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Ross Desmond

@ross.desmond

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Paragliding, snowboarding, adventure sports… doing things to see how they feel

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Flying the whaleback for the first time with @summer.barham on my @ozoneparagliders Lyght on a beautiful fall day! I still can’t believe how comfortable this wing is, feels like a dream. What a view of Mt. Shasta today! #paragliding #paraglidinglife by @ross.desmond

Feeling full of happiness after a wonderful Euro Adventure!

A few posts incoming featuring:

* all the friends we’ve met along the way
* flying beautiful places
* racing the highest ever ranked SRS event, the Skywalk Edition in Bassano, spoiler 🥈 place!
* a review of the Lyght @ozoneparagliders

I wish I could’ve captured our night dancing Salsa in Barcelona, learning west coast swing in the kitchen of our hostel, having dinner off the grill in Bassano, and the laughter of friends as we missed turns driving because our faces hurt.

Those stories I’ll tell you around a fire and under the stars.

@summer.barham

#paragliding #paraglidinglife by @ross.desmond

@summer.barham and I flying in Grindelwald! Back in the saddle for some fun before the SRS Bassano! Here come the reels :)

#paragliding #paraglidinglife #interlaken by @ross.desmond

Some sled laps giving us the freshies in Montana!

We dug a pit, then sent these beautiful laps

#mountains #ski #snowboard #powder by @ross.desmond

After a day of only taking high probability moves to maintain a spot in the top 5, an opening 3.3km from the end of the race appeared in front of me.

Pilots scattered to search for lift before the drag race into ESS.

I saw a shadow, a faint cloud starting to pop. What luck! It was straight ahead on course and we had a tailwind! While pilots began to go off courseline and get a bit lower, I charged to this cloud. Pilots joined me however they had to divert their current course to follow, giving me seconds of advantage and a tiny bit of height.

That was all that was needed to secure this win, and possibly win the comp.

The adrenaline of this decision, and nearly 3.5 minutes oh saying “oh my, is this really happening, focus Ross” while knowing I’ll still need a small climb to make goal is now a core memory.

#paragliding #paraglidinglife #paraglidingcompetition by @ross.desmond

2026 British Winter Open 🥇 by winning the final task!

Re-live the moment with me, table side, as my name is called to the podium as overall winner to join fellow pilots and friends. Many of the pilots standing up there I’ve admired and learned from over the years, even if it was from afar. I’m honored to have truly played this crazy game of racing paragliders with them.

Thank you @summer.barham for all your amazing support, in and out of the sky.

So happy I was able to share the moment remotely with my family back in Boston, as they’ve been putting up with me talking about paragliding for 9 years!

#paragliding #paraglidinglife #paraglidingcompetition @ozoneparagliders by @ross.desmond

BWO: Task 6, 2nd in Task!

Flying in tough shaded out and weak conditions meant flying fast for the first 20 min, slow for 1.5 hours, fast for another hour, then hit the convergence line and punch it to the finish line!

This day was all about gear changes and control, push when it made sense, but otherwise make sure we left as a group until we made it back to the sun.

Jérôme KÄGI flew incredibly well, winning the task!

So many amazing pilots in these shots, but a few front and center on the camera.

@seb_ospina blue-red
@sendinglife orange-slate
@dylan_mansley orange-white
@belcourtbill lime-white

#paragliding #paraglidinglife @airnomads.paragliding @ozoneparagliders by @ross.desmond

British Winter Open: Task 3 96.6km

Great starting position, slow middle game, and found a groove in the last third of the task to cross End of Speed 2nd, taking 16th this task. A bit of luck and a few good decisions let us catch up with the leaders in the last 35km of the task. Flew the last third with @mtsurveyor who was on one today, flying incredibly well!

The level is high, now this is fun.

@davidmt_chen in the purple white claiming 6th today!

#paragliding #paraglidinglife @ozoneparagliders by @ross.desmond

Task 2: British winter open

These pilots are incredible. What a time turning tight circles with old and new flying friends. After an attempt to fly the mountains and come around the lead I ended up a bit behind, a few choices later back with the lead gaggle. Lots of learnings coming in 1min 45seconds after the lead a bit high (500m) to spare 🤣 what fun!

Featuring @jellyoneil in the start glide

#paragliding #paraglidinglife #roldanillo @ozoneparagliders by @ross.desmond

Piedechinche skies with @summer.barham from last week’s personal tour from launch to Buga antenas and back again.

#paragliding #paraglidinglife #piedechinche by @ross.desmond

Wonderful day running around the sky with friends!

Video featuring @belcourtbill @davidmt_chen @sendinglife @jellyoneil @mtsurveyor

Great to be back in the saddle for a competition!

#paragliding #paraglidinglife #paraglidingcompetition @ozoneparagliders by @ross.desmond

Jump in the passenger seat and run this back ridge with me

Do you see any monkeys in the trees?

#paragliding #paraglidinglife #roldanillo @ozoneparagliders by @ross.desmond