A German tourist visiting the Yukon was hospitalized after a paragliding mishap near Marsh Lake last Thursday. He remains in Whitehorse General Hospital.

Martin Kleiss was visiting Marsh Lake resident Wolf Schall for a three-week trip when the duo decided to go paragliding together.

"We were flying out there for half an hour, having fun with nice smooth air, and then we both sank out relatively fast, faster than usual,” Schall said in an interview today.

Schall and Kleiss, both long-time fliers, decided to end their trip prematurely and headed toward their landing field. During their descent, Kleiss was hit by severe turbulence, said Schall.

"His wing basically stopped flying. He parachuted down in a fast descent and hit the ground with his back,” said Schall.

Schall immediately called 911 once he landed. Two ambulances were dispatched. The Marsh Lake ambulance arrived first.

"I'm very surprised,” said Schall.

"I don't know anyone with more air time. Martin has been flying for 37 years, all kinds of flying machines. We're still trying to figure out why it happened. It was a very nice day.”

Kleiss had arrived in Whitehorse only a day earlier. He was admitted to the hospital with compressed vertebrae.

"He will heal up, but it will be a long time,” he said.

Schall said Kleiss hopes to be able to fly back to his home in Austria two weeks from now.

"He planned to stay for three weeks,” he said. "We hope he will be able to fly home at least in first class, or maybe laying down in a special bed.”

Val Pike, a spokesperson for the hospital, said Kleiss is in stable condition and waiting to be discharged.