by Christopher Sanchez
Daily Lobo
About an hour before the sun peered over the Sandia Mountains on Sunday, UNM alumna Anna Nichols watched 12 balloons illuminate the sky.
"It's sweet," said Nichols, who attended the opening weekend of the 33rd annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
Nichols said she goes to the balloon fiesta about every other year, but didn't know if she had ever seen the dawn patrol.
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"It's so early, I don't remember if this is my first time watching it," Nichols said, laughing.
Cathy Luenenborg, a balloonist from Nebraska, was one of the 12 balloonists who took off before dawn to relay wind patterns to about 700 balloonists waiting on the ground.
"Dawn patrol takes off an hour before sunrise and helps entertain the spectators that come out to the field early," she said. "We are also the eyeballs for other balloons taking off."
Nichols attended the event with her husband and 1-year-old daughter.
"We're here to take pictures, and we wanted to bring our daughter," Nichols said.
She was looking forward to the mass ascension at sunrise, when all the balloons take off into the sky, she said.
Tom English, a launch director, said about 700 hundred balloons lifted off Saturday and Sunday. His job is to tell balloonists when they can take off.
"We control the launch and get them up in a safe fashion," English said. "We try to space them apart so there is even space between them so they don't collide."
He said the weather was perfect for balloonists.
"The winds are what we worry about, and the rainstorms and thunderstorms," English said. "The winds are good today."
Dale Wong, a balloonist from California, said he has participated in the balloon fiesta since he received his piloting license 27 years ago.
Wong said the area is unique because of wind patterns called the Albuquerque Box. He said in the morning a low-level wind is on a southern course, and at 500 feet it reverses north.
"The box condition allows you to fly back where you started from," he said. "This is the only place I know that has it on a consistence basis."
Wong flew on Saturday and said the flight was great.
"It was a little quick," he said. "The wind was a little faster than we liked, so we found a safe landing spot."
Greta Bareman, who works for a University ministry called the Navigators, said it was her first time attending the balloon fiesta.
"I just moved here and thought it would be cool to come here and see the world-famous event," she said. "It's beautiful. There are a lot of cool shapes and a lot of cool colors, and now the sun is coming out. It looks great."
Bareman said she liked the pirate-shaped balloon. She was going to attend the balloon glow with friends on Sunday night, she said.
"We're coming tonight to see the balloon lighting, and we're excited about that," Bareman said. "One lady said she cried when she saw it."
