“I can’t fly in a paraglider, because of my fear of heights!!!”
Not surprisingly, we hear that quite often. Really. Very often. Don’t feel at all alone if you have this fear, or perceived fear as the case may be. If you have found your way to this page, you obviously have some dreams of flight, and believe it or not, it’s probably a lot more possible than you think.
Consider this: In our ongoing survey, at least 95% of the people that feel they have a fear of heights, are actually afraid of ‘edges’, or more specifically, from falling off of them. Have you ever flown on an airplane? Did you have a window, or an aisle seat? If you sat by the window, did you look down and enjoy the view? From 30,000′ or more high?!? So really, do you have a fear of heights? Paragliding is quite like that. You feel you are one with the sky, and the fear of the dreaded ‘edge’, or of falling from it, rapidly ‘falls away’ as you experience your first flights.
On the other hand, are you the type that would sit in the aisle of the airplane, shades drawn, never glancing the great view of the mountains below? Don’t worry, there is paragliding hope for you too! There is an entire branch of paragliding that is excellent fun, great exercise, and never gets you much higher than 30′ or so over the ground. (Lower if you like.) One of our favorite former students (now good friend) falls into this category. He doesn’t like heights at all, but dune skimming is what he excels at. Find him at Cape Kiwanda, or at Area B almost any day it’s soarable. Great fun, while still allowing you to experience flying as you have probably dreamed. Some of the best fun in paragliding comes from giving the kids, (and adults), a high five as you fly by them as they cheer you on! Seriously good fun!