Before Jeff Powell, owner of Rocky Mountain Balloon Rides, sips his morning coffee, he is searching a number of websites checking for the smallest of details in the day’s weather pattern. This is a crucial step for a hot air balloonist who refuses to take risk with his passengers.
Powell wasn’t always so risk-averse. In his youth, he sought out thrills wherever he could find them. He enjoyed tackling white water rapids, and long-distance bike rides across the U.S. and Europe and skiing on competition courses.
Powell developed a love for flying at a young age. One of his friends was a skilled hang gliding enthusiast. His friend had just purchased a new hang glider and was looking to sell his old one. Powell, who had never hang glided before, took his recent paycheck, which included the last two weeks of work, and purchased the hang glider. He said he strapped into the hang glider shortly after he bought it and approached the edge of a small hill, not even a cliff. He said he was terrified and almost needed someone to push him but he jumped and has loved being in the air since.
After moving to Colorado, Powell found a job building ski competition courses in Vail. He also worked at the resorts through the winter. When summer came, he said he searched for a job that would excite him. He discovered a position on a chase crew for a balloon company in the mountains.
Powell watched his boss navigate balloons through the skies above some of the Rocky Mountain’s highest peaks for years. He observed closely how the man managed the business and crew and provided exceptional care to ease the passengers' fears.
As Powell approached his 30s he looked to what the future might hold. He lived a life of hopping from one adventure to the next but it was time for him to settle on one thing. After working on a ballooning crew, he thought this was the thing he could do that would combine many of his passions.
Twenty-five years ago, Powell began Rocky Mountian Balloon Rides, a hot air balloon company out of Longmont.
Powell gets up early every morning to monitor the weather patterns to try to understand how the weather might behave before, during and after a balloon trip. He studies maps and data from the National Weather Service, aviation data and watches how the clouds are behaving. He used this information to determine if a flight is safe for the day.
“It’s a whole production with a lot of moving parts,” Powell said.
Powell takes pride in getting to know his clients before the flight. He likes to find out where they will be coming from so he can plan when he needs to call them if a flight has to be canceled.
If a balloon flight is cleared to go, Powell arrives at the field where he launches his balloon early and sends balloons up from the site to observe how it behaves. As soon as conditions are favorable, Powell and his crew unpack the balloon and start inflating it.
Since Powell’s crew is small, passengers are able to participate in the set up of the balloon by helping to hold up the edges as it is filled with air by two large fans. At the start of the trip, Powell teaches passengers what he is doing, discusses what his meters are telling him and allows them to help burn the fuel and fill the balloon with hot air. He also makes sure the big moments are not missed by offering to take photos during the process.
Once aloft, Powell shares his knowledge of the surroundings as they fly over the terrain. He combines that with play-by-play commentary of what he is doing, how high the balloon is and the adjustments that he makes along the trip.
Over the last 25 years, Powell has gotten to know the places that are best to land in the area. He knows to avoid Boulder County Open Space and targets fields and open areas that are friendly to balloonists. He has also perfected his landings for a smooth landing.
His chase crew is in constant communication with Powell throughout the trip. Upon landing, they immediately go to work securing the balloon and positioning the basket so that it is in as ideal of a place as possible to reload onto the truck. Passengers get to experience deflating the balloon and the strength needed to pull a balloon to the ground. After the balloon is reloaded into the truck, the crew ferries the passengers back to the starting point for a traditional toast to a successful trip with champagne, sparkling cider or juice.
It is an experience that allows passengers to view the area in a peaceful and leisurely way that gives them time to appreciate the mountains, farm land and local wildlife.
