Paragliding with Bill Nikolai.
When you look up as your driving by Bridal Falls and see all the colourful para-gliders above, don’t you secretly wish you had the courage to do it? I have thought that many times.
Both my kids and I were driving home from the Okanagan when we saw a para-glider who looked like he was spinning out of control. We believed we were about to witness a crash, and then he just effortlessly started to swirl up again! I am still not over the thought that I might of had to pull over and use my first aid. I am also hoping for the gliders sake that it was just a ‘move’. Wayyy too much adrenaline for this cougar! I might consider adding ‘tandem para-glide’ to my Bucket list, but as an everyday occurrence, nope.
This is my friend Bill Nikolai, he is one of those really well rounded people that does just about everything ending in ‘ing’. Paraglid-ing, scuba div-ing, hik-ing, bik-ing, runn-ing you get the picture, super athlete! He is a really talented Actor, Stunt Performer, Photo Double and has doubled Richard Dean Anderson since I have known him. He has a day job as well which involves lots of books, knowledge and libraries. (no wonder you were so good at the crossword puzzle!) He is always doing things that involve travel and adventure. I was creeping his facebook page when I saw this video. At first I didn’t know if it was Bill in the video, it is.
Bill told me that while he was up boating around there was another pilot stuck up a tree nearby about 100- 150 feet! The Search and Rescue were waiting at the landing area ready to help him out of his predicament. Bills video was shot with a Flip Mino HD camera mounted on the underside of his para-glider with Velcro and a Ziploc freezer bag. Editing done in iMovie HD (quick and dirty). This is the first time he’s used this technique and probably not the last. The flight was on September 13, 2009 at Bridal Falls, BC, Canada.
A couple of Bill’s buddies are participating in a climb of Aconcagua (the highest mountain in South America). They hope to fly from the top. If anyone cares to follow their progress or donate, the blog is at: Climb for Prostate 2009
Living life is what it’s all about! Thanks for sharing Bill ! xo
Tracy Westerholm
"Exploring the never-ending desires that fuel all life, while finding lyrical beauty in everyday happenings."
3 Comments
B.
You’re makin’ me blush … Seriously – you gotta try this Tracy – you’ll never look at clouds the same way again!
Bonnie Johnson
Wow! That was awesome! So glad I was able to get a glimpse of what it’s like from the comfort of my chair though. Not sure if I could do it, but I’m envious of those who do. What freedom!
LOVED the music you chose to accompany the piece too Bill!
Thanks for sharing this!
jacquie
I think it would be interesting to strap a heart monitor on Bill next time he shoots a video like this. My chest got a little tight just watching, especially when the highway was directly underneath his flight path! It’s so much fun to see how other people get their kicks. Seeing the earth from that vantage point is something I’ll never experience except through videos like these, so thank you for putting it out there. Peter Sellers said it best in Being There ~ “I like to watch”. : )