Despite modern technology at hand (namely smartphones), the method hot-air balloon pilots use to gauge whether or not the winds are safe for flying hasn’t changed since the summer of 1975, the year that dozens of colorful orbs ascended en masse at daybreak at the inaugural Snowmass Balloon Festival.

“They take a helium balloon, like you would buy for a birthday party, to the middle of the field and let it go,” marvels Snowmass Tourism Senior Events Producer Shane Vetter. “Everyone stares at this little, wobbling balloon floating up, to see if it drifts. It’s still one of the most accurate ways to tell what’s going on above us.”

Patrick Carter, who was 12 when his father James “Jim” Carter participated in the first invitational event and now pilots the family’s Colorado High Balloon, elaborates: “The highball, they call it,” he explains. “On the ground, you can be protected by a building or a valley, and winds may feel calm. But what’s happening 10, 100, 1,000 feet above...the wind could be 15 miles per hour, going right toward the mountain. Nothing beats a visual.”

Snowmass Balloon Festival

Sept 12, 6–8 p.m.: Night Glow balloon display, music, concessions
Sept 13 & 14, 7–9 a.m.: Balloon launches, breakfast and coffee vendors; Bloody Mary and mimosa bars; collectible balloon cards; commemorative pins, posters, apparel. 

The 50th-annual Snowmass Balloon Festival launches at sunrise on Friday, September 12, with the James Carter Memorial River Rat Race, a free-spirited competition in which pilots—who can only navigate vertically, without steering—catch cold mountain winds that trace the Roaring Fork River downvalley toward Carbondale. (No spectators allowed, though volunteers are needed.) 

Spectator events begin Friday evening with Night Glow, an illuminated exhibition of tethered hot-air balloons, featuring music, glow sticks and collectible balloon cards for kids, and a beer bar for adults. At sunrise on Saturday and Sunday, a record 40 balloons will soar over the treetops of Town Park. Viewing is free.

“There aren’t a lot of high-altitude launches or balloon festivals because of our thermal pockets,” Vetter explains. “We get this window of an hour or two in the morning. Get there earlier, not later!”     

Tips

USE the shuttle bus from the Intercept Lot off Highway 82 outside Snowmass. Parking is very limited.
GO early. Balloons launch at sunrise; flights may be shortened due to wind.
DO volunteer to crew for a pilot. You might get lucky with a ride! 
DON’T bring dogs; the burner noise bothers them.
BROWSE the official festival guide to scout top viewing spots: