have you ever ridden in a hot-air balloon?

No.

I was just thinking about this the other day. I have a major fear of heights and don’t think I could handle doing this.

Reading Ian McEwan’s ENDURING LOVE years ago, which opens with a terrifying hot air balloon accident, has also scarred me from the idea.

Never have. Never will. if I did, I can guarantee that the balloon would crash.

I have that kind of luck. The bad kind.

No, but my 95 yo mother did. I refused to go with her. She loved it.

I am also terrified of heights but took a hot air balloon ride on safari in Africa. Amazingly, it was not scary. You’re in a very tall, sturdy basket so no fear of falling out and it’s actually very peaceful. I’ve taken scarier plane rides, for sure.

Yes, in the Napa Valley. We floated over Danielle Steel's country home outside St. Helena. Landed in a vineyard. It was fun, they had a brunch for the passengers afterwards.

Sorry, R5, but a very tall, sturdy basket doesn't cover the possibility of falling out, or otherwise hitting the ground unscheduled.

It seems like it should be last on the bucket list

r3 you and I will sit this one out. Although I'd really love to and I've always wanted to take one during Fall in Western NY to see the beautiful fall colors, I'm almost 100% certain something would malfunction and I'd be the ONE person aboard who would end up dying.

I've got some shitty-ass luck and this kind of thing would definitely happen to me.

I was just going to post something about that, R3/R7. There was a DL thread on it.

The footage and description is pretty horrific. When the fire began, the pilot and 12 of the passengers managed to jump out in time and survive. The lightened load, along with the heat from the fire, caused the balloon to rapidly ascend with 8 people still in the basket. They either burned to death or jumped.

And I'll tell you another thing; I will NEVER get my ass on a zip line. If you need proof of failures, it's there if you search.

(We might should have a thread on the prevalence of bad luck in some people's lives.)

[quote] I've got some shitty-ass luck and this kind of thing would definitely happen to me.

I'm right there with you, R9.

Yes, over the golden temples in Myanmar during dawn. It was peaceful and beautiful.

You have more chances dying in a car crash than a hot air balloon.

R12

I'll take my chances on the ground.

There are choices and then there are (more) optional choices.

Yeah, as r8 said, you’d probably be wise to scratch off all the other items on your bucket list before getting to the ones with a not-insignificant risk of killing you.

Yes and the basket only went up to knee height and I am scared of heights so it was terrifying.

No, and I never will.

Nor will I ever go skydiving.

Or ride on a rollercoaster.

I know a girl who went up in a hot air balloon. And then she died.

r15, knee height?? No way.

If you knew how short I am, you’d be in even more disbelief. It wasn’t a big tourist contraption; it was a little hobbyist get-up.

Good thing it's on your bucket list because it could be the last thing you do.

Helllll no.

Watch this video - it's terrifying - and no one was even injured in this one, yet still so scary!

linky stinky, r21.

Just once - in 2005 in Phoenix. Right at sunrise. Loved it!

This has been my mom's white whale of a project for going on 13 years. We were supposed to go on one back in 2012 in the Napa Valley, but it was canceled due to weather. Since then, she has brought up the idea about every six months, but it's looking increasingly likely it will never happen because the weather is hard to predict.

Works for me, r22

No. In theory I'd like to, as it looks like the views would be spectacular in the right location. But I've never had the urge strongly enough to build a vacation around it. And the one balloon fest near me involves driving to the next state over before the crack of dawn and spending way too much money to fly over some not very scenic landscapes.

Yes, once, and trust me I'll never make that mistake again.

I imagine the first 30 seconds are kind of scary, because you're really ascending then. But after that, I imagine it's pretty fun.

I did when I was about 8 years old. Never again as it was scary as shit and I couldn’t wait to get back down.

The last YouTube video you bitches will ever watch while glued to your phone from the buffeted wicker basket

Until they make those things fireproof and make parachutes mandatory for passengers I'm not stepping foot in one.

I will add that when I went up in one when I was 8, it was 9 o’clock at night and pitch black dark. The balloon was tethered so we only went up 100-200 feet in a straight line, but you realize how much the wicker basket gives. It’s not like a solid steel cage — it feels horribly unstable. I can’t imagine I would be less scared as an adult.

My husband surprised me with a balloon ride for my 40th birthday, 25 years ago. He surprised me by picking me up at work and driving out towards Woodinville, I had a sinking feeling that it would be a balloon ride, I'm terrified of heights. I was frozen on place, I remember every time they ignited the overhead flame, you could smell everyone's hair product sort of burning...freaky. It was beautiful and peaceful, but something I would never do again, I'm surprised I even went through with it.

No, but I once shared an elevator with Ted Cruz.

R33 um ... did your spouse know you.

... at all

No, but the takeoff on my one helicopter ride was the best part of it.

It should be hte last thing on your bucket list OP as it may well end your lfie.

Like R5, the basket was tall and I didn't have the fear that I expected to have. This was several decades ago in Kenya.

One sharped beaked bird and you're a goner.

Yes. It was fine until it got windy and we landed sideways.

There was one at the town fair when I was a kid. It just went straight up and down.

There is a company that has two balloons that leave from a field very near my office. When I'm especially frustrated at work, I'll sit and watch them. Sometimes when I'm having a really bad day,I just want to walk over and ask if I could just go along for the ride.

Seems peaceful.

[quote] No, but the takeoff on my one helicopter ride was the best part of it.

Several years ago my very close friend who owns a helicopter (he was a helicopter pilot in Viet Nam) flew me 200 miles to look at the progress on a summer house I was renovating. I was more than happy for us to drive. That was the single most frightening experience of my life, even more so than my one flight in a balloon. He still flew like he was picking up wounded soldiers on the battlefield. The flying was okay, but the takeoff was like being shot out of a cannon, and the landing was even more terrifying. It was as if we fell from the sky and about 15' above the ground he twirled the machine around so it would be facing a certain direction. This was done in the back yard of the house and needless to say all the construction workers stood there dumbfounded. Never again.

[quote]Yes and the basket only went up to knee height and I am scared of heights so it was terrifying.

I saw your misplaced post in another thread, elderlez, and guessed it was about a hot air/helium balloon, but how crazy that the basket was only knee high.

I have been in many hot air or helium balloons. Loved all of them, though like r40, I've been in two that landed sideways.

I'd do it again.

[quote]I will NEVER get my ass on a zip line

Me either.

Hi Tsargazer! Good to see you posting.

I loved zip lining. We went 18 years ago by Arenal volcano in Costa Rica. It was a slightly different set up since it wasn’t tree to tree; they had tall metal structures to keep you above the tree line and the harness kept you more on your back than sitting up. I don’t know that I’d ever try the tree to tree ones.

Not peaceful at all because they have to keep feeding it with fire to keep it aloft, so you get the ear-splitting noise and pungent smell of gas every m inute or so.

The strangest thing to me was looking down from waaay above but having no sensation of moving. In contrast, I’ve also been in a glider and got such severe motion sickness that the pilot had to cut the ride short.

My partner and I took a balloon ride in PV. The operator picked us up at our hotel at 6am and took us to an area 30 minutes north. The balloon was sitting in a field at the base of the mountains. It was just the three of us in the basket. We lifted off as the sun began to rise and drifted towards the bay. The operator pointed out the iguanas that climb to the top of the palm trees to get warm as the sun rises. It was very quiet and peaceful except when he fired up the burner overhead to lift us higher. We were in the air for about 40 minutes and settled down on the beach adjacent to a golf course. After doing it once I did not feel the need to ever do it again.