A light storm dumped much-needed rain Friday morning in Southwest Colorado, but it was poor timing for Doug Lenberg, Tristan MacLean and Wade Lee.
The men, along with more than a dozen friends, were expecting to launch hot air balloons in the Animas Valley north of Durango. They came to Durango for the fifth annual Animas Balloon Rally. And while the winds were just right for flying, MacLean said low clouds blocked visibility, and moisture can damage an insulated coating on the fabric of the balloons.
“We are always weather-permitting,” he said in a Dalton Ranch event room buzzing with voices and laughter from dozens of people. “Every pilot here would rather fly.”
Lucky for a few pilots, the sky cleared between storms, Lenberg said. Four hot air balloons flew for about 30 minutes from the launching field just north Dalton Ranch to an open space near the bluffs west of County Road 203. Air blew south-southwest Friday morning, something Lee noticed when someone released a helium-filled party balloon used to determine wind direction.
Lee said he knows how to fly hot air balloons, but he’s not licensed. So instead, he “chases,” meaning he follows pilots in a truck to pick them up wherever the wind puts them. He’s been working with balloonists since 1985 and traveled coast to coast chasing them.
But Friday was his first time in the Animas Valley. He knew weather wouldn’t permit flying, but it’s always good to get an idea of what the area looks like and how to navigate it, Lee said. There are just two bridges over the Animas River in the balloons’ flight path – Trimble Lane (County Road 252) and 32nd Street, for example.
Lenberg has flown balloons for decades; he taught MacLean, who has flown the Animas Valley about 30 times in the past three years. The region’s topography creates unique airflows that follow the Animas River through the valley, Lenberg said. He has taken advantage of the weather patterns in the past and dropped the bottom of his basket into the river while the wind guides him along the water’s path, he said.
“We have such a wonderful venue. We couldn’t ask for a more beautiful setting,” Lenberg said. “I can’t put words to it – it’s just magical.”
bhauff@durangoherald.com
Saturday’s outlook
Tristan MacLean said conditions should be perfect for ballooning Saturday morning in the Animas Valley, with air pushing south at low elevations early and north at higher elevations as the valley warms, creating a loop, or “box” in ballooning lingo, that pilots can ride back and forth.
