I just completed my P2 with Redtail Paragliding and it was a fantastic experience from start to…read morefinish. Misha has been remarkably dedicated to ensuring that I have all the skills necessary to be safe from launch to landing. My safety and continuous progression has been his #1 priority. I love that once you are part of the Redtail family, you are part of it for life. I am looking forward to flying with and learning from Misha, Ryan, Dustin, Joe and the rest of the Redtail family for years to come.

Very friendly and knowledgeable. Beautiful setting and a lovely flight! I would definitely…read morerecommend for your first time.

The absolute best in the area. As a student pilot, I couldn't ask for a better mentor. With two…read moredecades of active flying experience, Johannes has completely honed his craft and is a massive wealth of knowledge. While some instructors let bad habits slide, he holds his students to the highest safety standards and corrects mistakes instantly. His instructions are all individualized and held at difference paces. You will not be one of the many students pushed through a mass-produced, assembly-line. If you want to learn the right way from the most qualified person around, this is it. ------------------------------ As for tandem flights, the guy is a bird man!!

The flight itself was fun, but unfortunately, it was very short--just over three minutes. At that…read morelength, the experience works out to more than $100 per minute. I paid for the longer flight option with the understanding that it would still be approximately 15-20 minutes at most, and that if the flight lasted less than about five minutes, a small portion of the cost would be refunded. What bothered me most, however, was the timing. I was originally scheduled for an earlier morning flight, but my departure time kept getting pushed back. When I finally arrived for my flight, clouds had moved in, which impacted the thermals and ultimately the flight duration. Two other people flew ahead of me during the time I was originally scheduled to fly. As a result, I felt like I had been bumped to a later time and, unfortunately, ended up with a much shorter and less enjoyable flight experience because of it. The experience itself was fun, but I was disappointed with how the scheduling was handled and with the overall value given the very short flight time.

I have started learning how to paraglide at the end of last summer. Kay (owner and instructor),…read moreMauri (instructor and bad ass) and now the newest addition Johannes (instructor "make me relax") have been more than supportive and patient with me. Even when I had to take few months off due to my private health issues they were always encouraging me. When the wing I selected didn't work out, they helped me to get a better one just to make sure I will be successful. They said "You have committed to the school, so we are committed to help you succeed!" Wow! When coming to Peak to Peak Paragliding School it is almost like coming to hang out with family. I usually hate to get up early, but this experience is definitely worth the early morning alarm;).

I booked and paid for a trip via their website on 5.1.13 and I still haven't been able to line up a…read moreflight. I even helped Kay trouble shoot an issue with her website. As soon as I booked, it was completely up to me to try and line up the logistics of the ride and I've been emailing for all this time. The hang ups haven't all been their fault as we did have a delay due to my wife dislocating her shoulder, but I can tell you that I have to try and email/call to every time we try to line something up. The last time I tried to line something up, I was passed to John, who emailed me a day he was going out. I immediately emailed back and told him we were working that day but could take off the next day. He never responded. When I booked a hot air balloon ride (with a different company) for my wife and I, I was contacted immediately with instructions on when we'd fly and what we'd do in case of weather delay (which happened and we flew the next day). Not he case with Peak to Peak. I booked and that was about it. I never heard from them until I reached out to them. Even then, I've had to repeat multiple times how many people I paid for and what dates I've paid for. At this point, I feel like I've been completely taken of my money.

This was my first hot air balloon trip and boy was I nervous. I actually have a pretty strong fear…read moreof heights, as in I laid awake for hours the night before sick to my stomach because I was so anxious about this trip. However, I must say, I enjoyed EVERY second of this trip and I would definitely go back if the opportunity ever arises. Adventure Balloon Sports was very professional throughout this whole experience- from the booking to timely follow up email, to clearly locating the crew in the morning, to driving us back from the landing site, to just basic conversation. I was overall very impressed. And, more importantly, our pilot, Colin, seemed very experienced and skilled at his craft. He was more than willing to answer any questions we had about the dynamics of ballooning and was personable while manning his station and giving us an awesome flight. The experience itself was something I'll never forget. We hit 2300 feet that morning and the sites were incredible. The basket was very peaceful and didn't make me nervous at all. I will say though I would not want to be in here with more than 10 people though- it was cramped!! Also, I feel like Adventure Balloon Sports really went above and beyond just the normal experience. They provided a delicious breakfast and coffee set-up when we arrived in the morning and then also had mimosas and snacks when we returned. When considering the importance of profit margin within a business this is definitely something that earns my respect. The staff was young, but very courteous and friendly. The owner Kevin even stopped by at the end of the trip to introduce himself. In conclusion, if you're nervous about a trip, afraid of heights, or just want an awesome memory- call Adventure Balloon Sports!

This was my first balloon ride and let me say that I had high expectations…read more They were definitely surpassed starting with the crew and pilot we were greeted with a warm welcome and some delicious fruit and granola breakfast (how perfect for boulder). When we were ready to launch they got everyone involved which made the experience that much better. Fortunately we picked a day that had beautiful weather so Colin the pilot was able to take us up past 4,000 ft above our launch site.... It was high considering there was nothing between me and the ground besides a wicker basket. Touching down in between some houses and power lines I would say the crew was very talented. I would recommend ABS for any balloon trips.

