‘That’s definitely an appropriate photo of him. That’s exactly who he was. Everything he did, he did the way he wanted to. He just lived life to the fullest. His life was proof that if you can dream it, you can do it.’
‘That’s definitely an appropriate photo of him. That’s exactly who he was. Everything he did, he did the way he wanted to. He just lived life to the fullest. His life was proof that if you can dream it, you can do it.’
Kjell Sporseen died doing what he loved, and although that fact doesn’t take the pain away from his loss, it does offer some solace to the disheartened friends and family he left behind.
Sporseen, a 32-year-old Hood River resident, passed away on Nov. 30 due to injuries he suffered while speed-flying in the Gorge near Doug’s Beach State Park. The former Army captain and Iraq war veteran worked at Cloud Cap Technologies and was well known among his peers as a wild and adventurous character who lived life to the absolute fullest, and embraced anyone willing to join him for the ride.
“He went out of this life doing something he was very passionate about, and for that we are grateful,” Aaron Sporseen, Kjell’s older brother, said Monday on behalf of his family. “He was out doing what he loved with his friends.”
Sporseen is survived by his parents, Greg and Carol and older siblings Aaron, Elke and Petra.
“He was the baby in the family and was always the one we were most amazed by what he was doing and accomplishing,” Aaron said.
Sporseen was a veteran of the US Army and served as a Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, and Battalion Maintenance Officer from 2005 to 2009. He was stationed in Alaska, which is where he learned to fly.
“They put him through airborne school and he just kept going from there,” Aaron explained. “Part of it, I would like to think, was my fault as an older brother. I got him into snowboarding at about 14 and he just got more and more extreme from there.”
Speed-flying is similar to paragliding, but with the key difference of using smaller kites to keep pilots aloft. Harnessed to these light-weight setups, which can be packed into an average-sized backpack, speed-flyers launch themselves off cliffs and hilltops and float down the surrounding terrain at high speeds, often just a few feet from the ground.
“He had been pioneering that spot at Doug’s,” said close friend and fellow pilot Jon Malmberg. “It was pretty windy and he was on a small speed-wing that day. He was about half way down when he made a misjudgment on the conditions, turned toward the cliffs and hit the wall.”
Witnesses saw the crash and called rescue personnel, which arrived in short order. Sporseen survived the initial impact, but “he passed on the hill,” Aaron said.
“It’s terrible,” Malmberg added. “He was always my brother in flight. He’s crazy like me, so we got along very well. He was just an awesome human being. It took about five minutes with that guy to realize he was someone special.
“For those of us who play in the deep end of the pool, we have a lot of friends who pass doing what they love. He was super passionate about the sport; I couldn’t see him going out any other way.”
Sporseen was born and raised in Bothell, Wash. He made his way to the Gorge a few years ago via Columbia Gorge Community College’s renewable energy program. Prior to that he was an officer in the Army from 2005-09 and served a 14-month tour in Iraq.
Almost as large in stature as character, Sporseen was a natural athlete who excelled in just about everything he pursued. But it was speed-flying that really took hold of his heart.
“He was an extremely talented pilot,” Malmberg said. Among his many exploits, Sporseen documented several flights off the summit of Mt. Hood and posted video online for others, who lived vicariously through his nerves of steel (see vimeo.com/user13496822 for a few of his videos).
“He was also a major ham. He was just a crazy, hilarious person. He would skydive in a thong just to make people laugh. That’s the kind of person he was.”
One iconic image of Sporseen, which his family asked to use for this story, shows him standing atop the summit of a mountain, a beer on one hand, an American flag hoisted in the other and his pasty white thighs gleaming in the sun, wearing nothing but gloves, boots a bandana and his briefs.
“That’s definitely an appropriate photo of him,” Aaron said. “That’s exactly who he was. Everything he did, he did the way he wanted to. He just lived life to the fullest. His life was proof that if you can dream it, you can do it. ”
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