We call a helicopter at the local airport to drive the rest of our friends and a box of whisky here. The pilot is willing but he asks who will pay for it. A stickler! He doesn't understand our feelings at all. Oh well, there will be no whisky. And those who didn't reach, they are unlucky people. Maybe next time. Six of us reached the goal and two of us didn't. Two hours full of emotions. Talk about being happy! Happiness which I've felt never before. It's a different happiness, our own one! If we could measure this, it would certainly have the highest value. Definitely!



    An adrenalin level dropped down slowly. We pitch a tent which Jim brought from Nepal. It's spacious enought to accomodate all of us.



    We relish a fascination of mountains very slowly. The sun goes down and our feelings enhance.



    Everybody is experienced enough but this is completely different. There are almost all of us here - paragliding friends. Friends and from today forever. We made it! It's a magnificence. 'Here we are,' we repeat all the time. And it's not enough yet. We make calls home.



    'We are here and alive,' we tell our wives. But how to describe all of that we are living out just now? It's impossible. But Zdenek doesn't look happy.

'Zdenek, what's the matter?' I ask him.
'Fire! Okanagen is on fire!' Zdenek informs us gloomily and unpacks his paraglider.
'What? What is on fire?' I urge him.

    The whole Okanagen, where Zdenek has been living, is on fire. Everything is on fire, in a distance of 600km roughly from our newly discovered paradise. Trees and houses. What to do now? The sun is gone and the darkness fell.

'Do you want to fly?' I ask Zdenek again.
'I must fly!' Zdenek flaps.

    He didn't fly at last! There is no reason. What has to burn down, burns completely. Regardless of your presence. Everybody agrees. And they are right, it's far from here. If the situation became really bad, his family would be evacuated long time ago. And it wasn't so bad!

    We cook dinner. Everybody gives all. We don't have much. And we don't need much. As they say in the theatre of Jara Cimrman - we were so full of impressions that nothing else could fit into us. Some rice but not much and a small piece of a cheese. A cigar as the afters. And to sleep.

    The morning is beautiful. We have a rest of dinner for breakfast. I didn't like a cigar very much. Pack up and go for it! Our today's goal is to land in that place we took off yesterday. We have cold beers inside our cars and food as well. The beer is an engine for today! We take off like skydivers.





    No nerves, loads of experiences. Nothing else matters. This is the good flying now. We can fly further but we remember our beers! Everybody wants to speak about his experiences, impressions and feelings. Let's go home to the taking off point where it all began yesterday. Suddenly everything goes very well. As if the route would run down the hill.




    Everybody reached the point successfully. The house of Zdenek didn't burn down at all. We give a great party in the house of Jim and exchange photographs. It was absolutely worth seeing! And next time?

'We will make tandem flights,' I say softly. A silent. Toplanding on the top of Copper Hill with tandems?
'Oh well, I'll go,' I say goodbye to boys and a new plan is created in my mind already.

    I've never go from Pemberton to North Vancouver as long as this day. Because I was very tired of flying and totally filled with experiences. It was one of those paragliding weekends in Canada again!