BOZEMAN, Montana — Some people really do fly.

Bozeman’s 5 p.m. traffic thinned as a white van with a “Fly Life” bumper sticker turned on a two-lane road winding toward Bear Canyon. The van pulled to the shoulder and four guys with 35-pound packs made their way to a tree-hidden path.

They talked wind and thermo activity, but heavy breathing replaced words on the steep climb to one of Bozeman’s best unofficial training hills for paragliding.

They crossed out of the tree line to a view of town just in time to see a man running toward the hill’s drop, his head down, his chest tight and arms to his side like an upside down V.

“You’re running like a torpedo towards the hill, which never feels right,” paragliding instructor Ryan Schwab told his students as they watched.

Then a nylon, parachute-like wing trailing behind the man caught the wind, lifting his feet from the ground.

“But you’ll be flying before you know it,” Schwab said with a grin.

Paragliding includes a harness suspended under fabric. It’s a sport that relies on two powerful sources: wind and gravity.

The latter calls for a high starting point, something Bozeman has plenty of.

The crew gathered Tuesday were part of Fly Life Paragliding’s school for the P2 certification, which qualifies students to fly on their own through the U.S. Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association.

“It’s basically like a driver’s license to fly,” said student Elias Athey, 23.

Athey was preparing for his first flight, which he’d do alone after three ground lessons on how to control the wing.

The Bear Canyon launch is small compared to other paragliding take-off points. There, pilots can fly between 300 and 400 feet above their landing zone.

Though there’s plenty of access, it’s a sport with a high entry cost.

Prices for a complete set of gear range from $3,000 to $6,000, according to www.paragliders.com. Like most sports, the lighter the gear, the higher the price.

It’s also pretty important to know how to run off a mountain attached to a collapsible contraption and live, which means wannabe pilots need to factor in the price of lessons.

Nicolette Kleppelid, 22, said she put about $1,800 into paragliding school and $3,100 toward her wing. Fly Life provides the gear through its courses, giving students time to see whether they’ll buy their own wing.

Kleppelid said it’s a lot of money upfront, but more than 40 flights in, she’s among the minority in Bozeman that can take to the skies when the weather is right.

“Now it’s about upkeep, I can fly pretty much for free,” Kleppelid said.

Most people on the hill Tuesday found paragliding through a friend or another sport.

John Hosemann, owner of Fly Life, said he was rock climbing a few years ago when he looked up.

“I watched somebody fly off the mountain and thought, ‘forget the hike down, I want to be that guy,’” Hosemann said.

Hosemann is five years into paragliding, and his school is in its third season.

Hosemann said business got busy enough it was time to bring on a second instructor, which is how Schwab joined the team.

In a state where mountain sports compete for time and money, Schwab said paragliding stands out.

He said while it’s nice to learn the sport in the summer, it’s not tethered to seasons.

He recently picked up a speed wing, which allows the pilot to stay close to the ground. Schwab is learning how to pair his new wing with skis in the winter to alternate from the slopes to the sky.

Schwab said unlike hang gliding where wings are held in place, stretched across a metal frame, paragliding gear packs down to hike with or store. The sport doesn’t call for a plane like skydiving and instead of a free fall, a paraglider can cross mountain ranges if weather plays along.

Plus, there’s plenty of room in the sky.

“I think pretty much every child has a dream to fly like a bird and this is the best way to do it,” Schwab said.

BOZEMAN, Montana — After fewer than six minutes and $170,000, an original 1936 Yellowstone National Park bus went to the highest bidder Saturday — an anonymous new owner with plans for the time capsule on wheels still unknown.

The touring bus was one of 27 of its kind and carried visitors past the park’s erupting geysers and mysterious landscape for more than 20 years. It was donated to the Museum of the Rockies in 1980 and has been a consistent prop in Bozeman parades ever since.

“It’s one of the nicest buses I’ve had the opportunity to see,” Tucker Markovich of North American Auction Company said to the crowd Saturday before rolling into the rhythm of taking bids.

Saturday’s auction brought buyers and curious witnesses alike who wanted to see what would become of the piece of Yellowstone history. A small group of older gents circled the yellow bus with a faded park sticker on it’s side displaying a bear. They peered over its retractable canvas roof and and through its large windows toward its four rows made to fit 14 passengers.

Museum executive director Shelley McKamey said while it will be hard to part with the bus, the museum has a second one on display that is unaltered from its days on the road and will forever remain part of the nonprofit’s collection.

“It’s been a lot of fun having it, but it’s valuable and that money can be used to care for our collections,” McKamey said.

It’s a Yellowstone Transportation Company original White Motor Company Model 706. For those who aren’t classic enthusiasts, that’s the last generation of the touring buses, according to the North American Auction Company.

Saturday’s bidding war for the bus went on more than five minutes, with the anonymous winner head-to-head with the Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust.

A man with a cellphone to his ear came out the winner. John Wallace of Continental Construction said he competed for the item on behalf of a client who he said at the moment would remain anonymous.

“It will more than likely stay in the state, probably on display in Big Sky,” Wallace said. “It’s a thing of prestige, a really cool piece of history.”

With a straw hat in the seat next to his and his thick glasses on, the bus caretaker watched as hands flew in the air to try to claim the prize. Dave Swingle with the museum has lubricated the bus every 100 miles, changed its oil every 500 miles and put the 1,600-pound vehicle on stands each winter to preserve its wheels. He also happens to be on the Chronicle’s editorial board.

“I’m getting old,” Swingle said. “You need someone who knows what they’re doing to drive and maintain it.”

Making it even more rare, he said, the bus is one the few to hold onto title as “fully originally,” from its engine and wires to its four rows of seats.

Kristi Mills, the museum’s director of finance, said the $170,000 from the auction will go toward protecting the museum’s collection. She said that’s even more important as the nonprofit’s crowds continue to grow.

In 2017, the museum set a record of 196,201 individual visits. And that increase continues, with June breaking the record for most people walking in its doors within a month with 27,632 visits.

“We’re happy the bus will stay in Montana.” Mills said. “It’s from a really unique time of history in Yellowstone that’s been preserved. We’ve owned it for 35 years, and it’s time for someone else to have it who’s going to really love it.”