No question of driving two hours to work. So when the road he used every day was closed on August 28 following a landslide, Canadian Craig Pingle looked for an alternative.
A resident of Peachland, British Columbia, 400 km from Vancouver, the man usually took 18 minutes by car to Summerland via Highway 97, where he works as general manager of a wine company. But with the temporary closure of this axis, he had to refer to the two forest roads opened to traffic by the Ministry of Transport, explains Radio Canada.
A first attempt across the mountain
But it took "about two hours or more, if there was traffic." So the Canadian began to consider alternative modes of travel: "First, I decided to park at Okanagan Lake Provincial Park, then climb the mountain on foot," he detailed to the Canadian public media.
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A post shared by Okanagan Crush Pad Organic Winery (@okcrushpad)
An attempt that he told on the Instagram account of his company, pointing out that he had crossed during his crossing animal skeletons and bear droppings, before finally being recovered by a colleague in 4 x 4.
Boat, paraglider and horse to try to get back to his office
In the following days, he sought to test new modes of transportation: first the boat, with a colleague, because both cities border Okanagan Lake. "Same, it wasn't really ideal. (...) There were waves and it was stirring," he said. It was finally on September 6 that he tried paragliding, advised by a relative. "A friend's friend had a paraglider and he told me I should try."
In a video posted on Instagram, he can be seen in a shirt and jeans with a work case, before rushing down to the level of the vines.
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A post shared by Okanagan Crush Pad Organic Winery (@okcrushpad)
"It was more to have fun than to really save time," he still admitted to Radio Canada. A week later, he also tried his hand at horses, at the suggestion of his colleagues: "We have an equestrian centre for wild horses next to our vineyard, so it's quite convenient," explained the owner of the company.
As general manager, Craig Pingle was the only member of the company who could not benefit from telework accommodations during this period, unlike two other employees affected by the road closure. After these few adventures, the road finally reopened to traffic a few days ago.
