International Balloon Fiesta – Albuquerque

Listen to this. The State of New Mexico claims that the Balloon Fiesta is the world’s premier balloon event and the most photographed event on earth. When you are there, it will bring the smell of roasting chiles and the beautiful, colorful, moving picture show of hot air balloons sailing silently through the crisp fall air. The whole launch field is 78 acres or 316,000m2. Really? This would be huge. 

The biggest event is the mass ascension at 7 am, around sunrise, when the sky fills with hundreds of balloons. Overall, there are more than 500 balloons. Over the week of the fiesta, close to 1 million people will watch the event. 1 Mio people; really? 

This year, it is the 51st event. Over the years, pilots from 56 different countries participated.

I have to check it out.

I set the alarm for 2:30 am and started the engine of my Subaru Outback at 3 am sharp. The 60-mile / 96km ride on 25 South was easy. To my surprise, many cars were driving in the same direction. When I arrived, hundreds of vehicles were already there. It is 4 am now, and I am walking through the dark field. Crews are starting to set up their balloons. You hear people screaming names because they lost somebody in the dark. A family with five children was attached to each other with spiral cables. I smelled the roasting chiles, but it is too early in the morning. I hoped for a croissant and freshly roasted coffee. The closest I came was a Dunkin’ Hot Chocolate and a Donat.

At around 6 am, a few balloons lift into the dark sky. They check weather conditions and the visibility of landing conditions. It is called the Dawn Patrol Show.

Shortly after 6 am is the Morning Glow. This is where many balloons will line up and use their propane burners to light up in the morning before sunrise while still tethered to the ground. The pilots will do synchronized burns. These balloons will later launch with the rest of the balloons after sunrise.

The Mass Ascension started at about 7 am. This is where hundreds of balloons all launch in the same morning, generally over a 1.5 to 2-hour period. They will launch in two waves so that for almost 2 hours, balloons will be set up, inflated, and launched from the field.

Visitors can walk around the launch field to see the balloon preparations and get different views as the balloons launch. I think this is the highlight of the morning.

At about 7:15, the National Anthem was sung, and people were happy. During the anthem was the flyover by Chili Flight.

Now I know that everything is true to what I read and heard. It is a fascinating event. People all had a winning big smile on their faces.

Are you curious? Here is an excellent 3-minute time-lapse by National Geographic.

See you next year? Departure 3 am sharp?

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