A very KAVU day

By: Jeff Shapiro

By KAVU

November 16^th, 2021

Family Visit

When Kara, Nya and I moved to the Oregon coast, it was a huge change for us. Many factors went into our decision and although we love Montana and, living in those mountains has provided lifetimes of adventures and memories, this raw coastline and it's unique wilderness is a whole new world of experiences and KAVU days.

Arguably, the thing we miss most after our move is our family and friends. We've moved into an amazing community here but, the friendships formed in our 25+ years in Missoula will remain life-long so, we were pretty psyched when these two special humans decided to come over for a visit.

Chris Gibisch and I have traveled the world and have been through thick and thin together. He's been my climbing partner, wing man and best friend for more than half my lifetime. From climbing new routes in the Himalaya and Alaska, to flying paragliders in India and hang gliders across Texas... fishing rivers in Montana and laughing over whiskey in Chamonix, he's seen me at my best and worst and remains a positive force in my life. I don't think in all the years of crazy adventures together that we've ever had a cross word.

Our path crossed with his partner, Michelle years before they met through the climbing and kayaking/rafting communities. Her passions for life, her two talented boys, her work as a skilled PA, and her desire to continue to learn new things are only a few of the reasons we're so happy she and Chris are sharing this time in life together. Climbing with Michelle has always been something I consider myself lucky to get to do but, recently I had the opportunity to help in her paragliding education and seeing her grow as a pilot has been super cool! So, when they said they were coming for a visit and to scope our new digs....

I figured a KAVU day was in order.....

They brought their dog, Moxie so the first thing we did was.... head to the beach, of course!

A walk to let the dogs run on the wide expanses of sand was the perfect excuse to check a few different waves before dropping the pups at home and grabbing boards and wetsuits!

Neither Chris, nor Michelle had had much of an opportunity to surf in the recent years so they were both excited to suit up, paddle out and ride a few to the beach.

The day was shaping up with pretty perfect weather and light winds..... forecasted to pick up throughout the day. Above was nothing but sunny, KAVU skies.

The waves were super fun and pretty ideal.

When paddle arms were worked and we decided to get out of the ocean and dried off, we decided to change gears and headed up to Yaquina Head. It's a local spit of land that sticks out from the coastline making a perfect obstacle for a north wind to smack into. When the wind is deflected by the land, it creates a narrow lift band for the birds to soar.

Seemed like dropping the wetsuits off and grabbing the paragliders would be a good call.

Seeing those guys in the air on a perfect, sunny day had me smiling ear to ear. It was Michelle's first time coastal soaring and she was super pumped. Soaring right above where we'd just surfed, I must admit, was pretty cool for us all.

I couldn't resist pulling my wing out as well to take a rip or two in the smooth coastal air;-))

At the end of the day, cooking food over a fire in the back yard meant we'd have energy for tomorrow. It had indeed been a proper KAVU day and the days to come would also inevitably be...