'You Feel like a Bird'

‘You Feel Like a Bird’: Former ICU Nurse Plans to Paraglide in Alpine Air for the Long-Haul

Image: Enjoying his first season as a full-time tandem paragliding pilot, Tobias Doulot prepares to take yet another passenger up into the clear blue above the quaint village of Beatenburg, Switzerland.

From the mountain-top village of Beatenburg, Switzerland, it feels like a leap off the slope would land you in the lake below.

Tobias Doulot, a hang-gliding pilot, takes the exhilarating jump regularly.

The wind whistles past his ears, adrenaline courses through his veins, and cadet blue reflects in his eyes as he glides thousands of meters above Lake Thun.

“You feel like a bird,” he said. “But you are not.”

The 43-year-old was enjoying a sunny day in the skies several years ago when things went south—literally.

“The air never injures anyone,” he said. “It’s the ground that you have to be careful about.”

Instead of landing on a grassy field, he ended up crashing on top of a parked car—injuring his spine.

“I thought I might not be able to walk again,” he recalled being airlifted to a hospital.

Thankfully, his injuries were more minor than he thought. After several months of rest, he was back in the cockpit with a newfound somberness.

According to the National Institute of Health, the injury rate for this sport varies from 120 to 360 per 100,000 flights.

Because gliding isn’t really difficult, solo pilots often overestimate their capabilities and take too many risks, Doulot added.

“Sometimes your pride needs to be broken to realize you need to respect nature, the wind, your skills, and your limits.”

He hasn’t had any more accidents in the hundreds of flights he’s taken since then.

A former Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurse, this was his first season working full-time as a commercial tandem pilot.

The two jobs have a night and day difference.

“No one wants to be in the ICU,” he said.

“Patients don’t tell me ‘It’s just so exciting’, or ‘this medicine you gave me is so good’.”

But the excitement of the passengers is his favorite part of his new job. Everyone reacts differently. He’s seen some throw up or shake from nervousness, and others cry tears of joy.

Recently, Doulot took an Iraqi man on the glider. Growing up in a country composed mainly of desert and heat, the man hadn’t felt cool air before and relished the refreshing winds on his face.

Doulot explained that pilots in Interlaken are not allowed to go higher than 4,450 meters above sea-level on weekdays, and 3,950 meters above sea level on weekends. This stipulation is because a Swiss military base is nearby, so the skies must be shared with airline pilots.

Other than this regulation, most of the heavens are fair game for flying paradise.

The oldest paragliding pilot Doulot knows of in Switzerland is 90 years-old. He just needs a little help taking off and landing, then the rest of the ride is as smooth as a cloud.

“There is an 85-year-old pilot who still gives rides to others,” Doulot said.

He doesn’t want to retire either.

Doulot—who’s been hang-gliding and skydiving since he was a little boy—has turned his hobby into a profession.

He wants to learn more maneuvers and take some cross-country trips on his glider. Marrying his girlfriend from Rwanda, and starting an orphan home there is also on the horizon for this pilot.

Kali Zakariasen is from Charlotte, North Carolina. She attended WJI Europe 2024.