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Show s i 3 x - s Photos by Roger Tuttie Clipper reporter Kathy Christensen boards David Early balloon bal-loon for early-morning flight at Park City. Balloon reached an altitude of 1 ,000 feet for breath-taking view. Clipper reporter finds hot-air ballooning to be thrilling, but... By KATHY CHRISTENSEN PARK CITY From 1 ,000 feet in the air, it's easy (or make that easier) to figure out the twisting, turning drives that make up the pretzel road system in Park City. How do you get 1,000 feet in the air? Well, there are several methods, but the most thrilling one I've found to date, especially at 6:30 in the morning, is hot-air ballooning. bal-looning. The popularity of ballooning is on the rise in Utah, according to the David Early Auto Service Centers, Cen-ters, the first auto center in Utah to sponsor a huge, full 50 feet around and 75 feet high balloon. The seven-story high wind bag is co-sponsored by Michelin and bears the famous Michelin "Bib man," as well as the David Early logo. "David Early plans on flying the baloon at the Freedom Festival in Provo surrounding the 4th of July, and with regularity around our 13 stores all over the Wasatch Front. We hope to make it a public attraction attrac-tion and offer rides from time to time so people can become as excited ex-cited about ballooning as we are," Steve Brand, vice president of David Early Auto Service Centers, said. Hot air balloons and balloonists are regulated by the Federal Aviation Avia-tion Administration, and are often flown at over 4,000 feet above ground, according to a David Early newsletter. On a maiden voyage recently in the Davis Early balloon at Park City, the highest altitude we reached was somewhere around 1 ,000 feet. But 1 ,000 feet was high enough in the wild-blue-yonder to get a great view of Park City, the mountainous terrain and the greens of the Park Meadows Golf Course one of the loveliest in the state. Regardless of what you might think, ballooning is a very smooth and exhilerating process when executed ex-ecuted correctly, especially in the landing process. You feel quite safe seeing the four oxygen tanks snuggled in the gondola with the two other passengers and one navigator. navi-gator. Our chauffeur to the skies was Erwin Oretli, a pilot who has 16 years of experience. He and his partner, Brian Kelly of Balloons West, provided an additional balloon, bal-loon, as well as serving as pilots for the morning's events. The experience was no less than stunning, floating through the blue, watching wisps of mist form into clouds. The beautiful sunrise illuminated illu-minated the brightly rainbow-colored rainbow-colored balloons as they drifted past the eastern mountain range and over the well-groomed golf course. Hanging above the range, you can't help but envision a less experienced ex-perienced golfer driving a ball right up through the 50 foot span of the balloon, as the familiar call "fore" breaks the silence of the rrorning air. "It would probably just bounce " s " " , ' r i J-- A - f? ' Photos by Roger Tuttie Whether skimming the ground or high up, ballooning is a thrilling experience. off," the pilot assures us. The most frightening part of the balloon flight, the landing, is controlled con-trolled with a ventilation slit and short bursts with a powerful propane prop-ane burner, according to Oretli. The most dangerous experience Oretli said he has encountered, was when he was flying over the Grand Canyon and got snagged on the side of a cliff. "It was really no problem," he said. "We just had to rappel down the side of the cliff using ropes." Oretli said he has flown over the Rocky Mountains and the Canadian Cana-dian Rocky Mountains as well. The highest altitude he recalls flying was 23,000 feet above the ground. Brian Kelly, of Balloons West, " sold the brightly colored red and yellow balloon to David Early Auto Service Centers. The auto center spokesman said he was also instrumental in recommending the balloon design. Mr. Kelly claimed a select group of animals in France were the first to ride in a hot-air balloon gondola. The French soon realized ballooning balloon-ing was far too superior an experience experi-ence to be wasicJ on animals. At Park City, it's also been discovered as a great public relations tool. |