A year ago this week . . . .

I smashed into the North Side of Point of the Mountain, Utah after messing up an acro trick, resulting in 2 broken legs, a broken back, and shoulder. The speed with which I hit was great, and if it wasn't for hitting my legs first, I wouldn't have survived. Other acro guys with similar accidents - and even less severe ones! - are no longer here. For a reason I've only figured out recently . . . . I'm still alive.

Really, I should be dead.

Now look, I'm not going to write a survivor's story. It's not like I ran into a burning building, saved an entire family and their dog, and suffered 3rd degree burns all over my body for my efforts. I'm an acro pilot and what happened comes with the territory. While I hope it never happens again, there's a chance it easily could. I'm still doing acro at Mussel Rock and I accept all the risks that come with it. If I have another accident, I only have myself to blame.

That said, no matter what the cause, accidents happen. While it can happen to anyone at any time, not every one will experience it. For those who have, what becomes crucially important is how we choose to react to what's happened. As the platitude goes . . . . it's times like these when we find out what we're made of.

Well, I don't know exactly what I'm made of, but all I know is that I was lucky enough to not experience any brain damage. So, I had the opportunity each and every day to choose how I'd react to what was going on which, most of the time, wasn't very fun. (Won't go into detail, but let's just say that I'm very happy that I can pee on my own!) As I said in a recent interview for Cross Country magazine, the absolute key to my recovery was choosing to be positive every day and doing things to continually improve my situation. I felt this was the only way to hasten my recovery, to appreciate the help from the nurses & rehab staff at Intermountain Health who took daily care of me, and to honor my friends and family who were keeping me in their thoughts.

As I think back to this time last year, what comes up is how my recovery at the hospital was the most difficult experience of my life. What made it easier was knowing that many people in the paragliding community (in the US and from my acro buddies in Europe) were rooting for me, especially some of those in the Bay Area Paragliding Association who had generously donated to help with my medical bills . . . . thank you so much.

The reason I'm writing today isn't to recognize how far I've come; rather, I want to publicly thank a few people who helped me the most at the darkest time of my life. Without them, I wouldn't have made it through as well as I did:

Adam Porcino & Misti Timpson - they were my PTs at IMC and re-taught me how to walk. The most triumphant moments in my life were with them - standing up for the first time, walking 6ft, then 10, then 25, then 50, then 100 . . . . and walking those f*ing stairs! You guys pushed me every day even when I used to drop the f-bomb on you . . . . it's because of your commitment and belief in me back then that I made it and was able to accomplish what I've done in paragliding in 2010. Thank you for giving me my life back.

Irene Smith - she was the nurse in charge of my recovery program. Each morning I asked who was going to be my nurse and was always delighted when Irene was assigned to me. She was always pleasant and one of the main reasons why I remained positive every day - she and her staff deserved nothing less. I hope you enjoyed taking care of me as much as I loved being taken care of by you.

Sabrina Krewin - we started dating about a month before the accident and then broke-up in November. She was there on the mountain right after I crashed and saw my broken body - filleted legs and all. I remember telling her, since we had just started dating, that if she wanted out, it was okay with me as something like this would be too much for ANYONE to deal with. But, she stuck by me and not a day went by that I didn't see her. Even though we didn't work out, Sabrina, I want you to know that I wouldn't have made through without you. In our short time together, I hope you felt loved, cherished, and respected.

Loren Cox - he and I started flying at Mussel Rock right around the same time in 2005, and have been good friends ever since. Even though he had suffered his own accident a few months before me and was still in crunches and a back brace, Loren took care of many things for me, especially in my first week in the hospital. He was not only there for my most painful and most triumphant moments in my recovery, but was also there when I learned to paraglide and got into acro - at my darkest moment (my accident) and my greatest (making the first American Infinite Tumble). I consider you a brother, Loren, and will be always be there for you whenever you need me . . . . always.

Vendie Dasalla - that's my mom. While we're not super close, I learned so much more about her when she came out to stay with me for a month at the Point after I was discharged from the hospital and convalesced at a friend's. It must've been very hard for her to see her son so broken when I was in the hospital, and I can only hope she feels proud of me since I've made my way back. She's never seen me do acro in-person (maybe never will) and will probably never understand exactly what I do up there. But to her credit, she has never discouraged me from doing what I love even though it could easily kill me. Forgive me if I can't say this to your face, but I want you to know, Mom, that I love you very much and you are the greatest woman ever known to me. If I can be half the person you are, I will have lived a life fulfilled.

I said earlier in this post that it was only recently that I figured out why I survived when I shouldn't have. In fact, I view my accident as sort of an inflection point, a moment that marked where one life ended and another one began, bringing me to the last person I want to acknowledge . . . .

