Paragliding Instructors

Steve Mayer
Steve runs Cloud 9 and is the head paragliding instructor. Steve started flying paragliders in 1993 and has over 7000 accident free flights. In 1996 Steve got his tandem rating so he could take friends flying and fell in love with the idea of teaching paragliding. In 1997 Cloud 9 was formed and finished the year as the 5th largest school in the country, the next year, 3rd, then 2nd, and for the last 6 years, Cloud 9 has been the largest paragliding school in the US, a feat Steve is very proud of. In the off season Steve travels the world paragliding, skiing, rock climbing, mountain biking and power-kiting.

Tom Webster
Tom Webster has been working in the hang gliding/paragliding industry since 1989, when he became an assistant hang gliding instructor at Kitty hawk Kites in North Carolina. He has worked as a hang gliding tandem instructor, hang glider test pilot, glider assembler, repair technician, paragliding tandem instructor, magazine columnist, and is currently a paragliding instructor and repairman, tackling projects that strike fear into the hearts of ordinary seamstresses.

Mike Steen
Mike has flown just about everything with wings including airplanes, sailplanes, paragliders and ultralights. He currently teaches paragliding and paramotoring for Cloud 9, occasionally doing free tandem rides for female students who are at least 18 years old and single. If you don't meet these requirements he will still take you flying, but you have to pay the $90. His current passions include aerobatic paragliding, skydiving, kiteboarding, flying his wingsuit and occasionally studying at the University of Utah. Visit MikeSteen.com to see some video of him in action.

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Jonathan Jefferies
Jonathan grew up in Draper watching hang gliders and parasailers since he was a kid. Most of his youth was spent roaming around the foothills and mountains of the Wasatch looking for mushrooms. He spent hours enjoying the lofty views and wishing he could somehow fly home rather than walk back down. Jonathan earned a degree in Botany (specializing in fungus) at BYU and speaks Japanese. His love for the wilds drew him to Alaska where he worked for a helicopter company. It was there he watched a paraglider pilot fly himself home from a mountain top that he was airlifted to. Upon discovering the versatility of free flight he returned home to sign up for lessons. Since that day, Jonathan has hiked up many peaks in Utah, Alaska, Canada, and New Zealand but walked back down very few. His love of flying is apparent in his desire to share it with others. Jonathan joined the Cloud 9 team in the spring of 2003 and works year round as an instructor and tandem pilot.

Pat Johnson
Pat teaches paragliding and does tandem flights for Cloud 9. He has been flying paragliders for 7 years and teaching for 3. His favorite place to be is in GV Brazil at cloud base. His new passion is kite surfing and snow kiting. He grew up in Farmington Utah, not to far from the Point of the Mountain.

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