A few oldies from the early days

Southern Okanagan early days

Anarchist Mtn 1975

 Training hill in Kaleden

My buddy Murray Harris ( Seagull ) and myself ( Eagle Cloud ) at Lower Cawston 1977

 Training my Ma 1976

 I believe this to be Barry Howie (Mirage ) 1977

Stewart Midwinter 1977 Glider?

Myself Anarchist Mtn ( Eagle Cloud ) 1977

Keith McKinnon ( 1980 Comet ) one of the first double surface gliders I believe

Grouse Mountain Meet 1976

In late summer 1976, I tagged along with a group of pilots from Calgary (one of whom, cam Wilson, decided along the way to start calling me 'midtoad') for the long drive to Vancouver BC, where the international invitational Grouse Mountain Meet was about to start. I didn't have enough experience to enter as a competitor, but I sure enjoyed watching the pilots and taking pictures. It seemed like all the loyalty of hang gliding was there at the comp. This was the first time I met Larry Tudor, among others.

On the first day, the clouds hung low around the Summit launch, but the sun began to breakthrough in late afternoon. This gave me a great opportunity to capture on film the variety of wings as the pilots launched.

waiting on the ramp

Crowded setup area

Gord Acri plays banjo for Larry Tudor, ?, Gord Savage

Edmontonian Larry Croome resting up

Larry Croome and Birdman MJ-4

Albatross Sail Gliders ASG-21

Swansea HG Corp pilot Jeff Blake and Oly 160

Invermere pilot John Duthie and Phoenix 8

Kaslo, BC pilot Randy Cairns and UP Dragonfly

UP Spyder

Invermere pilot Dean Kupchanko and Oly 140

Australian-made Lancer 4

Electra-Flyer Cirrus 3

A bearded Don Miller advising pilot on ramp

Spectators en masse

Seagull 7 in evening flight

Ottawa-area flying in 1975

Hang gliding really started in the Ottawa Valley when pilot name Bob Johannsen started a school with gliders from Muller Kites. I knew about the sport after reading an article in Esq. magazine in the summer of 1974. At Carleton University, where I was entering second year, I spotted posters advertising lessons for the enormous sum of $35. Somehow I scrounged together the cash and took my first lesson on October 23 call stack year.

By the following summer, I had made several high flights at King Mountain in Gatineau Park but still returned to my training slope at Edelweiss ski hill in Québec when the wind direction was right. Here are some pictures I took at that time of my instructor Chris Mills, who coincidentally was a fellow student at my high school.

Chris Mills flying at Edelweiss ski hill

Chris Mills flying down Intermediate ski run

Chris Mills after launch with his Muller 1817 at King Mtn.

Chris flying out to the LZ below King Mtn.