Gliding over the Tetons

Story and Photos by Kris Millgate

I’m short, but I don’t consider that a short straw. Being petite means my camera and I fit in small spaces. Like the tiny cockpit of a motorless plane.

Yes, motorless. A glider, actually, and I’m as eager as I am anxious. I pop a pill for motion sickness, fold my legs into the front seat and close the clear lid over my head.

“People look at the glider and think, ‘I’m never going to fit in there,’” says Sam Lea, glider pilot. “Once we get you in and you kind of settle in, it becomes a little roomier, but you can’t stand up and it would be very hard to eat lunch while we’re flying. I would say it fits like a glove. It’s snug, but not too tight.”

Despite being snug, I’m told to buckle up as our motorless glider is towed down the runway by a motored plane. We’ll be airborne in two minutes.