sledding dinosaurs

[bill arras]

Last weekend, Rick and I got to fly from Glacier Point in Yosemite on both Saturday and Sunday mornings.  Conditions were perfect and we had a great time.

At some point, Rick asked me an interesting question:  Do I think hang gliding will disappear completely?  My answer was that although I don't think hang gliding will completely disappear, we are obviously in the process of dwindling to a tiny number and have been since around the late 1980s.  A clear indicator of that progression was what we experienced in Yosemite.

My first time to fly from Glacier Point was in 1982.  Over the years, I've flown there about 15 times.  In the 1980s, there were heaps of people flying there, all summer long.  Lots of days were filled to the maximum number of pilots allowed.  The numbers of flights in Yosemite have decreased steadily since then, to the point that only 9 pilots flew on each of the days Rick and I flew, of a maximum of 16 places allowed daily.  That low number of participation isn't the issue.  The somewhat depressing reality is that the two days last weekend are the ONLY days any flights are scheduled for the entire summer of 2025.  This was unheard of in the 1980s and 1990s, and probably in the 1970s, too.  What do you say, Bill Wood?

People are too busy with other things, even the existing pilots, to bother with hang gliding, let alone go to Yosemite.  The one little bright spot was news from the site monitor last weekend, Andy Beem.  He's in SoCal, teaching young pilots for free.  He's having success getting excited new blood, pilots who fly together as a group, like the old days.  So, there is a ray of hope!

This link is to a few photos of last weekend: 

https://balloonbill.smugmug.com/Dinosaurs-Sledding/n-qXsrjr

Videos:

launching Glacier Point:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI6NCD1l0kM

landing 1:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNlXxnNrbJs

landing 2:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah7SZ4A7kjc

FYI:

Yosemite HG calendar:  https://www.yosemitehg.org/calendar

Yosemite HG website:  https://www.yosemitehg.org/

Dinosaurs just wanna have fun!

Bill

[Gary Kontich]

Thanks Bill. The pictures bring back a lot of good memories. 

Gary

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[bill arras]

More videos, of Rick and me launching and landing:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0wzgFhxunGo

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vgwk7UmYIU0

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/m28OwXyYOro

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/d9OWJULe9gQ

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From: pine-mount...@googlegroups.com <pine-mount...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of bill arras <bill...@hotmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2025 9:12 PM

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[Steve Roderick]

Looks like fun! 

I'm glad to see it's still being flown. 

Thanks for sharing 👍 

Steve R.

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From: pine-mount...@googlegroups.com <pine-mount...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of bill arras <bill...@hotmail.com>

Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2025 4:12 PM
To: pine-mount...@googlegroups.com <pine-mount...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: sledding dinosaurs

 

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