one of which felt like a dizzying downward spiral during which I said "too much" and we immediately stopped (Ben said these looked really cool from the ground). Now I was feeling nauseous and wanted nothing more to be on the ground. I thought I was good enough to make it. But, unexpectedly I could suddenly feel my body heaving. My instructor did some crazy maneuver behind me and got me into position where I could vomit midair. Yep, I puked my way down to the ground and landed with it on my cheek and arm. Terribly sick and so embarrassed I just kind of laid there.

And, best part? I paid the 30 euros so my flight was filmed so there is video coverage of me crop dusting the landing area with pink puke. Plus, just in case I missed it with my camera, Ben was also filming from the ground so we have multiple angles to enjoy later.

My instructor was so kind to me, and I'm thankful for his skill and the great tour he gave me from the air. Ben's shoe was retrieved and brought down by another paraglider.

I was very sick, and as a result the fun wasn't over. As we drove toward Geneva, I laid with my eyes closed and the window open for the fresh air while Ben drove and navigated without my help. And, on a winding mountain road with the rocky mountain face on one side and a guard rail and drop off on the other (i.e. nowhere to pull off) I hung out the window and covered the side of the car with what was left in my gut (once my brother-in-law-back-then Erik puked on the side of our car after drinking too much at a family reunion, which we all thought was hilarious) at the time I was miserable, and the same cheek was once again covered in vomit (thankfully my hair was pulled back and covered both times) but when I saw the results painting the side of the car, I had to laugh. I was a disgusting hot mess who had puked on her own face twice.

My condition improved after that and although I wasn't much help, we made it to Geneva without further incident, we thought.

Additionally, my phone is now a permanent resident of France. I have not used it on this trip but retrieved it while sick so I could reach Ben as he went to get his shoe. I also tend to set my phone on top of cars (tall girl problems?). The last time I did this we were in Denver and it miraculously made it home safely on the roof; I clearly used up all phone kharma on that one. So, in Geneva Switzerland I remembered getting my phone out in France, where it stayed and slid off the roof at some point during our drive. Heck, maybe I even threw up on it a little on our way down.

In conclusion, France had many great points, most of which had to do with the stunning scenery in every location we visited.  But, France has yet to make me fall in love and so it stole my phone and I threw up on it. I guess we are even.