One of North America’s biggest paragliding competitions in Utah saw new competitors, bad weather, and a reserve parachute toss

From September 11th through the 17th, 105 paragliding pilots came to the unassuming desert town of Monroe, Utah to compete towards a spot on the national paragliding team of their home country.

Red Rocks Wide Open is a paragliding competition organized and directed by Gavin McClurg, an experienced cross-country pilot.

Jenny O’Neil, a competitor from Boulder, Colorado helped break down how competitions work. “You have a number of days. And each day you try to fly a task. A task is a set of turn points in the air. You hit all the turn points and then you land in a certain spot.” Day one’s task was to fly 120 kilometers starting from Monroe Peak and ending northeast, in Mt. Pleasant. Monroe Peak, part of the Sevier Plateau, is easy to spot from the ground with its massive cell tower, standing at a prominent 11,227 feet. As cars begin to roll up to the site, it quickly becomes a mass of people walking around preparing their gear for the first task.

Johannes Rath adjusting his harness in preparation for the competition. Image taken by Diana Boyer.

At 12:30pm launch opens. The start is beautiful chaos. Colorful wings are spread out on full display, as one by one, they kite them into the air, turn into the wind, and take off like a bird stepping out of the nest.  A gaggle of pilots begins to form and circle in the sky waiting until the official start time. Gliders are tip to tip in some situations and the fear of a midair collision is real. “This is the third competition I’ve worked, and as of yet, we have yet to have a serious injury,” says Justin Grisham, head of safety and medical.

At 1:30pm, the race begins. Strategy and observation go into how pilots fly tasks. Competition pilot, Jay Drescher, says, “It’d be really fun to be racing to the finish and trying to be with that lead gaggle. I feel like we’re in this golden age, where there are these new lines being discovered. People are pushing the limits and technology is increasing.”

One pilot reported throwing his reserve mid-competition. Grisham said, “They ended up in a fairly aggressive spiral because of their wing malfunction and couldn’t fix it.” The pilot landed safely, but had to hike for about 4 hours to reach a retrieve vehicle.

Pilots faced unseasonable weather for the rest of the week forcing many of the tasks to be cancelled.

Paragliding brings people from all over the world, fostering a community of unique individuals. Although, the competition did not pan out as expected, Drescher said, “You have to be willing to take risks and enjoy the duality of experiencing the beauty, while also getting your butt handed to you occasionally by the sky.” There is a purity and grace in the sport of paragliding. To be able to hike up a mountain and fly off the top is what dreams are made of.

Feature image description: The start gaggle at the Red Rocks Wide Open thermalling upwards in preparation for going cross country. Image taken by Diana Boyer.