What is Speed flying?

You may have heard of this new crazy sport called speed flying and wondered “What the heck is that?!” Words and photos: Neil Amonson. Additional cover photo: Jacom Stephens

By KAVU

April 10^th, 2018

Years ago...

...skydivers who wanted to fly their parachutes without jumping out of a plane started to ground launch them with skis on and to fly down mountains.

Well that worked OK....but skydiving parachutes don’t glide very well and it wasn’t long before the paragliding community began to make little paragliders that fly very fast.

The sport of speed flying was born!

Where there's a will....

Speed flying has grown very popular in Europe since you can take the chairlift or cable-car up to fly off the top of most big ski resorts.

Here in the USA we mostly have to get to the top the old fashioned way.

Walking!

Work hard, play hard

Using special equipment, our down-hill skis become up-hill skis and the adventure begins.

I feel lucky that in Utah, there is a very large back-country skiing community and safety is a big priority. In many places, at the start of the hike there is a cool sign that lets you know that your avalanche beacon is working properly. An avalanche beacon is a small device we all wear that allows us to be found if buried in an avalanche, as well as find our friends if they are buried. Education and awareness are paramount but, using technology can certainly be helpful!!

The air is thin and our lungs were burning but the view more then makes up for it.

on This particular kavu day...

...about about an hour and a half later... we reached the top!

A massive part of the fun of a speedflying mission is getting to spend time outside with your friends.

quickly...

We take our wing out, put on our harnesses, put away our climbing skins and poles, and prepare for lift off!

This was Marks first time flying from this spot and he had a perfect launch. It brought the stoke level up several notches, for sure!

It’s fun to see how you can lay the wing on the ground in what appears to be a tangled mess, but after a few seconds of skiing down the hill the wind picks it up and almost magically, turns into a flying wing!

Looking up to check your lines and seeing a perfect parachute never gets old! Ha ha!

The main difference between the two activities (speed riding and speed flying) is that in speed riding you spend more time on the ground then in the air. It is surprisingly more difficult to stay on the ground then to take off and fly, but you get rewarded with a fun, surfing like feeling when you wing is above you and your skis are still on the ground.

...with nothing but your ski tips in front of you, a parachute above you, and natures glory on all sides.....

KAVU to the core!

Speedflying is a great way to explore terrain that you otherwise would not be able to see up close.

and...

If you watch carefully, you might even see one of the pilots flip their wing completely upside down. This maneuver is called a barrel-roll and has become popular as the wings have become very agile.

Eventually, the fun must come to an end and we return back to earth.

Our landing area is next to the same road we drove up to start the hike. One person usually just hitchhikes back to the car and picks up the rest of the group.

Luckily, when you get burly early...

...you have the rest of your day to get work done!

A mutual feeling of happiness was shared from our fun morning adventure. We couldn't have been more stoked after we packed up the car and headed back down the canyon to resume our normal lives.