Hang Gliding and Paragliding Volume 44 / Issue 1: January 2014 | Page 42

McClurg's big week!

end of the day I make a move towards Bozeman, knowing that if I make it, I’ll have the North American record.
But I turn into a headwind and land on the banks of the
Madison River 311 km from launch, just a few miles short.
Far from being discouraged, I am ecstatic. I’ve broken my
own personal best by 55 km and I’ve made mistakes, landed
early. All I need is the right day…
We get home at 0330, thoroughly exhausted. The
eight-hour retrieve on dark roads surrounded by loitering
animals requires vigilance, and I have none left to use. I
crash on a friend’s bed for a few hours and am literally driving back home to get more sleep at 10:00 the next morning,
when Matt Beechinor calls from launch to report that the
weather is better than the day before. Time to go paragliding!
I run to the store, buy some food, borrow a bottle of
oxygen and head up the hill. Matt and another pilot get
unlucky on the first glide across town, arrive in shade, and
hit the deck.
My late launch is one of many moves that happen to
go my way that day. The conditions are far stronger than
any I’ve flown in. When I’m high, everything is glorious.

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING