EOU Alum Completes 300-Mile Paragliding Journey Across eastern Oregon

EOU Alum Completes 300-Mile Paragliding Journey Across eastern Oregon

LA GRANDE, Ore. – For most people, the view from above the mountain peaks of eastern Oregon is reserved for air travel. For Eastern Oregon University alumnus Killian Sump, ’24, that altitude is where his adventure begins.

Nowhere in the Eastern Oregon University literature does EOU promise your degree will take you to these heights, but for Sump, that challenge was waiting for him after he graduated.

On August 11, Sump completed a 300-mile solo paragliding expedition across eastern Oregon, landing at Farewell Bend State Park on the Snake River. The journey, years in the making, took him from the slopes of Black Butte near Sisters to Oregon’s eastern border, powered only by the thermals rising from the summer-heated ground.

“It feels good,” Sump said. “I’m a big geography guy, it’s fascinating to see Earth from above, it’s a constant game of chess, to see where you can land, and where you can hike.”

Sump grew up in Oregon, and before earning his Master of Arts in Teaching from EOU, he taught at the Burnt River Charter School in Unity. He credits his EOU education and the opportunities it opened with helping him launch his teaching career while continuing to pursue outdoor challenges.

“The Teach Rural Oregon scholarship program was really helpful for getting me on my path,” Sump said. “I was teaching in Unity the same year I was in the MAT program. It gave me access to opportunities early on.”

Although his MAT coursework was primarily online, Sump’s time in the program connected him with faculty mentors such as education professor Dave Dallas and gave him an appreciation for the strong outdoor culture at EOU.

“I never had much time to join in, but I admired the outdoor program and the improvements to the climbing wall,” he said. “The spirit of adventure is alive on the EOU campus.”

That adventurous spirit was on full display during his cross-Oregon flight. The first two days brought nearly ideal flying conditions, allowing Sump to glide almost 200 miles along U.S. Highway 26 at speeds reaching 50 mph. But storms, blistered feet, and long hikes carrying his 45-pound pack (including 30 pounds of paraglider) tested his patience and persistence.

“There were days when I had to hike almost as far as I flew,” he said. “It became an exercise in keeping the goal in sight, putting in the homework, studying the route, weather patterns, and terrain, and staying patient.”

One of the most challenging stretches came near Unity, an area he knew well from his teaching days. For days, thunderstorms thwarted his progress, and he returned home to Sisters before making a final push back to eastern Oregon to finish the journey. On his ninth attempt from the area, he caught the right conditions to reach the Snake River.

“If you have a goal that excites you, continue to push yourself to achieve it,” Sump said. “If there is something you want to do creatively, or academically, it’s worth putting the time into it to make it achievable.”

Flying gave Sump a rare perspective on the region he had called home for six years.

“Eastern Oregon is vast, beautiful, and remote,” he said. “You see the endless stretches of public land, dotted by small communities, and it gives you a real appreciation for the landscape.”

Though the flight was a personal goal, Sump hopes others might be inspired to pursue their own adventures, whether that’s on a paraglider, horseback, or foot. Sump encourages others to “chase the landscape on your own.” 

“Have a goal that excites you,” he advised. “Push yourself to achieve it, whether it’s academic, creative, or physical. It’s worth putting in the time to know it’s achievable.”

For now, Sump is beginning a new chapter, teaching in the Black Butte School District and planning to build a home with his partner near Sisters, not far from where his extraordinary flight began. But his sights are still set skyward.

“I have ambitions to do even longer flights,” he said. “There’s so much out there to see, and so many ways to experience it.”