If you can’t see, you can’t fly.
From a frosted field in the Animas Valley, two hot air balloons rose from within a winter fog Saturday morning. Crowds circled the inflating giants as they swayed, bursts of flames swelling them slowly. The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train stopped in its tracks so riders could gaze at the spectacle.
The balloons, however, remained grounded because of limited visibility, said Ken Tandolini, the RE/MAX hot air balloon pilot from Denver. But the show must go on, so Jennifer Greenwood, with her crew from Albuquerque, and Tandolini set up despite the weather.
Local balloon pilot Dough Lenberg helped coordinate this year’s Snowdown Balloon Rally and Mass Ascension and said there is something people enjoy about being around the mammoth aircraft.
“It’s just so nice to get the entire Durango community together,” he said.
Although there was no flying Saturday because of the weather, around 25 crews are hoping to take to the air Sunday.
“We have 25 pilots from four states,” Lenberg said. “This is all supporting Durango. It’s just so much fun to do.”
bmathis@durangoherald.com
