Extreme Sports

Narrator: For the moment, Steve Stakable is just a man, but he's about to become a bird.

Stakable: All right, here we go.

Narrator: And Steve has plenty of company in the skies above the cliffs of Torrey Pines.

Stakable: Flying, free flight here at Torrey Pines is one of the coolest things in the world to do.

Narrator: Hang gliding and paragliding have a devoted following, and Steve took us, or at least our camera, along on this flight. He says it's a complete escape up here among the birds and the other flyers. To you or me, it might be intimidating. To the veteran, it is blissful.

Stakable: No noise other than the wind in your ears. And it's just so smooth and peaceful, it's like a form of meditation.

Narrator: There's no engine, no instruments, and certainly no flight attendants. For the devoted, it is flying in its purest form and almost a spiritual experience.

Gibb: They talk about meditation and religion, but, you know, this is as close as you get to God, I think.

Narrator: David Gibb is a veteran paraglider pilot. He admits what he and others do is not natural, but he calls it a challenge, and he becomes almost poetic about the journey.

Gibb: Maybe one way to describe it is, it's kind of almost like you're in a dreamlike state. In other words, it's so ethereal, you actually feel like you're leaving your body.

Narrator: They do tandem rides up here where the novice can go with the veteran and get a feel for the territory of the hawks and seagulls.

Gibb: I'm totally relaxed, and I'm just enjoying it. It's something magical—what happens up here.

Narrator: But, ultimately, it is time to land, and the bird becomes a man again. But for every landing, another take-off is not far behind.

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