Adventure
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Remembering Bob McCord
It has been two years since my best friend and adventure buddy of 43 years died in a sky diving accident on Oahu, Hawaii. Not a week goes by that I don’t think of him. Bob pointed his skis, a long skinny pair of Truckers with three pin bindings, downhill. He pushed off. As the…
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Commitment: The Importance of Being Honest With Yourself
Photo: Looking down at the Wacouta Launch, Frontenac, Minnesota Facing my paraglider on the ground, I step back and pull up my wing which catches the wind flowing over my back. The cells fill with air and it shoots above my head. Ten feet from the edge of the bluff and 400 feet above the…
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There and Back Again: A Father and Son Adventure
Photo: Charlie Markusen leading “The Window Pitch” Grand Teton, WY My 21 year old son Charlie looked at the rock face above him and turned to me saying, “I can do this.” It was 3 pm and we were alone at the base of the Friction Pitch, the crux section of the upper Exum Ridge.…
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Destination Unknown: Cross Country Paragliding
Photo: altitude 7518 feet; ground speed 29 mph; glide ratio 40.6 Cross country flying is always an adventure. It’s the uncertainty, and questions in your mind. Is it safe to fly? How far, long, and high will you fly? Where will you land? How will you get back to your car? All questions are answered in…
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Chasing Ghosts: Hang Gliding and Paragliding Magazine, January 2018
It is June 26th, 2017, six days after the summer solstice. Thad Spencer and I are chasing ghosts across Southern Minnesota. The ghosts are of course, thermals, stepping stones for cross country pilots travelling down a river of air. Thad is my mentor. Flying paragliders since 2002, he is an excellent cross country pilot and…
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Genesis on The Grand: Rock & Ice Magazine
An insistent voice brought me out of the void and darkness. “What is your name? Where are you?” My eyes opened to see a chiseled face with furrowed brow. Pain stabbed my side, and my head, arms and legs were covered in blood. I spoke softly, giving my name and our location as the Grand.…