Man, that brings back memories! Back in the early 80's a friend and I took my VW bus out west for a hang gliding trip in AZ and CA. We flew Horse Canyon, Torrey Pines, Crestline, Elsinore, Fort Funston, among others, and finally, Yosemite on the way home.We just happened by there on the last day of the flying season and unbelievably there were a couple spots available when we reached Glacier Point (maybe because there was already several inches of snow on the ground). Although it was just a short gliding flight, it was the highlight of our flying safari. I have to admit even though I'd done a variety of different cliff launches, I was a little intimidated by the 3000' vertical Glacier Point launch. Breath taking.
I remember you telling me this was one of the first times you really felt nervous on a launch. Now I see why! Steep rock. Flying between pine trees. Wow. You looked really tense until you cleared those trees, then it looked like you had a fantastic time.
I was a bit nervous for your launch, until I saw Andy Beem behind you. I'm a bag pilot and when I was starting 30 years ago, I remember watching Andy instruct hangies & thought he was top notch. Though I've always been irritated at Yosemite that they are "racist" as they don't allow PG. Bags could launch off of Sentinel Dome. PLM: Paragliders Lives Matter too!
The local club has a permit. It states hang gliders, probably it's older than paragliding. I think it's a similar story to Fort Funston, hang gliders only, although in that site there's a PG launch in a neighbor cliff to the south.
Back in the day, it was highly regulated- strict limit on the number of pilots per day (12?) and no launches after 7am (8am?) so it wasn't soarable.@@ericoschmitt
@@ronkirk5099 back in the day or also currently? That's what the website said when I checked some 2 years ago. But anyway, has any pioneer soared there in the 70s at some point?
