Hang Gliding and Paragliding Volume 44 / Issue 1: January 2014 | Page 40

A few weeks later, the North American record is broken
again from Sun Valley. Nate Scales flies a remarkable 319 km
(199 miles) deep into Montana. A week later the paragliding
world breathes another collectively astonished breath when Nick
Greece goes 329 km (204 miles) from Jackson Hole across the
Red Rock Desert, a ridiculously isolated area of Wyoming. And
the line moves again!
These three records are the most inspiring moments in sport
I’ve ever seen, ever tasted. They are big-wave surfing, extreme
skiing, and proximity base-jumping all rolled into one. But XC
paragliding lasts for hours and hours, requires the same kind of
concentration and skill, and has every bit of the risk, while these
other sports only last a few seconds! I want some of this for
myself. I begin to question if I can ever be that good. I begin to
contemplate and visualize what would be necessary to go that
far. I don’t really know where to start, but I know I want to be a

part of these pioneering flights. I want to be a part of
this inspiring community.
I get a wildcard to compete in the PWC in August
in Sun Valley and make a desperate phone call to
Niviuk. I take my first flight on the Icepeak 6, also my
first flight in Sun Valley. Nate Scales, who holds the
Idaho state distance record, is my flying buddy that
day. My water bag freezes solid and I suck down a
tank of supplemental oxygen, the first I’ve ever used.
We complete a 102km FAI triangle, and I land in
a state of bliss that doesn’t diminish for many days.
This is now my home.
The PWC is my second comp and I become a
sponge, soaking up strategies and skills faster than
my mind can process what is happening. My brain is
becoming intensely fond of this new drug. The condi-

ABOVE Gavin McClurg over King Mountain, Idaho. RIGHT McClurg eyeing up launch at Mt. Baldy, ID.

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE