Reflection 2009

What a year. What an amazing, unbelievable, tumultuous, powerful year. I exceeded everything I thought possible. Starting in January doing a 10 day vipassana course in Lumbini Nepal with my dad I realized limitations are something I create myself, nothing more. They are simply in my head, and I realized how powerful the link between mind and matter, how much thought influences life. And often with a great realization comes a test. In Feburary I had such a test- plans changed, death of a new friend, heartbroken by a woman. But it's how we react isn't it? Accept, move forward, choose life... I do.

The winter means predictable tandem flying in Nepal. The spring brings a change in weather and freedom to fly solo and for adventure. I was ready. And then I was overwhelmed, the group flight across Northern India in April was amazing. It's a natural progression of my dreams, every year more and more becomes possible.. 500km in 8 days was just right for me this year. The plan was to stop at the border of nepal and the goal was achieved. To summarize, using a paraglider to travel the Himalayas, through cultures, time and space, imagine it.. then it's more than that..

But there's paragliding and then there's paragliding in Pakistan, theres's simply no other flying in the world that compares. May to September I spent chasing that dream. My endurance was tested as the weather was incredibly reliable in July and August. After a few flights reaching exhaustion I thought I had found my limits, then I pushed beyond, then I found new ones... It was more flying then I've done all the previous years combined in terms of nights camped out, new exploration of routes, and time at altitude... Yeah for me it was big. I lost a few kilos with all the activity and got fit, and then I got burned out.. By the time my Dad came in September I was ready to slow down and rest. We had a great trip visiting old friends and spending some time in the air.

Next it was a short trip to Kerala (South India) to meet some new friends, fly a new site and rekindle the romance that had burned me earlier in the year. Weather wasn't ideal but the hospitality and event organization was. In October I was back to nepal to enjoy some predictable tandem flying in Pokhara. Flying conditions were great and tourists were plentiful, it can be a great way to make money when it goes well. The romance however didn't go well and life presented me another great chance to work on humility and acceptance in the form of a good emotional ass kicking. In a theme for this year limits were tested and pushed beyond what I thought possible. It seems always in a crisis I seem to choose well and choose life, that's a nice thing to know about myself.

Leaving Pokhara after 2 months and 130 flight to go for another meditation course in Lumbini was appropriate. Nothing dramatic during the time there and progress was slower than expected but I get the feeling that this is a natural progression for me. Slowly, gradually. What is learn in meditation with eyes closed is meant to be applied in life and bring improvement in life outside of the retreat. It is not a way to drop out or avoid the world but rather teaches how to strive in this world, in this very life. In it's basic essence vipassana meditation is a battle between wholesome and unwholesome emotions. It teaches how to strengthen the wholesome ones and weaken or eradicate the unwholesome ones. Oh, and it's hard...

Leaving Nepal and going to Thailand in December to rest was even more appropriate. As I write this I've spent a few weeks relaxing, learning to kitesurf and preparing for an even bigger Himalayan odyssey in 2010. My friends Mike, Antoine and Lynn shared a house and some time with me. They've returned to India, we'll meet the end of Febuary to start our adventure. I'm staying a family I met in Kerala who live in Bangkok. A little solace, a little peace I've found. It's been good and it's been nice to relax...

Then talking with my sister and mom recently we realized it's been a while since we've seen each other, and possibly January was the best time to get together in the coming year, so in a quick timely decision my sister will be flying from Cameroon (where she works) and I'll be flying from Thailand to spend 12 days in California with my mom and step dad the beginning of the new year!! Very cool how all this can come together.

So that's a reflection on this year. For 2010 I suspect things will get more interesting. I have some ambitious plans and a big part of that is trying to share my experiences online and in video. There's so much to be inspired by, so much to do, it's an exciting time to be alive.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year 2010!
Love,
Brad

Flights with my Dad

In September my dad came to visit me in Pakistan, you can read about our trip in 2007 here http://davesander.blogspot.com/ He was supposed to come in 2008 but had an accident which delayed his trip till this year. Needless to say he was excited to make it back and in a short time we were able to do everything and more we hoped.
Here's a pic from a flight, and wow does a picture tell a story. Me and my dad looking relaxed and happy which we were, my dad using oxygen (we had been to 5900m and no problem for him where in 2007 he got a little hypoxic at 5400). He's also wearing some really warm clothes which I was sponsored by a Canadian clothing company Westcomb Outerwear. It's fantastic stuff and I hope to get some great use out of it click the link to see a nice picture of me they are using for their webpage. Below us you can see the road we took off, if you look from left to right above us you can see the route we flew. Upper right is a 6000 meter mountain under a cloud, we circled that mountain.. twice. It was cool, Dad loved it.. what more can I say?




Here's a tracklog made from my GPS and overlaid on Google earth. Now you see the opposite view from the picture above. You can see our start, the circle around the mountain and our landing in Booni. You can even see the glaciers on the mountain but man are they bigger in real life.

I meant this to be a longer post but I'm not that motivated to write, I spent 2 months in Nepal flying commercial tandems and now I'm in Thailand learning to Kitesurf.

More coming soon!
Brad

Waiting for the Peaches to Ripen

I'm sitting here in Booni waiting for the peaches and pears to ripen. The apples are ready and hanging over the garden wall next to my room or I can wander outside and try different varieties. But it's the Peaches I really want, there almost there, I had one just now, it's a bit firm but sweet. Maybe by the time my dad arrives, he's on his way to Islamabad now.

It's flyable today, not great but flyable, and I'm here why? Well an interesting thing occured yesterday. I wasn't really into the flight. Looking around at the familar glaciers and mountains of the Hindukush I thought, "hmm.. glaciers and mountains, that's nice.." in a bored distracted way. Much unlike the usual mode my mind reacts, "OH MY GOD THAT'S INCREDIBLE!!!, WOW LOOK AT ALL THESE AMAZING GLACIERS AND MOUNTAINS!!!" NopeI was flying because I had a goal and I had to move to get there, my computer was in Hunza 250km away and I needed to push hard to make it in a day, limited on time because I want to be back when my Dad arrives to Chitral. Conditions immediately weren't good, half in half out of turbulent thermals, too many clouds and too low in the direction I was heading. I was cold and a bit nauseaus from the broken thermals, something that only has been happening lately, the weakenss is obviously due to my lack of passion to be in the air. So when it was obvious it wasn't possible to fly to Hunza I lost all interest. I just wanted to be back in my garden reading a book. Absoulutely amazing to think about as I write this, what a change from a few weeks ago.

But I guess it means I've had enough this season. I has been a busy 5 months since I quit flying tandems in March and started this amazing flying tour of India and Pakistan. This sport works best of your hungry and right now I'm an overfed hog wollowing in my recent achievements. That's a good thing. It's a lot to process and look back on. 5 months packed with intense experience and adventure...

In between rediscovering the joy of reading books the last week I've also found some interesting projects online. May be of interest to you may not.

Travel insurance. Just signed up for another 3 months with a company called IHI Bhupa. Cost $390 for medivac and health insurance which covers me anywhere but my home country. They have a good reputation and pay 100% (supposedly, haven't had to use it) only limitation is they only pay for treatment 6 months from time of accident, so if there were a case with ongoing treatments costs... I'm still looking for a better option, one limitation is I can only take out this coverage for 15 months unless I return to the US. I have 3 months left and I don't see myself returning in that time. I'd be curious what other people use. I have no health care plan from the US currently.

Second is an interesting project called Kiva a way to make small loans online. Its a very cool website and very interesting idea. Instead of giving money you are loaning it and 98% of loans are repaid. You pick who you want to loan to and loans amounts are $25. The link came from my friend Tyler Quintano from Durango, I originally got the idea to use money that had been paid to me into a Paypal account. I don't really like paypal and especially hate the idea I have money sitting in there they are earning interest on.

Hours of internet time later I've done something. Cool.

Oh and when I had my computer with me and fast internet in Hunza a couple weeks ago I made and posted this video of a recent flight here. http://www.vimeo.com/6241661

Watch it, say "wow" and post a comment!

Absent Blogger

You know, I write a lot in my head, it just never gets to where you can see it. I'm having an amazing summer and if you know me then it's no surprise it revolves around paragliding in Pakistan. Consecutively for the last 6 years my dreams and the adventures that come with them seem to just keep getting bigger. I really love this life. I've either created it or fallen into it and it's a good fit. I think I'll keep it up for a bit longer. Check my Ozone Blog for recent updates.

Post comments, it makes me more motivated to blog.

I put some pictures on facebook, click here for the link

Did It!

Well Debu completed a new Indian record 211km! Click to see his tracklog.

And I completed my adventure, check out my Ozone Blog here

Or the Across Himalaya webpage here with a more detailed trip and pilot description.

Now I'm in Bir India with a few rest days before leaving around the first of May for Pakistan and the Hunza Valley. Pakistan will be interesting this year so I'll be posting regularly. For those of you soaking in the news from CNN and the like try this blog for some perspective on the situation there
http://watandost.blogspot.com/

Across Himalaya Update

Congratulations to Debu Choudhury for recently setting the max distance record from Bir/Billing. 176km out and return, check it out at http://www.xcontest.org/world/en/flights/detail:drdebu/31.3.2009/05:25

Debu has his sites set on the 200km mark and if he gets the right weather I'm sure he'll get it, recently Ajay Kumar and Matt Senior have joined him in Bir so that will definately give him the motivation to go big on the right day! As well the usual cast of characters is in Bir. I arrived in the night to a party at Sian's. A couple days flying and now I've started something really interesting.

Currently I'm in Jammu 160km NW of Bir with a group of 6 other pilots whose aim is to fly to the border of Nepal, 600 km in 10 days. Check out
http://acrosshimalaya.org/home.html

If the weather is good I will be away from email for a couple weeks and hope to have an interesting update by the end of April!

On The Road Spring 2009

The day is April 2nd. I'm in Rishikesh, India. It's a rest day. I've ridden from Pokhara Nepal and tomorrow I will ride to Bir. Starting with facts is easy. I've just finished "working" as a tandem pilot and will spend the summer living out my dreams flying across the most amazing mountains in the world. My freedom and joy is palpable.


Here is a picture of what I look like after riding for 2 days. It's the last day I'll wear this Pink Floyd concert shirt because it's threadbare and ripped, "nothing lasts forever" goes the lyrics of a PF song. I got it in 1994 when I saw them with my friend Bill in Denver.

About the ride: Day 1 I left at noon, rode 9 hrs and slept under the stars. Day 2 I started before dawn crossed the border and 16 hours later made my destination to be rewarded with a hot shower. Riding is easy, I am focused and alert. The world plays out before me like a movie. Beautiful mountains and agricultural scenes, a cast of characters to big to list. Children, lots of children, some in uniform going to school, others working in fields, they will never go to school. And scenes like this-





Start from the bottom, it is my motorcycle and all my worldly possessions, I have a tandem and solo glider with harnesses, both new modern gliders in excellent condition. I have a computer, 2 camera's, 2 GPSs, 2 Varios, 2 Radios, clothes, books, food, sleeping bag and pad ect., ect. Higher in the picture is a large pile of burning trash, next to the pile of burning trash is a small boy, apparently his life consists of looking through this pile of burning trash for something of value.

Here he is, working the smoky edge and finding what is revealed when the plastic burns away. Is he finding something valuable or just playing with the fire? Can we even contemplate his life? The wind shifts and I'm now in the smoke, its acrid and within a moment makes me nauseous. For seven years I worked in smokey dusty conditions as a forest firefighter but wood smoke doesn't compare to this, I'm afraid if I stay even a moment I'll do permanent harm to my health. I get on my bike and start to leave.


As I do I see the scale of the trash heap, it's the size of an American football field, there's maybe a dozen kids scattered around, beside is a shanty town where they live. A kite catches my eye, the kids have fashioned a kite and are playing with it in the middle of the field. The wind changes, the forms are obscured by smoke. I ride on.



To summarize, I've never been able to summarize my experience here. Riding across India is like a reset button for life, whatever personal problems I'm caught up in take on a different perspective. I am shocked, I am in awe. I struggle not to judge, to keep my eyes open, keep trying to observe. What problems did I think I had a minute ago? How is it that I am this lucky, that I have so much, and others live a life I can't comprehend?

Spring is Here

It's almost April and with that some great flying and conditions improving. Here in Pokhara Nepal I'm flying tandems and Parahawking, as well as getting in a few solo flights. Recently I flew with some fellow Americans who are researching a book on education in Asia. Tadahshi and Katrina took some lovely photos. You can see them at-
http://tadashiphotography.blogspot.com/

My Pakistan visa is completed so I'm ready to go the first week of May. Every day that passes I get more excited as anticipation builds. My confidence and goals for the year are... big.. to say the least.

Since Pakistan is in the news so much these days I've included a bit of background to the current situation, have a look at http://watandost.blogspot.com/ for more info, this is a recent article included on the blog

How we helped create the Afghan crisis By Stephen Kinzer

How we helped create the Afghan crisis
By Stephen Kinzer, New York Times, March 20, 2009

WITH THE United States facing a terrifying set of challenges in Pakistan and Afghanistan, this is an opportune moment to look back at how the United States itself helped create the crisis. It is an all-too-familiar tale of the behemoth lashing out in ways that seem emotionally satisfying and even successful at first, but that in the end decisively weaken its own security.

The tale begins in 1979, when Americans were caught in a sense of defeat and malaise. They were still recovering from the shock of losing the Vietnam War, only to absorb another one with the stunning overthrow of the Shah of Iran and the seizure of American diplomats in Tehran.

On Christmas Eve, however, something happened that seemed to open a new horizon for the United States. Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan and installed a pro-Moscow regime. Here, suddenly, was a chance for the United States to fight a war against the Red Army.

In order to forge an Afghan force that would wage this war, the United States needed camps in Pakistan. Pakistan was ruled by General Zia al-Huq, who had proclaimed two transcendent goals: imposing a "true Islamic order" in his country and building a nuclear bomb. He had also just hanged the elected leader he deposed, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. This was the man the United States would have to embrace if it wanted Pakistan to support the anti-Soviet rebellion it hoped to foment in Afghanistan. It eagerly did so.

The United States also accepted Zia's demand that all aid sent to Afghan warlords be channeled through his intelligence agency, the ISI, and that the ISI be given the exclusive right to decide which warlords to support. It chose seven, all of them in varying degrees fundamentalist and anti-Western.

The ISI also came up with the idea of recruiting Islamic militants from other countries to come to Pakistan and join the anti-Soviet force. Its director, Hamid Gul, later said his agency recruited 50,000 of these militants from 28 countries. One was Osama bin Laden. Most of the others - brought to the region as part of a US-sponsored project, then armed and trained with US funds - shared bin Laden's radical anti-Americanism and fundamentalist religious beliefs.

During the 1980s, the CIA waged its most expensive and largest-scale campaign ever, pouring a staggering $6 billion into its anti-Soviet guerrilla force. Saudi Arabia, at Washington's request, contributed another $4 billion. Finally, in 1989, the insurgency succeeded and the Red Army withdrew from Afghanistan in defeat. One million Afghans died in the decade-long war. Five million fled to refugee camps in neighboring countries. Many found food and shelter at religious schools sponsored by Saudi Arabia, where they were taught the radical Wahhabi brand of Islam. Those schools were the cradle of the Taliban.

After the last Soviet unit withdrew from Afghanistan, the overseer of the CIA project there, Milt Bearden, sent a two-word message to his superiors at Langley: "WE WON." For a while, that seemed true. In 1998, Zbigniew Brzezinski, who had helped conceive the project, dismissed those who worried about its long-term effects.

"That secret operation was an excellent idea," he said. "What is most important to the history of the world? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some stirred-up Muslims or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the Cold War?"

Those "stirred-up Muslims" are now the enemy that the US faces in Pakistan and Afghanistan. They threaten America's national security far more profoundly than the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan ever did.

Jimmy Carter approved the idea of sponsoring anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan. Ronald Reagan poured billions of dollars into it. George H. W. Bush turned his back on Afghanistan, allowing it to degenerate into the chaos from which the Taliban emerged. Bill Clinton refused to confront the looming threat with anything more than an ineffective cruise missile raid on one of bin Laden's camps. George W. Bush invaded Afghanistan, succeeded in toppling the Taliban regime, and then, rather than staying engaged, immediately turned his attention to Iraq. Their policies showed the short-sightedness that has for more than a century been a hallmark of American foreign policy.

These American policies, more than any other factor, created the daunting crisis President Barack Obama now faces.

Stephen Kinzer is a longtime foreign correspondent and author of "Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change From Hawaii to Iraq.

The Ups and Downs (Part 1)

I haven't posted in a while but it doesn't mean a lot hasn't happened. In fact how do I cover what has happened and not miss all the important bits? September I was flying in Pakistan with 2 friends Oriol (Spanish) and Paul (English) it was great to be back enjoying the people and the flying in Booni. Then it all changed, I was preparing my wing to launch, Oriol had climbed out high above, Paul was working a thermal close to the hill. Paul lost control of his glider and crashed. As I made my way across the steep rocky slope to him I wasn't sure if he was alive or dead, when he talked calmly and I knew he wasn't going to die everything was ok. Well, his L-2 vertebrae was crushed and the bone splinters pushing against his spinal cord had paralysed him from the waist down, he was in a lot of pain. But you see he was alive, and everything was ok. I remember thinking at one point during the rescue, when this is over I'm going to drop out for a while, do a vipassana course and get my head together. 7 days later he was on an air ambulance back home to the UK, Oriol and I never left his side and Oriol accompanied him on the flight to england. Those 7 days require a story of their own. I cannot begin to thank all the people who helped, especially the amazing people in Pakistan who made rescue, treatment, and repatriation a reality. Without their help it couldn't have been done. My heart is filled with love every time I think about the difficult journey and all those who helped in our time of need. I am humbled.



Immediately after I went to Bhutan where I met my Mom and Ken (my step dad) for whom was their first visit to the Himalaya's and my first visit to a country I've been dreaming of for years. Doing a 12 day all inclusive paragliding trip with Adam Hill and Frontiers paragliding was just what I needed. No hassle, no decisions to be made and an unspoiled paradise with unique flying was the right prescription after the stress of the Pakistan trip. My Mom and Ken loved it as much as I did. Flying is in my family's blood because my mom, who's afraid of heights, loved her first experience from the moment we left the ground. Getting to share my love of flight with all my family has been so amazing, no longer trying to explain why I do it, once in the air it makes sense and they can understand why I choose this life.



Without a stop I was back to Bir India for my first serious paragliding competition. The comp was a learning experience, just a little advice for anyone in their first comp, "Don't leave low and in front of the lead gaggle!" I'll look forward to another experience in the future, it's a great opportunity to work on building patience and humility.
The more interesting story was that 5 friends from Pakistan were invited as special guests. The camaraderie of the flying community extends beyond borders and nationalism. To see Pakistanis in India shaking hands and being welcomed by Indian military personnel was... well it was just awesome! It gives hope and reassurance in the inherent goodness of humans and our ability to get along and get past differences when we find common ground.






From there I went to Bangalore where I fell in love, an amazing girl I met last year, finally the time was right to spend some time together. Only staying for a week because I needed to get back to Pokhara Nepal and start making some money. November the tandem business was in full swing and so were Parahawking flights. It was a great time to catch up with friends and share the love of flying with tourists from many countries. Kevin, the Egyptian vulture, has learned and matured over the last year, how lucky am I to have him as a flying partner! 5 weeks later without a day off I was ready to leave Nepal and take a break from flying. I was excited to return to Bangalore to see where this new romance would lead. And for that another post.. soon!