Cloud 9 Toys
Cloud 9 Toys
Paragliding, Speed Flying, Power Kiting,
Snow Kiting & Kitesurfing in Utah
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Website: www.paragliders.com Address: 12665 Minuteman Dr #1 Draper, Utah 84020 Contact: Phone: (801) 576-6460 |
Learn to Paraglide:
The Cloud 9 Paragliding School
Ask any of our hundreds: the Cloud 9 Paragliding School is utterly dedicated to creating the perfect learning experience for our students. Our staff of instructors is composed entirely of pilots who love teaching as much as they love the sport — and that’s saying something.
We are the nation’s largest paragliding school, and that distinction carries with it many benefits for our students: for example, Cloud 9 Paragliding is the only school in Utah to offer both morning and afternoon lessons 7 days a week, year-round. (Don’t worry about the cold: winter is an excellent time to learn to paraglide!) The expansive Cloud 9 Store is another benefit: we’re dealers for many brands of paragliders and accessories, so we’re able to offer the best prices possible to our students when they’re ready to pick up their own gear.
What To Expect:
The morning of each lesson we will meet at the Point of the Mountain to plan each day’s activities. Meeting times vary depending on the time of year. Morning lessons go from just after sunrise for around 3 hours (or in the event that weather conditions shut us down). Afternoon lessons usually begin 3 hours prior to sunset and end when the sun goes down.
It’s important for each student to:
– Bring plenty of water and food
– Wear long pants and ankle-supporting boots/shoes
– Gloves and extra layers are nice to have on cooler days
– Call ASAP in the event of lateness or cancellation
The Cloud 9 school teaches paragliding year-round. Training begins with basic ground school, then quickly moves to canopy control (kiting) skills. Soon we move down the mountain to the “bunny hill” and work on launching and landing techniques on a gentle slope. Many lessons end with an hour of review, theory, and simulator work at the shop located 5 miles from the training site. Once you have mastered these basic skills (usually by the second lesson), you’re ready to fly off the top of the hill and are on your way to mastering the art of flying with the birds.
Ready To Sign Up? Of Course You Are!
A deposit holds your spot. Upon receipt of your deposit, we’ll send you a training manual and an info packet that covers additional knowledge you’ll need to being. Cloud 9’s open scheduling system means that you can come out to learn as often as you like! Often, out-of-town clients stay close to the Point for a week to 10 days and are able to complete the entire basic certification program in one trip.
Cloud 9 students get a special rate when they book the local Ramada Inn for their visit to Salt Lake City.
Tandem Paragliding:
A Wing Built For Two
Tandem flights are a great introduction into the sport, or just something exciting to do (similar to skydiving or bungee jumping, only the rush lasts for the entire flight — and you can be in control). Tandems are also useful for beginner and intermediate pilots to brush up on skills, maneuvers, or thermaling technique.
Tandem flights are the sweet result of a simple recipe: a wing large enough to hold two people, an instructor and a passenger. Each person is seated comfortably in their own harness which are attached together, with the passenger in front and the pilot right behind.
Once this configuration is soaring, the pilot can easily talk to the passenger and explain how to control the paraglider. If the conditions are right and the passenger is willing, the pilot may turn the controls over to the passenger and let them experience what it is like to fly an unpowered craft. Bring your camera, because this is an experience you won’t ever forget! Tandem flights usually last around 30 minutes.
We offer tandem flights 7 days a week year round both in the mornings and evenings. You’ll notice a price difference, and here’s why: evening tandems are held on the North Side of the Point of the Mountain Flight Park, which has a tendency to be a bit more extreme (with altitude gains of 2000 feet or more possible on some days.)
Learn to Snow (and Buggy!) Kite:
Cloud 9’s preeminent pilots — Steve Mayer, Jake Walker, Mike Steen and other guest instructors (depending on travel schedules) — teach brand-new pilots how to get started (and experienced pilots how to kick it up a notch).
What equipment Cloud 9 provides:
Cloud 9 supplies a kite, helmet and harness to all students that need one. The shop carries a massive line of rental and retail gear for student use and purchase — Ozone, Cabrinha, Naish, North, Best, Crazy Fly, HQ, Liquid Force and beyond. For kite-buggy learners, we provide the buggy.
What the student needs to bring:
Students must supply their own skis or snowboard, and wear weather- and sport-appropriate clothing to the lesson. Students learn much faster on skis than snowboards; if you do both, start with skis! It’s a good idea to bring snacks and water, too.
What you may expect to learn:
Cloud 9 covers snow- and buggy-kiting skills from top to bottom in each class. You may expect to learn kite safety, the wind window, emergency procedures, up-wind riding and more in your first lesson. For advanced lessons, we cover jumping and stunts.
