Fly Monarca - Paragliding Documentary - Pre-Release

As part of a crowdfunding campaign, Benjamin Jordan and Lyndsay Nicole have just released a 21-minute Pre-Release version of their epic new film, Fly Monarca.  Sponsors of the film project will be floored by the stunning new footage the team has been able to create and the best part is, this Pre-Release is only scratching the surface of what the final film has in store.  Known best for his solo projects, last year, Jordan made the lea

Facebook Live Q&A

Saturday, May 22nd at 6 PM Pacific Time (Event Link)  Benjamin Jordan and Lyndsay Nicole will be going live on Facebook for the very first time.  Come hang out and ask anything you want about the Fly Monarca Expedition and Film. Expect to laugh, learn and get inspired for your next great adventure!  Click her

Expedition Gear List

Because I fly and hike with all of my own equipment, I am limited to what I can carry on an expedition like this. As a rule of thumb, everything I carry must be used at least once per day, have at least two uses, and be bomb-proof.  Camping  - Big Agnes Tiger Wall 2 (Carbon) Tent - Big Agnes Starfire 20

Monarch Butterfly Documentary

Check out this captivating nature documentary about the majestic Monarch Butterfly. There are many more out there, but this is a great place to start your journey of amazement. (NOTE: Low resolution, but High awesome-factor! See HQ version below if outside US)   NOVA/PBS: The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies  Higher Quality Version of same Documentary (Not viewable in the US and possibly

This is Teamwork

As a documentary filmmaker, I've become known as a lone wolf. Working alone has not only saved me financially, it has also afforded me complete, creative control over my process.  But there's downsides to the solo-show as well. For one, it's lonely. Perhaps more significantly, it's limiting aesthetically, as much of the footage needs to be captured by the discipline of repetitive camera placement, annihilating any possibility of authentic,

Monarch Watch: Ambassadors of Science

Monarch Watch is a volunteer-based, citizen science organization, and an affiliate of the Kansas Biological Survey. Their main focus is on the annual North American migration of the Monarch butterfly. The organization creates and distributes tags to place on monarch butterflies in order to track their migration path from Canada and the United States to Mexico. The first monarch citizen science program was launched in the 1950s and, since then, t

The Threat of Extinction

The epic 3,000-mile monarch butterfly migration may become a thing of the past.    Each fall, monarchs travel from their summer homes in the northern U.S. and Canada to winter habitats in California and Mexico. This migration is considered one of the most admirable phenomena in the animal kingdom. But, the latest survey in 2020 indicates a population decrease of 53 percent since the previous season, for a total decline o

Fly Monarca - In The Beginning

How do you start something that seems impossible to finish? An unsupported, 2,800 km paraglider journey across the US? In one season!?   'Yeah right!' I thought, slowly packing my bag, just one meter north of US/Mexico border.  Who was I kidding? My 1200 km Canadian Rockies journey took almost two months and was less than half that distance! And besides, these desert bumps in southern Arizona are no Rocky

The Majestic Monarch

The incredible Monarch (Monarca in Spanish) is our planet's furthest migrating butterfly.  Over the course of just one year, and four generations, this magnificent insect travels more than 7000 km (3000 miles) from Mexico to Canada and back. In Mexico they reunite at one of just a few special over-wintering sites, each offering sanctuary to millions of butterflies. As if travelling so far wasn't enough, exactly how they manage to reu

Expedition Press Release

Nov 15, 2020 - Nelson, BC, Canada - Inspired by the incredible migration of the Monarch butterfly, over the spring and summer of 2020, Benjamin Jordan became the first person to paraglide from Mexico to Canada, setting a new World Distance Record and completing the first ever un-powered paraglider journey across the United States.  Monarchs are the world's furthest migrating butterfly. Over four generations, the