Jinju Schroy - she and I just met in early August 2010 at, of all places, Mighty - the club I frequent once a month with the guys. I NEVER meet anyone of any significance at a club, but when I learned that she and her best friend went to Mussel Rock that day to "check out a local beach" (they were visiting from Denver), I was obviously floored and knew I had to learn more about her. (For those who don't know . . . . NO ONE goes to Mussel Rock except paragliders, locals walking their dogs, fishermen, or high school kids smoking weed . . . . tourists would NEVER go there!) I believe things happen for a reason and felt it couldn't have been simple coincidence when I turned to her and said, "So . . . . I heard you're from Denver." The Universe was definitely at work. Well, as it turns out, Jinju and I were meant to meet that night and even though we live in different cities, we are now emotionally inseparable.

Before the accident, I never really saw myself being a husband and a father. While in the hospital, realizing how short life is (I know . . . . another platitude), that obviously changed. Friends have told me that when you meet the right one, time doesn't matter, and that "The One" is The One regardless if you met 10 days or 10 years ago. Geez . . . . were they right!

Jinju, you are the greatest love I've ever known. I feel truly lucky to have met you and I can't imagine my life without you. I see my 2nd life with you as husband, father, lover, partner, soulmate, and best friend. You are, without a doubt in my head, heart, or soul . . . . the reason I survived my accident. I love you more than you'll ever know.

Okay, I'm done.

Thanks for taking time to read my post, guys - hope it wasn't too sappy! But, I'm allowed to be emotional once and a while, right? In closing, I've attached a video I took of myself a week after the accident. I meant to send it out back then to thank everyone for their well wishes, but for some reason, didn't. Only 2 people have seen this before so maybe it's right I show it now . . . .

To living life to its fullest with no regrets,
Nova

Little Wins

Coach Lanier used to tell us at the end of every little league baseball game, "You guys did great! You hustled out there! You ran out every ball! You played hard every inning! You should be proud of yourselves for what you've accomplished! You guys got some little wins today!"

And even though we just got slaughtered 18-0, the game ended in the 4th inning due to the "mercy rule", and poor little Colin Herbert got run over by Billy Burton from Holy Name while trying to protect home plate, there was definitely some wisdom in what Coach Lanier said that day many years ago.

How does this apply to today?

I'll get to that soon - just keep reading. But first, let me re-cap what's happened in the last few days.

On Wednesday, we did the 2nd run for solo. The judges had us do a restricted, free program for the solo which meant we were allowed to chose our maneuvers but they could only appear once. (In an announced program of 5 tricks, pilots will typically put "Tumble left, tumble right, assymetric SAT, helico left, helico right" to garner max points but also to cover for deficiencies in their repertoire.)

My program:

1) Tumble - I've been in a groove with this one, getting 180 over the wing every time - got a bad collapse while the wing was underneath me on the 2nd turn but I exited nicely
2) Rhythmic SAT - took a chance with this one and it didn't pay off as I got a nasty collapse which ended in a cravatte. Felix was also having the same problem.
3) Twister - haven't done this one since Paranoia last summer
4) Helico-to-SAT - a staple in my program that I usually do well, but I missed it this time
5) Helico - I used the energy of the SAT to do a Misty Flip that I changed to helico - got the highest points I've every received for a trick (88)

Because I got a horrible score for the Rhythmic and a low score for the Helico-to-SAT, I finished 16th for the day which put me 13th overall.

On Thursday, we had a day off which was welcomed by all of us. I went to see Chad Bastian compete in microlights but totally missed it. Sorry Chad!

That night, we finally got a proper poker game going other than the heads-up game (one-on-one) Pal and I were playing every other day. I knew there were some pilots who wanted to play but I didn't think actually would, so I was surprised when Antoine quietly asked, "Nova, we play tonight?"

When Pal & I got the chips out for the 10E minimum buy-in No Limit Hold 'em micro stakes cash game at the table sat me, Gabor, Felix, Antoine, Horacio, Hernan, (first timer), Cyrille, and Pal. This was a lot of fun and if you must know who won the most, let's just say that Kid Nova made an easy 30 euros. (Gabor actually won the most when he bluffed me out of a big pot . . . . I really hate it when he does that.)

Back to the point of this post.

So what did I accomplish today? What little wins did I get?

Well, macrocosmically (love that word), I took 10th for the day which I'm pretty proud of considering the level. Microcosmically (another word on the love list), it gets better.
My Tumble (88) was only one point below Felix's and I think our SAT-to-Helicos were the same (88). My Twister score (84) was higher than Pal's which just absolutely astounds me. For the first time, I scored at least 80 in 3 tricks. (Scoring in the 80s is really good as one judge told me.) I have so much respect for their acro that for me to be at the same level as them - or beat them! - even for just a few tricks in single run, is absolutely HUGE.

