Cloudbase Mayhem Podcast

World-famous climber turned paragliding addict Cedar Wright returns to the Mayhem to describe...well a bit of mayhem! A year ago I sat down with Cedar on the podcast, who was 6 months into his sky addiction and as we're both in Banff for the film festival we thought it would be fun to find out how this past year has gone. He and his learning partner Matt Segal flew off the highest mountain in Mexico, Pico De Orizaba, which is the centerpiece of Cedar's new film "The Fledglings", in partnership with the North Face and Niviuk.

In this episode I sit down with former British team pilot and 15 year instructor and Alps guide Kelly Farina to discuss his new comprehensive book on paragliding, "Mastering Paragliding." This fantastic read is and A to Z encyclopedia of flying. Many concepts were completely new to me- the 4/90 rule, the Golden Rule of thermalling and gliding, lee side warnings, becoming a "natural", the air mass spectrum and a lot more.

Kari Castle has been flying for 35 years. You name it, she's flown it. Hangliders, paragliders, paramotors, speed wings- her passion for flying began early and she still goes hard. She was winning hang gliding competitions before paragliding was even invented and then when paragliding came around she went ahead and won a bunch of those too. A fraction of her resume is enough to put most of us to shame: 14 national HG championships, 6 national PG championships, 3 world HG championships, multiple distance records, Red Bull athlete, and that's just the beginning. Kari has made a life and a living out of flying and her wealth of knowledge is a tank I try to tap in this great conversation with a true legend in human flight.

Isabella Messenger took a paragliding course in 2007 and quit her job as an IT Specialist after the first day. She's been chasing it ever since. She and her husband and air-Jedi Jamie Messenger spend half their year in the Alps traveling in their camper van and the other half in Nepal flying as much as they can. You name it, Isabella flies it- world cup competitions, acro, vol-biv, tandem. In this inspiring episode we flush out why there aren't more women in the sport, the importance of surrounding yourself with the type of pilot you want to become, what's so special about flying, how pilots develop an "unconscious competence" that can really help in emergency situations, how difficult it can be to return to the sport after a long break, where to do your first vol-biv, how to reduce stress in flying and a LOT more.

On the last day of the World Cup in Sun Valley in 2012 British pilot Guy Anderson disappeared in an area we call "no man's land." Three days later, in a heroic search effort involving thousands of man hours and a very fired up team Guy was found, in no small part due to his own monumental efforts to stay alive. Guy suffered some pretty major injuries but three months later he was flying at the top of the stack at the Superfinal and hasn't looked back since.

Ed Ewing, the editor of Cross Country magazine takes over as show-host and asks Gavin the questions many people have wanted to know about how it all went down on the traverse. We talk about the Red Bull X-Alps, how Gavin's obsession with paragliding started and find out what led to his 6-year pursuit of a dream- to traverse the full length of the Alaska Range by paraglider and foot. We find out what went right, what went wrong, what gear was used, what happened after Dave had to leave, and hear some pretty wild stories of what went down.

What's it like to break world records? How do you win tasks at World Cups? Find out how to train to truly go big from one of our sports most talented and dedicated pilots, Brazilian Rafael Saladini. Rafael discusses strategies and tactics at the world cup level; why the Brazilian team and his mentors are able to send such huge flights with so much style; why he left the sport for seven years and how he rediscovered the passion; how to avoid the "superman" illusion; coming back from accidents and fear; the importance of team and gaggle flying; where he thinks 600 km is possible and a LOT more. This was one of the most fascinating and fun talks we've had on the Mayhem, you're in for a treat!

Bruce Goldsmith has quite possibly more competition flying under his belt than anyone. One of the few pilots who's won in both Hangliding and Paragliding Bruce began flying comps in the mid 80's and capped off over 30 years of success by winning the world championships in 2007 in Australia. He's started or designed for most of the major brands in paragliding (Ozone, Airwave, Advance, etc.) and now heads up Bruce Goldsmith Designs.

Jocky Sanderson literally wrote the book on SIV and training and is one of the most celebrated advanced instructors in the game. In this comprehensive podcast we talk about it all- competitions, modern gliders and what's changed in SIV, is SIV necessary, what's the most important maneuver in your tool kit, what kind of pilots are most likely to get hurt, how to advance with limited time, why accidents happen, when to push and when to back off, when to move up to a higher performance wing, reserves, the importance of confidence and a LOT more. I hope you enjoy this great episode!

Questions include how to become a "professional paraglider", bivvy and expedition tips, how to develop flatland flying skills, the importance of acro skills and ground handling, how to handle emergency situations, how to develop with limited time, how to break through from an "also ran" to a full fledged comp pilot and much more. Hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think!

Will Gadd began his flying career in the early 90's and quickly became one of the most prominent pilots in the world. A Red Bull original gangster, Will is considered one of the best mixed climbers on Earth. He's a world class whitewater kayaker, mountain guide, speaker, author, journalist, expedition leader and is highly regarded for his views on risk management; maintaining a safety margin; his model of the "positive power of negative thinking"; his studied ability to appropriately assess weather and terrain; and his amazing knack to keep pushing the limits in a unique and pure style.