Selecting a great paragliding school is PARAMOUNT to both your enjoyment and safety in this sport…read more There are a few reasons why I don't recommend this school - and I am an enrolled student there working on my P1 certification. I'll be fair and share both pros and cons. Key things you should look for in a school: 1. They need a designated training hill (nope!) 2. The instructor needs to be skilled pilot (yep!) 3. The instructor needs to be a good teacher/good at explaining things in a manner that the students receive well (nope!) 4. The school needs loaner equipment for all of its P0 students (nope!) 5. Ideally the school should have more than one instructor, but regardless of the instructor count the instructor(s) need good availability and need to communicate clearly on schedules and respond to students (nope!) Pros: - Inexpensive - Ernie's program gives you lifetime access to him for a fee that is roughly the same cost of a single year of lessons from the other schools in Colorado - Location - most of the schools in Colorado are up north of Denver. Many Feathers does a lot of their training on BLM land, often at Kenosha Pass, Leadville, or out in Douglas County. - Accessibility - Unlike the schools up in Boulder, Many Feathers is actually accepting students. Cons: - Ernie takes liberties with the safety rules. USHPA does not allow pilots from flying by themselves before they have their P2. Ernie ignores that and actively encourages his P1 students to fly solo, log the flights, and he counts them towards P2 certification. This is a violation of USHPA rules and eventually someone is going to get VERY hurt (or worse). - This school does not have a training site. That means that you cannot fly at any of the maintained sites in Colorado. Training is on BLM land and has a lot of "things" (sage, cactus, etc.) that will damage your wing over time. - Ernie is a one man shop. On top of that his life is a pretty unorganized and he doesn't communicate well. He maintains a Telegram group to communicate with his students, and as of today he has not replied to or posted a single message in over 8 weeks. Students are reaching out to him to see when he's actually going to do his job and coach, and he has not replied. - Ernie does not have adequate loaner equipment for new pilots. You'll be buying your own equipment before you have the knowledge to know what you want and you'll end up putting the types of wear and tear on that equipment that all new pilots do. The bullet about not having a maintained training hill factors in here as well, because of the wear and tear on the wing. - Ernie doesn't have availability to actually run a school. Ernie has left us new students (several of us are working on our P1 and many other are working on their P2) stranded in our progress. Zero communication in 8 weeks, even though we can all see that he's reading the messages students are posting in Telegram asking him when training is going to occur. In speaking with other students in the program that have been with Ernie for longer than I have, this is apparently the norm with him. He disappears, doesn't respond, and there's no real explanation when he returns. We have missed AT LEAST 15 training days this year where the winds were good, other schools were flying, and Ernie was just nowhere to be found.

From the owner: We provide the highest quality paraglididng instruction in Colorado.read more

I had a great time jumping off the side of a mountain with Greg Kelley of Vail Valley Paragliding…read morelast July! I was in Vail for a wedding and I wanted to do something fun with my downtime. I had never been paragliding before, and the Vail Valley Paragliding website had all of the information I needed to convince me to give it a try. Setting up the appointment with David was very easy, although it seemed a bit strange to meet him at a gas station on the day of my jump (it turns out the landing site is kind of hard to find, and following him from the easy-to-find gas station worked really well). We met the instructors at the landing site, then headed up to the launch site together. Once we got up there, I was paired up with Greg, I got suited up, Greg talked to me about the jump, and we watched a few other tourists take off. Unfortunately, the wind changed directions before it was my turn to jump, and we were not able to jump. I was disappointed, but I respected the company's commitment to safety and agreed to come back the next morning to try again. On the second morning, we drove straight to the landing site the next morning, met Greg, then drove to the launch site. The wind cooperated this time and I was able to jump. Everything happened just the way Greg said it would, the scenery was beautiful, and flying through the sky was an incredible sensation (much to my surprise, I didn't find any of it scary at all). Even landing was easy - except I got confused and fell over, but it didn't hurt and I didn't get tangled or anything. Overall, I had a great experience and I highly recommend Vail Valley Paragliding! I also recommend bringing a friend with a car who can drive you to the launch site, take some photos, and pick you up from the landing site - it just makes things easy :)

ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME Dave and his crew were professional,…read morepersonable, and awesome with the 4 kids (ages 10-15) in our group who wanted to paraglide. Dave and Bobby have over 25 years experience, and Garrett and Greg were fantastic. 3 were first time pilots and the guys helped them understand all the steps and build excitement. Garrett gets a special thank you for helping my daughter who tripped the first two times they tried to take off, and she was the experienced one!

Gave a glider ride for my wife's bday. She is still flying high even after landing!!…read moreWhat a great group of professionals!! A super experience - I'm coming back as I want to go!! And I'm taking the whole family with me!!!

Awesome experience with amazing views of the mountains and Boulder. Our pilot was both funny and…read moreinformative, and Ben is the GOAT!