How to Climb a Mountain Twice in One Day

The following story recounts an early flying experience with my climbing partner Mark Howe. In those days we were very easy to please. It was a major event just to get cleanly off the ground and we were absolutely ecstatic when our feet touched down again. We looked upon these new craft as another tool to add to our already overloaded climbing packs. Time has since proven the usefulness of these "tools" for climbing to be dubious at best. A battered car travels over a mountain pass at a high rate of speed. It follows an erratic line, swerving and jerking around tight corners, rear tires spraying gravel just inches away from a death drop into the canyons below. You might assume the driver of this vehicle is either under the influence or falling asleep. But don't bet on it. Upon further examination, you'd find the occupants to be a group of crazed climbing/paragliding junkies gawking at everything but the road ahead. Ah, now the true dangers of this sport become evident. Inside the car, everyone has his harness on and is clipped into this glider. Yes, if they go over the edge, all those aboard plan a mass ejection and a rapid deployment of their wings.
Now that my climbing partner and I have survived several drives like this one (no ejections yet), we figure to qualify as certified paraglider junkies. Over time, we have become experts at driving while simultaneously scoping out new flying opportunities. We have also had to learn a whole new language of terms such as "adiabatic lapse rate" and "upslope wave compression." Our co-workers are now apt to find us staring vacantly out of the office windows mumbling about instabilities and cu-nim build-up and making excuses about some afternoon doctor appointment. On Friday evenings we can be found glued to the weekend weather forecast, waiting for every flier's favorite phrase, "HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE BUILDING." Gas up the beast, prepare the ejection seats, we're headed for another adventure.