photos by Stephen Eginoire

If youre a fan of bright colors, wide-open skies and motorless aviation, then hot air ballooning might be the ticket for you. Ballooning can be enjoyed as a solo experience or as a social outing. Take the 2010 Snowdown Mass Ascension, for example, where 19 prismatic balloons launched into the heavens from the North Animas Valley last weekend, stopping highway traffic and filling the sky with color.