Cody Mittanck set the unofficial Canadian foot launch record ("unofficial" for a very cool reason- listen to find out) last summer, and he's one of a small handful (if there's even a handful) of pilots in North America who's doing the Infinity- as well as everything else. Cody only started flying in 2009 but he's as hungry as it gets and his progression into the elite ranks of pilots in the world has been astonishing

Ondrej only began flying in 2010 but last month he broke the Esfera world record (off-axis Infinity) in Mexico and sends it hard in cross country as well. Not many athletes hit switch so well when it comes to paragliding and in this episode we find out what drew Ondrej to acro initially; how important it is to go well beyond simple SIV courses; why acro is safer than XC; what it's like to be a supporter in the X-Alps- what they have done right as a team and how they plan to improve; how he's made paragliding his life on a $6,000 annual budget (yes, you read that right) and a lot more. Enjoy!

Paul Guschlbauer has become one of the best adventure cross-country pilots in the world and showed his amazing skills this year in the 2015 X-Alps by coming in 3rd place and giving Chrigel a hell of a run for his money. In this episode Paul grants us an intimate view of what he's done right, what he's done wrong, some hard lessons along the way and a lot more like the pressure of making a living from sponsorship. And most importantly- can Chrigel be beaten? Listen to find out.

Veselin ("Veso") Ovcharov is a cross-country and acro ace. A long-time Red Bull athlete Veso was the first Bulgarian to nail the Infinity and has traveled the world perfecting his craft, pushing the limits of what can be done by paraglider. In this episode we travel back in time to find out how Veso got into the sport; the many hurdles he had to jump to become one of the very best (including literally spending the last few cents to his name before signing with Red Bull); how he has approached progression and safety; the difference between acro and cross country (you might be surprised!); and a LOT more.

Aaron Durogati is only 29 years old, but he's already been a world champion, gotten 6th and 7th place in the last two Red Bull X-Alps and has a LONG list of podium finishes. A Red Bull athlete and ambassador for several other brands, the "Italian Stallion" is making a good living in the sport of paragliding and in this episode we dig into how he does it. From learning how to fly at the tender age of 15 we find out how he's approached progression, how he won the 2014 Superfinal in Colombia, how he's been training for the X-Alps (and what he'll change for the next one), what it's really like to fly in the "toughest adventure race on Earth", and ton more. Enjoy!

Gurpreet Dhindsa is India's top ranked pilot, and has been for some time. He is the only certified instructor in the country and has 20 year passionate years in the sport. Gurpreet has been on the podium six times and has been a very integral figure in pushing paragliding in India and has truly given his life over to free flight. In this entertaining episode we discuss the political and bureaucratic difficulties he's experienced as a pilot in India, the importance of being in the moment while flying, how he's recovered mentally after two friend's accidents, the value of struggle, changing strategies in order to learn and now worrying about scores, and how he's learning to fly his own line and why he's chosen to take less risk in competitions. This is a fascinating talk with a fascinating member of our community. Enjoy!

Josh Cohn has been the most consistent competition pilot the US has ever seen. His competition CV reads like Kelly Slaters. Soon after Josh learned to fly at age 16 he has been dominating the US comp scene and has notched up not only state distance records (New Mexico, Hawaii, Texas) but PWC wins, two National Championships and task wins at the Worlds to boot. In this episode we dig into how he's maintained his consistency and passion, accidents, reserve throws, what can be done on non-comp wings, the current state of the CCC class since banning open gliders in 2011 and a LOT more. Josh talks about how he trains, his best and worst flight, best and worst wing, advice he'd give to his 16 year old self after all these years, and how important it is to switch gears- and how you know when to do it.

Thomas de Dorlodot is probably the most enviable pilot in the world. He's made a living out of traveling the world and documenting his expeditions. A 5 time Red Bull X-Alps competitor and Red Bull Athlete Tom started flying when he was 15 years old. He's flown above 7,000 meters in Pakistan, paramotored over the Marquesas in French Polynesia, glided over volcanoes in Guatemala and Tanzania, hucked acro over Victoria Falls and is currently working on sailing around the world. His accolades and accomplishments are too many to even list here, but it hasn't all been a rosy romp through la-la land and in this episode we dive into his two accidents this year, one a major accident during his Adriatic expedition with Paul Guschlbauer and the other that ended his X-Alps campaign on day 7; we talk about how Tom approaches risk; how he plays the sponsorship game; how he prepares mentally and a lot more.

I met Nick Greece in Haiti in 2012. I was living in Morocco trying to figure out how to become a better pilot, and getting an invitation from Nick to fly around in the sky wasn't something I could pass up. Nick has become a great friend and one of my greatest mentors. We have worked together on film projects like 500 Miles to Nowhere, and Malawi and I'm forever trying to figure out how he's always at the top of the stack. In this episode we learn how Nick got started, how 9-11 affected his choice in careers, what brought him to Jackson Hole, his epic 204 mile flight in 2013, winning US Nationals in 2014, why the US Team hasn't done well in the Worlds, and all his own mentors in his own journey to the top.