Denniston is presented to enhance safe
flying by providing balloonists the
opportunitytogainexperiencefrom others
without actually flying. The column is
edited by George Denniston who is a
doctor and balloonist living in Seattle,
Washington. Articles may be signed or
anonymoustoprotect theprivacy ofthose
involved, as the author wishes. If you
have anexperience thatyou would like to
share with others, send your manuscript
toBalloon Life magazine, Hangar Flying
with George Denniston, 2336 47th Ave
SW, Seattle, WA 98116-2331.
Submissions may be typewritten,
submitted on disk (Mac or IBM format),
or e-mailed to tom@balloonlife.com.
BalloonLife pays$35 for eachstory used.
emptycylinder once again.Sixempties in
arow.Whatisthe messagehere? Durango,
Colorado, ishost annually to 15 balloons
for
itsSnowdownBalloonRally
( www.snowdown.org).Heldthelast
weekend inJanuary, flightsfrom the high
school parking lot are an interestingform
of Montgolfiere Roulette.Each year, it
seems,on oneof thetwoscheduledflights,
someone goes “over the ridge”to a com-
plicated retrieval.
Like many of Colorado’s mountain
towns, Durango lies in a long, deep val-
ley. Cut by the Animas River, it was the
railhead oftheDurangoandSilverton
Railroad, smelting center for one of the
state’sbiggest silverlodes.Anarrow-
gauge train still carries tourists upriver
about 50 miles throughout the summer
season. Inwinter the traingoes onlytothe
hamlet of Cascade, 17 rocky and scenic
miles. South of town, the Animas paral-
lelsthe San Juan River into New Mexico,
Topographically, the Durango area
looks like an hourglass laid on its side.
Widerat thetop and bottom(north to
south), with anarrowchutewhere the
downtown area is built. On either side of
the flightpath, large mesas and “Smelter
Mountain”standseveralhundredfeethigh.
Launching from the high school for
our fifthand sixthtimes, our 1999 flights
followed the usual pattern: low and slow
eastward over the high school building,
thendownonto thewatersof the SanJuan
River. We drifted down river a bit, then
climbed to altitude over town with a final
landing near a fish hatchery the first day
and an elementary school the second.
Routine.
Not so, though, for Joe Portmore, of
Albuquerque.Joe’sflight triggercame
down on theloaded chamber! Drifting
over townearlyin theflight, heclimbedto
anappropriatealtitude(noFAAwaiver in
Durango)and moved toward downtown.
Entering the narrowestpart of the “hour-
glass”he picked up speed and a westerly
drift toward the ridge country west of the
city. In a big-snow year, we are warnedat
thepilotbriefingnottocrossthe ridges, or
to climbup ontoFlorida(flor-ee-dah)
Mesa. Difficultretrieves, unpleasantland-
owner relations, and windy landings are
common intheseareas.Evenin-town
snow. In 1997, we landed ina schoolyard
in town, and it still took 40 minutes to
schlep our gear 100 feet through drifts to
the sidewalk!
To return to Mr. Portmore’s adven-
ture, his flighttook him over downtown,
andhe probablythoughthe’dmove south-
ward toward the “in-town airport”(there
are two; the busiest takes bigger aircraft
and is up on the mesa east of Durango).
Climbing uptoarespectablealtitude,
though,hefoundhimselfgoingover
Smelter Mountainandintothe back coun-
try, which is a wildlife refuge with very
limited access. Landing safely, his chal-
lenge was toget hisballoonoutto a public
road.Fortunately,this wasano-snow
year, so the portage wasn’t all that diffi-
cult.
The onlyother war story ofthe week-
end was Bob Mass’ flight uponto the
FloridaMesa. Hefoundhimself goingtoo
fast for a goodlandingin the valley. With
plenty of fuel and a moderate passenger
load, he traveled almost15 mileson a day
when most of us went less than one! His
landing was simple, the farmer friendly,
and he got back to town without outside
assistance. So,perhapswe allstruckempty
chambersinthisyear’sgoatMontgolfiere
Roulette. There’s always next year...
