Doing Stuff Outdoors-48

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We're going to take you paragliding on this edition of DSO. I know I said I was finished with snow for a while but I couldn't resist running this feature. When I was skiing at Panorama Mountain in British Columbia back in March I came across a group of paragliders. They were holding their annual Easter Paragliding Festival. I hung around and watched for a while and got talking to the organizer Max Fanderl. He was born in Germany and came to Canada in 1992. This guy lives for flying and he flies everything... airplanes, gliders, ultra-lights, hang gliders and of course paragliders. They're those things that look like a cross between a parachute and a kite. In the winter they take off on skis and in the summer they just run and jump off mountains. I had an interesting conversation with Max at the launch site on the mountain, about the sport, the appeal and the risks involved. We also talked to Max about his upcoming participation in the X-Alps, said to be one of the toughest Adventure Races in the world. (Look for this paragliding feature as an HD Video segment of Doing Stuff Outdoors in the fall)

We'll also have more of your comments about the program and about outdoor things. Roman from the Lighthiker's World blog sends along a nice note and Anthony Jones of Anthony's Audio Journal sends us an audio comment. We've thrown in a great cut of podsafe music from Blake Morgan. I've also started a Twitter account. It's called 'doingstuff'. I couldn't fit the word 'Outdoors' into the title. Anyway... don't know much about all this social networking stuff but I though Twitter might be a good way to keep in touch with listeners and a way for you to let me know what you're up to in the outdoors. So follow me and I'd like to follow you on Twitter.

You can also call your comments in to the comments line at 206.600.4557. Email me at [e-mail] or leave a comment on the webpage at doingstuffoutdoors.com. Next time on the show we'll tell you about a new program designed to protect and preserve wilderness areas called 'The Big Wild'.