Cloud 9’s teaching locations:
Cloud 9 holds lessons at a variety of sites around beautiful Park City, UT. Lessons are also held at other sites within an hour and a half drive from SLC if weather conditions are more favorable. Kiting, of course, is possible wherever ample space, wind — and, if appropriate, snow coverage — coincide.
Time commitment:
Generally, new students can figure out the basics of snow kiting in 1-2 lessons — enough to be safe and have fun. Each half-day lesson lasts approximately 3 hours.
Cloud 9 students get a special rate when they book the local Ramada Inn for their visit to Salt Lake City.
Learn to Water Kite:
Cloud 9’s preeminent pilots — Steve Mayer, Jake Walker, Mike Steen and other guest instructors (depending on travel schedules) — teach brand-new pilots how to get started (and experienced pilots how to kick it up a notch).
What equipment Cloud 9 provides:
Cloud 9 supplies a kite, water helmet and harness to all students that need one. The shop carries a massive line of rental and retail gear for student use and purchase — Ozone, Cabrinha, Naish, North, Best, Crazy Fly, HQ, Liquid Force and beyond.
What the student needs to bring:
Students must bring a wetsuit, booties, bathing suit, water, snacks and sunscreen to the lesson.
What you may expect to learn:
Cloud 9 covers water kiting skills from top to bottom in each class. You may expect to learn kite safety, weather, emergency procedures, the wind window, body dragging, self-rescue and more. For advanced lessons, we cover jumping and stunts.
Cloud 9’s teaching locations:
Cloud 9 holds lessons at a variety of sites around beautiful Salt Lake City, UT: Deer Creek, Rush Lake, Utah Lake, Willard Bay, Yuba — you name it. The only criteria are sufficient water and wind!
Time commitment:
Generally, new students can figure out the basics of water kiting in 1-2 lessons — enough to be safe and have fun. Each half-day lesson lasts approximately 3 hours.
Cloud 9 students get a special rate when they book the local Ramada Inn for their visit to Salt Lake City.
The Point of the Mountain Flight Park:
Cloud 9 Paragliding’s Training Grounds
Cloud 9 Paragliding has the privilege of teaching at the premier training site in the country: The Point of the Mountain Flight Park in Salt Lake City, Utah. Pilots come from around the world to experience the smooth air, predictable weather and consistent ridge-soaring conditions at the Point. In the mornings the wind normally blows from the south, so most lessons are taught on the South Side. In the afternoon, the winds normally switch to blow from the north, so we fly our PM sessions on the North Side. Both sites are stupendously convenient, with spacious parking lots, room for tent camping, food and fuel close-at-hand and drive-up access. (The latter is, as seasoned pilots will tell you, a huge bonus: no hiking the hill for each flight!) Due to the unique conditions at the Point of the Mountain Flight Park, flights of several hours are very common here.
Cloud 9 students get a special rate when they book the local Ramada Inn for their visit to Salt Lake City.
Directions to the Point:
The North Side
– Take I-15 South from Salt Lake City, Utah.
– Take the Bluffdale exit (Exit #288).
– Go left (east) under the highway.
– Go straight through the stop light.
– Take a right up the hill on Traverse Ridge Road (by the Chevron gas station).
– Make a right on Steep Mountain Dr.
– Pass through the neighborhood until you reach the County Flight Park Parking Lot.
– The first area you’ll pass as you go through the parking lot is the Hang Glider set-up area. Proceed past it to the next area, which is the Paragliding area. Park and look for the Cloud 9 logo — or you can ask for us. Any Point local can point one of us out.
– Welcome to the North Side!
The South Side
– Take I-15 South from Salt Lake City, Utah.
– Take the Bluffdale exit (Exit #288).
– Go left (east) under the highway to the first stop light.
– Take a right on the frontage road (which is called Minuteman Drive).
– Proceed south on the frontage road for 2.5 miles to the sharp left bend in the road.
– You’ll see a sign for “Point Of The Mountain Flight Park”. Go left at the sign onto a dirt road.
– Follow it to the right, past the landing area (the flat space at the bottom of the hill, which we refer to as the “bench”).
– Continue up and to the left.
– Once you’re on top of the bench, take a left into the parking area. (The road is dirt but in great shape.)
– Welcome to the South Side!
To get to Cloud 9 Toys
– Take I-15 to the Draper/Riverton Exit (#291) or 12300 South
– Go east to the first stoplight.
– Take a right on Minuteman Drive
– Head south for 1/2 mile.
– You’ll be able to identify Cloud 9 Toys on the left (east side) of Minuteman Drive by the a hang glider parked on the front lawn.
– We are located next to Horse Crazy, in the Northeast Corner of the Building.
Speed Flying the KAVU Little Cloud: Steve Mayer Point of Mountain S. Side
Cloud 9 Speed Flying training area, Little Cottonwood Utah with Steve Mayer