Overall, I finished 13th in solo which was short of my goal of being in the top 10, but I accomplished one unexpected milestone . . . . I've broken the belief barrier on what's possible for me in acro and that I can be a threat in these comps especially for the World Championships in 2010.

Thanks, Coach, wherever you are.

Day 5 - June 10, Wednesday morning

The day started off great as I got a very nice compliment over breakfast from someone whom we all consider the "godfather of acro". Out of nowhere, he said, "I watched your synchro run yesterday and your tumble was beautiful - it looked like how we do it when we make the Infinite." Whoa!

Then, as we watched this tumble on video, he gave me a key tip on how to keep the wing going to infinite which prompted the comp leader to say jokingly, "Man, don't help the enemy!"

Maybe all the practice I make at Mussel Rock, all the money I've spent in towing, and all the time I spend visualizing my tricks is paying off and being noticed by my acro peers?

Lately, my other-than-paragliding-life hasn't been the greatest with many disappointments and heartaches. On this morning, though, I felt absolutely amazing.

Too bad the day didn't end there! : )

WAG 2009 - 1st 4 days

After arriving late on Friday evening on June 4th, Saturday was a day of catching sleep, reacquainting with friends, and realizing I was actually in Italy. So strange this travel thing, isn't it? 18 hours ago, I was saying good bye to my cat, Tama, back home in Pacifica . . . . and now I'm at the Hotel Ninfa in Avigliana, Italy.

Bizarre.

On Saturday evening, we attended the opening ceremony held at the center square of Torino. At first, I had no idea whom I'd walk with as I couldn't find any Americans nearby, but then my Norwegian friend, Pal, grabbed me and said he was standing behind some. So, I ended up walking with Chad Bastian and the rest of the US Microlight team. Having no idea of WAG's publicity, we expected it to be some little procession of air sport athletes grouped by country with some photographers here and there. Surprisingly, there were a LOT of folks watching this ceremony!

The first day of competition on Sunday was an exciting and stressful one for us. It's exciting because it's the first one of the year, but also stressful because we're doing d-bag helicopter launches. (It's also exciting, too.) If you've never done one, just imagine jumping backwards off a helicopter with your wadded up paraglider, stuffed in a manner it wasn't meant to be stuffed, freefalling and waiting for it to open cleanly in a way that it wasn't meant to be opened, hoping that all the lines that just got stuffed don't get tangled, while trying to ignore the very real existence of prop wash, and - oh yeah! - praying that the one reserve you packed will work if it all goes to shit . . . . this is what we get to experience every day!

SWEET!!!!

And oh, don't forget, after all this, we then have to remember our routine and deal with the pressure of performing perfectly (nice alliteration) in a world-class acro competition.

YEAH!!!! I feel very lucky to be here!

With the first solo task on Sunday, the competitors would get an announced run of 5 maneuvers. Here's what I did and the points out of 100 I received:

1) Tumble (76)
2) Helico - left (71)
3) Helico - right (71)
4) Helico-to-SAT (79)
5) Misty Flip (60)

With this, I finished 12th for the day. While not-so great out of 20, considering that 11 of the world's very best acro pilots are here, I'm not-so disappointed with my placement. I think I will replace the Misty Flip w/the SAT-to-Helico as I have the same chance of making it but with a higher difficulty rating. If I can make cleaner runs from here on out and just do what I do, I think I can make the top 10. It's definitely a stretch, but there's a chance. (For general competition coverage, go here.)

Monday's task was cancelled due to rain. For today, Tuesday, I did my first competitive synchro run with my Norwegian friend, Pal Rognoy. It was a great experience since I'm not-so focused on synchro at the moment, but more importantly, it's always good to get another helico drop and practice more acro. Our run was terrible, but I was SUPER happy with my tumble as the entry AND exit was very nice which is another piece in the puzzle that brings me closer to making more tumbles towards the Infinite very soon.

I'll post a video of one of my runs when I get back home as the upload speed for a video 0f 16 seconds - even at 12:40 a.m. - can take 30 minutes. (A video of my run is about 4 min.)

It's late now and we have an early briefing at 9 a.m. to try and get a solo and a synchro run in.

I'll post again soon!

Home sweet home!

Even though I arrived last Wednesday in the midst of a financial collapse and still feeling some jet lag . . . . it's great to be home. Reality's set in, however, as I've been interviewing already and will most likely be working with some company soon that provides SaaS or Web 2.0 technologies. Yeah, I can hear the "ughs", but I'm actually looking forward to getting back to work, believe it or not.

