THE VALLEY FLOOR
[right] Paul Voight over the Telluride ski area.
The Valley Floor, Serious Fundraising and The Foundation for Free Flight Just west of Telluride, an open expanse of wetlands and grassy valley floor extends for miles. For decades this was the traditional landing zone for hang gliders. Historically, the Telluride Air Force leased Oops Field (named after a local cowboy, not the countless whacks taken there) for three-hundred dollars a year. The expense was our biggest of the year. Ironically, the landowner was the notorious Neal Blue, one of the richest men in the US and owner of the military contractor General Atomics (anyone heard of Predator drones?). Here was one of the poorest nonprofits giving our little pittance to the richest. In trade, we could land there, so it was worth it, especially when no one else was allowed on the field but cows. When Blue threatened to develop the land, we lost access to it along with hikers and skiers. Telluride decided to condemn almost six hundred acres, using eminent domain, and a long legal battle began. After years of litigation and one town vote that refused a compromise, the valley floor price was set in a local court. The effort at times seemed impossible, but the small town raised fifty million dollars. The Foundation for Free Flight gave ten thousand dollars, one of its biggest grants, matching local pilots’ donations. The traditional and safe hang glider LZ is ours, and the number of hang glider flights outnumbered paraglider flights the last two summers. This is a recovery from what seemed like the end of hang gliding in Telluride, which makes public ownership of the valley floor that much sweeter.
something Airmen’s Rendezvous, the club lost enough momentum that no one put on a fly-in. We have tried to do simpler, organized fly-ins the last few years, but almost no one shows up, and, of course, if they do, the weather sucks. THE PRESENT
The Telluride Air Force still has approximately twenty members. A couple of them are tandem pilots and one is an instructor, Ryan Taylor, who is on the Telluride Ski Patrol. Someone in town acts as guide pilot for visitors, but it’s important to get in touch with them before arriving. We have a reliable vehicle for the shuttle to launch (private vehicles aren’t allowed by the ski area) and even a dedicated tow vehicle that rarely gets used. The desert is just a couple of hours away, where towing-up offers incredible views over Canyonlands, but it’s hard to drive out of the box canyon and leave our normal site. I’ve been a little negative about the weather and pilots’ odds of flying, but I think all mountain sites share these conditions. Telluride is full of fun things to do if the flying isn’t happening. It just hurts to see visitors not be able to fly on the one or two days they have dedicated to Telluride. Even if it takes more than one visit to catch it right, believe me, it’s worth it. I was waiting on the Phillips Ridge launch near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and a new pilot was telling me about all the sites in the area. She asked about Telluride and I explained we only have one site. She obviously wondered how Telluride could be so good with only one site, until another pilot commented that with a site like Gold Hill, you don’t need any others. Jeff Cristol is a tandem pilot and photographer in Telluride Colorado. Through his company, he offers paragliding tours to such remote locations as Peru, India and Kyrgyzstan as well as to flying sites throughout the Southwestern United States. See adventuretourproductions.com for more information. Gold Hill is located at N. 37° 54.246’ W. 107° 49.320.
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