Gavin Noll McClurg (born April 21, 1972) is an American

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'po ...

pilot, adventurer and offshore sailor. As a paraglider, he pioneered a route over the Alaska Range along with Dave Turner, and completed several expeditions over remote areas across North America. As a sailor, he circumnavigated the Earth twice.

Paragliding career

McClurg set the free-distance USA foot launch paragliding record at 387 km in 2013, taking off from Sun Valley, Idaho. He was awarded the National Geographic Adventurer of the Year nomination in 2015 for an 18-day crossing of the Canadian Rockies from McBride, British Columbia to the US border with

Will Gadd Will Gadd (born March 8, 1967) is a prominent Canadian ice climber and paraglider pilot. He formerly held the paragliding world distance record, with a flight of 423 km in Zapata, Texas. He is the host of the documentary series ''Fearless ...

, documented in the film The Rockies Traverse. McClurg completed the

Red Bull X-Alps The Red Bull X-Alps is a paragliding race in which athletes must hike or fly 1,200 km across the Alps. It first launched in 2003 and has since taken place every other year. Around 30 athletes take part and must navigate their way via a predet ...

race in July, 2015 finishing in 8th place. On May 5, 2016 McClurg set out with Dave Turner to traverse the full length of the

Alaska Range The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 600-mile-long (950 km) mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest endSources differ as to the exact delineation of the Alaska Range. ThBoar ...

by foot and paraglider, unsupported. The 480 mile route had never been attempted by paraglider. McClurg completed the route solo on June 17, 2016 after 37 days.

Film and video

McClurg has been in a number of paragliding and adventure films. His latest, produced by the

Red Bull Media House Red Bull GmbH () is an Austrian private company known for its range of energy drinks of the same name. It is also known for its sponsorship of a range of sporting events and teams. The headquarters of Red Bull GmbH are located in Fuschl am S ...

include ''The Rockies Traverse'' and ''North of Known'', which premiered at the

Banff Mountain Film Festival The Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival is an international film competition and annual presentation of films and documentaries about mountain culture, sports, environment and adventure & exploration. It was launched in 1976 as ''The Banff Festival ...

in November, 2016. * The Rockies Traverse (video) Gavin McClurg and

cross the Canadian Rockies to the US border. * 500 Miles to Nowhere (video) Gavin McClurg, Nick Greece, Matt Beechinor and Nate Scales attempt a vol biv route across Utah and Wyoming * The Higher You Get, the Higher you Get (video) paragliding in

Sun Valley, Idaho Sun Valley is a resort city in the western United States, in Blaine County, Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum in the Wood River valley. The population was 1406 at the 2010 census, down from 1427 in 2000.Sierra Mountains of California to the Oregon border * They Paraglided 800 km in 34 Days and Camped on Mountain Tops from

(video) * These guys paraglide to their campsites (video) released 2014, from

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

* The Dune Discovery (video) documents kitesurfing, surfing, paragliding and sailing around the world on a five-year expedition

Television

McClurg has been featured in several television shows such as "Locals" and "Dispatches" on Outside Television. He has also done commercial work for Ford and

Subaru ( or ; ) is the automaker, automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate (company), conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, twenty-first ...

Cloudbase Mayhem Podcast

McClurg started his podcast ''Cloudbase Mayhem'' in March 2015 using footage from an interview with Bill Belcourt that was initially recorded for his video ''500 Miles to Nowhere'' for his first episode. Since then he has released more than 150 episodes (as of 2021) of educational interviews. The podcast earned him the ''Salewa Trophy'' for

sportsmanship Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport, or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. This is with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" refers to on ...

during the 2021 edition of the Red Bull X-Alps.

Book

McClurgs first book ''Advanced Paragliding: What I've learned from the world's best pilots'' was published in April 2021. It is a collection of tips and stories taken from the first one hundred episodes of his podcast. It includes insights from Adel Honti, Alex Robé, Armin Harich,

Bruce Goldsmith Bruce Goldsmith is a British paraglider pilot, paraglider designer, and the 2007 Paragliding World Champion. He won the title at Manilla in Australia, flying an Airwave Magic FR3. He has been British champion three times, most recently in 2004. ...

, Chrigel Maurer, Cody Mittanck, Dustin Martin, Honza Rejmanek, Jeff Shapiro, Jocky Sanderson, Kelly Farina, Maxime Bellemin, Nick Neynens, Pál Takáts, Rafael Saldini, Russ Ogden, Thomas Theurillat and Will Gadd.

External links

Gavin McClurg website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClurg, Gavin Living people 1972 births Paraglider pilots Sailing Kitesurfing