But what a summer I've had, man . . . . too many things to list now but I'll write about them in a future post.

For sure, it was a once in a lifetime experience, as they say, since it's doubtful I'll do it again in 2009.

Thanks to all of you who took the time to read my posts and have encouraged me along the way.

(Don't forget to check the Ozone team blog as I've just put some pics up there, and - yes I know! - I'll put all the good pics on Flickr.)

Special thanks, of course, goes to Ozone for providing the best paragliders on earth, to Coveritallco for giving me THE best travel backpack EVER (http://www.ogio.com/product.php?product=573), and to SFBAPA and Tim Sirianni who both individually contributed to my little trip.

Lastly, I want to thank Ayumi for supporting me and encouraging me to follow my dreams . . . . now it's your turn!



After my last flight in Europe - acro show at Coupe Icare.

Lake Como

Earlier this week, Ayumi and I spent all-day Monday touring all the towns around Lake Como via Ferry, including Bellagio. I've been to a few lakes in Italy and I thought Como would be the same but - I have to say! - there's something definitely special about it. I don't know if it's the history of who used to live there or the present of who lives there now, but it's more beautiful, colorful, and majestic than any lake I've been to.

If you ever come to Northern Italy, you must see Lake Como.

Because I didn't do a great job of arranging a hotel for us (probably b/c they're all ridiculously expensive), we ended up staying in a hostel in Menaggio. Other than the tiny showers and having to share a room with another couple for a night, it was great, cheap, AND had an awesome view.

After dropping off Ayumi at Malpensa the next morning, I headed to Verel/Chambery, France, which is where I am now. I've spent the last 2 days flying w/Lou Marck at Verel - what a great site to train acro. Launch is at 905m and LZ's around 330m - if you can get to 1000-1100m, you'll have enough height to do infinites, which is what these guys do all the time. Then you bench back up using ridge or thermal lift - and this doesn't even include the additional 500 - 600m you'd get off the mountain behind it on the good days!

The lower bench reminds me of Mussel Rock, just 300 m higher . . . . I'll post some pics, along w/a hundred others, when I get home.

I've been at a McDonald's for the last few hours. If there's one good thing about them (at least in France) is that they all have free WiFi, which is great for a loser like me who can't stay disconnected for more than a few days.

Tonight I will head to the Ozone house at St. Hilaire which is where I'll be staying the next 4 nights during Coupe Icare. Even though this is my first time to this most famous flying festival, I'm not entirely excited. While I get to take part (I think) in the acro show they'll have a few hours every day and I'll see the various festivities and manufacturers, l'm NOT looking forward to dealing with so many people for 6 hours/day.

Yeah . . . . I know . . . . what am I crying about, right?

Ciao Interlaken!

Tonight's my last night in my European home-away-from home.

I wish I could say that Interlaken blew me a farewell kiss with great weather the last few days but that definitely wasn't the case. Instead, we got the first "winter storm" of the year with an expected snow level of 1800 meters . . . . that's only 200 meters above Murren where just a few days ago I was launching in a t-shirt and knicker pants!

What the f--k am I still doing here?????

I feel bad for Ayumi. The first part of her vacation here was spectacular and picturesque; however, the second part had her wishing for the warmer weather of northern Pacifica! Yep, it's f--king cold here right now - be thankful you're in 65 degree Bay Area weather.

We're not even supposed to be in Interlaken right now. We were supposed to be in Monte Generoso, CH for an acro training camp over Lake Lugano, which is right on the border to Italy. This was organized by an FAI judge, Claudio Cattaneo, whose trying to give exposure to his site. I was really looking forward to trying some Infinites from the Rhythmic SAT, but because of the forecast for 1200% chance of rain, he had to postpone it for another 2 weeks.

So, Ayumi and I are heading straight to Lake Como tomorrow for a few days, then she leaves on Tuesday morning for SF. After I drop her off at Malapensa airport, I head to France to hopefully fly Verel for a few days with Lou Marck (Cyrille Marck's brother), before going to Coupe Icare.

My trip is coming to an end, and honestly, I'm glad. In fact, I wish I could leave with Ayumi on Tuesday! I'm really tired of camping and not having the comforts that I have at home. In addition, I really miss flying at Mussel Rock! I know that sounds crazy, but even with all the places I've trained at in Europe - and I've been to almost all of the top places! - "The Dumps" is still my favorite!

While I'll never get the height like in Europe, with the exception of Organya, there's no other place where you can fly for 6 hours straight and get 30 - 40 refills in smooth air!

Actually . . . . I'm full of sh*t.

Mussel Rock sucks.