"I had a passenger literally ask, when are we gonna take off?"' said Andy Breffeilh, owner of the Wyoming Balloon Co. "I said, 'Look.' We were fifty feet in the air."

Breffeilh has been flying his hot-air balloons in Jackson Hole for more than 12 years. In that time, he credits his pilots for enthusing clients and curing even the most debilitating acrophobia.

"The magic moment in the balloon is after we lift-off … and an anxiety for heights is replaced with a child-like joy," Breffeilh said.

Some passengers, Breffeilh said, will stand back from the side of the basket during take-off but later wind up peering over the edge to see their reflection in a pond, 2,000 feet below.

Breffeilh assuages clients' fears with a thorough explanation of safety features. The company's largest balloon is 90 feet tall and 60 feet in diameter. There are six burners, four fuel systems and four tanks on the largest balloon.

If the balloon ran out of fuel or a problem arose, "it would float down to the ground like a parachute," Breffeilh said. "There is an immense sense of security."

Along with that security comes an encompassing serenity not found in any other flying machine. In the open air, it is possible to smell the pine trees, and with the burners burning only 3 to 5 percent of the time, passengers can hear elk bugling, geese honking and the water running out of the mountains, Breffeilh said.

"Have you ever seen a bald eagle from above?" he asked. The white on its tail goes all the way up to the junction of the wings."

Wyoming Balloon Co. fills its balloons in the meadows near Teton Village and floats them over the Snake River Ranch but will wander pretty much anywhere the wind blows in the valley.

"The balloon is so unthreatening and slow moving that horses on the ranch walk up to the basket," Breffeilh said. Geese waddle away slowly, instead of flying.

Like many Jackson Hole businesses, Breffeilh's began as a hobby and blossomed into a lifestyle. Once an attorney, he began ballooning to get away from things to clear his head. When he went to court with a smile, he said, his opponents thought Breffeilh knew something they didn't.

"Happiness is empowering," he said. "A happy lawyer is a dangerous man."

Attempting to practice law and run the balloon company for some time, Breffeilh took another lesson from the sky:

He went where the wind blew him. As the company began to turn a profit, Breffeilh dropped the law office and launched into the ballooning biz full time.

Whether you're afraid of heights or just wanting to see the sights, land your-self a spot on a hot air balloon before the season ends. Contact the Wyoming Balloon Company at 739-O9OO or www.wyomingballoon.com.