It s serene. Every now and then a small puff tells you the wind has changed, but the balloon quickly catches up and it s calm again. Views are unparalleled you can pick out details of the city and country, and dogs bark and children wave as you drift past. Planning your tour for a specific route is impossible. Each one is different.
Balloons drift entirely with the wind, with the pilot using the burners just to climb or descend.
In changing altitude, new wind directions can breeze past and change your course. A ground crew has the fun of chasing you across the country trying to predict where you ll land. As you come in for your landing, just crouch in the basket as it gently drags along the ground, the wicker absorbing most of the shock as the pilot spills the air from the envelope. When the chase crew catches up, champagne is popped and shared a tradition begun in early ballooning days in 18th- century France as a way of appeasing farmers whose crops may have been a bit squashed. Three or four companies in Calgary offer balloon tours.