The primary skill is knowing when to fly and when not to. Women can fly as easily as men, children as easily as adults. After four days of instruction, most learners are ready for their first solo flight. One newcomer to paragliding is Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz, who recently took his first lesson. The main paragliding competition at Red Bull Wings Over Aspen was a cross-country event where pilots launched from the top of Aspen Mountain and used wind currents and thermal updrafts to navigate a course which was announced just moments before the race.
Strategy is somewhat akin to sailboat racing.
Races covered 30 to 70 miles, in two to five hours, with pilots taking photos of landmarks along the way to prove they were on-course. It's a tough act to follow, as Aspen itself recently won a coveted Golden Eagle award for Overall Environmental Excellence. As a mountain sports specialist I'm all about gravity. Whether I'm using it to rocket down a steep alpine face or resisting it climbing 2000 feet per minute in a thermal, it is always a powerful sensation.