FLYING AND SOARING IN THE OWENS VALLEY

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Bishop, and in particular the Owens Valley, has long been home to some of the best soaring in the world. In the late 1940's, a group of pioneering glider pilots, including the late Robert Symons, used a dilapidated building at the Bishop Airport as a base for studying the spectacular Sierra Wave (picture right).

Years later the same dilapidated building would become the center of an active community of hang gliding enthusiasts. Pilots from all over the world came to the Owens Valley to challenge some of the most powerful conditions in the world. Foot launching from the White Mountains in the peak of summer, these pilots would reach altitudes of over 20,000 feet, and some would travel distances of over 300 miles, deep into the Nevada desert.

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