The Best Way To See the Fall Colors Up Close: From A Glider Cockpit

A glider pilot flies close above aspen, fir, and pine trees as the fall color season is at its peak in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to the west of Boulder, Colorado - you might recognize some of the famous landmarks such as the Flatirons, Sugarloaf Mountain, or Nugget Ridge. In this short video I have tried to capture the beauty of motorless flight at this time of year. I have opted to add music instead of explanations. The music is a title called "Wait for Me" from Aaron Mist from the album Unnecessary City. It is licensed under a Creative Commons license. Aaron's music works quite well for gliding videos. I hope you enjoy it.

The glider is a Ventus 2cxT high performance sailplane from Schempp-Hirth with a wingspan of 18m. The flight was on October 3, 2020 from Boulder Municipal Airport. You may notice that the main runway at KBDU is currently closed for repaving but the glider runway has remained open. This is not the season for long cross-country flights but there were weak yet reliable thermals above the hills. The weather conditions were benign with very light winds, a prerequisite for safe flight so close to mountainous terrain. Please get specific training from your flight instructor before attempting this yourself.