Cloudbase Mayhem Podcast

Gurpreet Dhindsa is India's top ranked pilot, and has been for some time. He is the only certified instructor in the country and has 20 year passionate years in the sport. Gurpreet has been on the podium six times and has been a very integral figure in pushing paragliding in India and has truly given his life over to free flight. In this entertaining episode we discuss the political and bureaucratic difficulties he's experienced as a pilot in India, the importance of being in the moment while flying, how he's recovered mentally after two friend's accidents, the value of struggle, changing strategies in order to learn and now worrying about scores, and how he's learning to fly his own line and why he's chosen to take less risk in competitions. This is a fascinating talk with a fascinating member of our community. Enjoy!

Josh Cohn has been the most consistent competition pilot the US has ever seen. His competition CV reads like Kelly Slaters. Soon after Josh learned to fly at age 16 he has been dominating the US comp scene and has notched up not only state distance records (New Mexico, Hawaii, Texas) but PWC wins, two National Championships and task wins at the Worlds to boot. In this episode we dig into how he's maintained his consistency and passion, accidents, reserve throws, what can be done on non-comp wings, the current state of the CCC class since banning open gliders in 2011 and a LOT more. Josh talks about how he trains, his best and worst flight, best and worst wing, advice he'd give to his 16 year old self after all these years, and how important it is to switch gears- and how you know when to do it.

Thomas de Dorlodot is probably the most enviable pilot in the world. He's made a living out of traveling the world and documenting his expeditions. A 5 time Red Bull X-Alps competitor and Red Bull Athlete Tom started flying when he was 15 years old. He's flown above 7,000 meters in Pakistan, paramotored over the Marquesas in French Polynesia, glided over volcanoes in Guatemala and Tanzania, hucked acro over Victoria Falls and is currently working on sailing around the world. His accolades and accomplishments are too many to even list here, but it hasn't all been a rosy romp through la-la land and in this episode we dive into his two accidents this year, one a major accident during his Adriatic expedition with Paul Guschlbauer and the other that ended his X-Alps campaign on day 7; we talk about how Tom approaches risk; how he plays the sponsorship game; how he prepares mentally and a lot more.

I met Nick Greece in Haiti in 2012. I was living in Morocco trying to figure out how to become a better pilot, and getting an invitation from Nick to fly around in the sky wasn't something I could pass up. Nick has become a great friend and one of my greatest mentors. We have worked together on film projects like 500 Miles to Nowhere, and Malawi and I'm forever trying to figure out how he's always at the top of the stack. In this episode we learn how Nick got started, how 9-11 affected his choice in careers, what brought him to Jackson Hole, his epic 204 mile flight in 2013, winning US Nationals in 2014, why the US Team hasn't done well in the Worlds, and all his own mentors in his own journey to the top.

Mads Syndergaard started paragliding in 1987 and it quickly became his life. He began competing in 1994 and hasn't looked back since. From learning how to soar in Denmark to becoming one of the leading wing designers in the world with UP gliders, Mads has been has been a vocal figure in the comp scene for twenty years. In this episode Mads discusses the mental attitude necessary to win; his thoughts on the dissolution of the Open Class and how we got to the CCC class; the debacle last year with Ozone's Enzo 2; what he calls "priming" your head to fly and a lot more. This is an awesome talk with a living legend and we go DEEP on topics like safety, risk, making good decisions, anarchy and a lot more. Enjoy!

Ben Abruzzo was the guy who turned me into a machine for the 2015 Red Bull X-Alps. My knees are a cartilage wasteland and I'd never done any endurance training or racing in my life. But when I approached Ben about doing the X-Alps he was all-in and had zero hesitation that he could get me there. This episode is kind of an "inbetween-cast" of the usual Cloudbase Mayhem in response to all the myriad of questions we've been receiving about how I prepared for what is billed as the hardest adventure race on Earth. In this episode we go deep on Ben's approach and methodology and what came down to handling not only how to get me ready physically, but how he supported me in the actual race and helped keep my head together.

Nate "Papa" Scales got his first flight in 1991 on a glider that had 11 cells in Sun Valley, Idaho. The next day he moved to Utah to learn how to fly and hasn't looked back since. I've never met anyone as passionate as Nate is about flying nylon and string and he's even more psyched today to go big than ever. We cover a LOT of ground in this hysterical episode. Nate discusses the value of competitions; his only (and very wild) reserve toss; risk and safety; his recent decision to step down to an ENC glider after flying comp gliders for more than 15 years; his "dream" line; learning from failure; and we go way back in time and talk about the days of taking pictures of waypoints before there was GPS; his 2007 X-Alps campaign and much more.

The Cloudbase Mayhem is dedicated to dissecting excellence in flight. We interview the best pilots in the world and find out what makes them great. But in this episode we delve into the opposite end of the spectrum with world class climber, self-described goofball, North Face athlete, film director and producer Cedar Wright, who has recently caught the paragliding bug BADLY. His climbing partners include Alex Honnold, the late Dean Potter and Sean Leary, Tommy Caldwell, Will Gadd and a ton of the Yosemite Camp 4 Original Gangsters of the incredible "Valley Uprising" documentary like Peter Croft and Tommy Caldwell. His stoke and passion for flying is radical and his unique perspective on what makes human flight so special made for a stellar interview that was incredibly fun.

Jeff Shapiro is a world class sponsored athlete and a world class human being. He's flown and competed on hangliders since he was 17 all over the world, he sends 5.14 big wall routes in climbing, he flies wingsuits, rides sport bikes, is a gifted Falconer, and is also a Dad and family man. But don't call him extreme and don't call him an adrenaline junky. Jeff is grounded, thoughtful, eternally grateful to be able to pursue his passions and his approach to risk and danger is something we all need to ponder. In this amazing episode we discuss the incredible numbers of losses in the wingsuiting community the last three years, including his close friends Sean Leary, Dean Potter, and Graham Hunt; an amazing close call flying at King Mountain Idaho a few years back on his Hanglider; how he has flown for more than twenty years without an accident; his own brush with death this year; and if it's possible to justify participating in a sport with such terrible odds, among many other things. Grab a cup of tea or coffe

Really excited about this second episode with one of my mentors in the big XC game, Matt Beechinor, aka "Farmer". When he flew 193 miles in 2012 from Mt Baldy in Sun Valley I decided my choice to move to the Wood River Valley later that summer was about the best decision I ever made. Matt has been flying for almost 20 years, is the best tandem pilot I know, is an amazing instructor, guide, and a Jedi in the air. In this episode we hear about a couple of amazing saves, what the "alien world" is, how Matt approaches risk, how to thermal better and how he has become one of the best gliders in the business. Enjoy!

...with Bill to discuss among other things throwing a rescue, what it takes to fly big lines, modern glider development, the history of the sport, the concept of "bringing it", and a whole lot more.  This episode is PACKED with incredible information. Whether you are a novice pilot getting a taste for your first XC, or an expert who flies vol biv or world cups, there is a lot to be learned here.  Enjoy.