POSTCARDS FROM MEGEVE: MY PARAGLIDING ADVENTURE

17 Oct POSTCARDS FROM MEGEVE: MY PARAGLIDING ADVENTURE

Inspired by last week paragliding fest, this week, I, too, took to the sky.

I flew with Allen. He was strapped in a seat behind me, and he controlled all the sail movements, take off, landing, and all the technicalities. I only had to run on take off, run on landing, and enjoy the ride. To fly by yourself, you need to first fly with other people like I did. Then you need to get a license, and to do that you need to take a course. Taking off was a little scary the first time, I worried about not getting in the air and running off the edge and falling. But it is really easy to catch the wind and it only takes a couple of steps to be in the air. The second time I was not worried. I took video and pictures from both times. Check out my latest stunt in the following video:

Editor’s Note: Last January, Telluride Inside… and Out visited Megeve, located in the Haute-Savoie department, Rhone-Alpes region, southeastern France. The town started its development as a ski resort in the 1910s, when the Rothschild family began spending winter vacations in the region after becoming oh so over  the Swiss resort of St Moritz. Modern-day Megeve is considered among the most beautiful upmarket ski resorts in France, indeed, in the world. And with good reason. Even more than Telluride, Megeve offers extensive downhill options for all levels of skiers and boarders: 111 lifts, 219 slopes, totaling 445 km. The region has no huge hotels, and for the most part, there are no mass market boils on its face. (However – eegads –  when we were there, we spied a MacDonald’s at one end of town.) The core of Megeve is a charming medieval village with narrow cobbled streets, but the wake up call signaling you are in the here and now are the numerous high-end designer boutiques flashing brand names like Prada and Hermes. Over the years, Telski, Town of Telluride and Mountain Village honchos have talked about the possibility of an alliance with Megeve in the form of a “sister city” relationship. So far, no dice. But an ambassador went to Megeve anyway,  thanks to two ski coaches, local Caleb Martin and his friend, Richard Gay (in Megeve). The pair decided an exchange would be a great idea, so  Zach Nunn is now staying with Clement Cabrol’s family – Alain, Cathy, Camille,  and Nicholas –  before Clement travels to town to ski moguls with the Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club. Clement will be staying with the (remaining) Nunns: Randall, Debra, and Skyler. Zach plans to spend a year in Megeve and is posting regularly.