Welcome to Above Reality Hot Air Balloons!
Since 2002 Above Reality Balloons has been soaring the Vermont skies to help makes lasting memories and lifelong dreams come true. We’ve helped thousands of people check a hot air balloon ride off of their bucket list! Our main goal is to provide you with a safe flight and a first-class balloon passenger experience like no other. It is truly a team effort focused on safety, professionalism, efficiency, experience, and fun. We encourage you to meet the team below of pilots, crew, and flight hosts who make the magic happen.
We strive to provide the ultimate hot air balloon tours over Vermont and are proud to be listed in Frommer’s as “One of the World’s Ten Best Hot Air Balloon Adventures.”
MEET OUR CREW
Jeff Snyder – Chief Pilot
A serendipitous balloon ride at the age of 10 was Jeff’s first introduction to the world of hot air balloons. But it wasn’t until a class in his final semester at Penn State (B.S. 2002) where a project to design a hypothetical recreation-based business helped him stumble into the idea to start a balloon ride company in his native state of Vermont.
Since then, Jeff has flown thousands of passengers and flown balloons around the world in places like the Austrian Alps, France, Lithuania, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Tanzania (where he is also a licensed pilot) and of course around the United States. In the winter, Jeff works as a pilot for Serengeti Balloon Safaris taking passengers over the vast plains and exotic wildlife. Despite all these locations, his favorite area to fly is right here surrounded by the breath-taking Vermont landscapes where he has flown over both Mt. Mansfield and Lake Champlain on several occasions (yes, on purpose).
Gary the Lunch Lady
By day Gary helps run and manage the kitchen for the Harwood Union High School and Middle School. He has been a valuable member of our balloon team for over 10 years and knows the many nuances of the balloon ride industry and our company specifically. He does a TON of work behind the scenes as well as out on the launch field. You won’t hear him say too much, but you will see him sweating and always working.
Jake
Jake works for the Air National Guard full time keeping F-35s airworthy. He and his fiancée, Rachelle, have 5 kids and in addition to raising those humans, they raise goats and chickens on their small hobby farm, along with a little maple sugaring. When he gets a free minute, he is an integral part of our crew as his “fun job”. Jake confirms all instructions with a firm “Sir” at the end.
Tassie
Tassie loves adventure and travel. She was our most frequent passenger over an 8-year span and so we basically made her join the ground team (it didn’t take too much convincing). She also enjoys geocaching, scrapbooking, and keeping Vermont traditions alive like pressing apple cider and maple sugaring in her own backyard. If you see one of the two balloons we have with the pink, yellow, purple pattern (background of headshot), those were personally designed by Tassie! It might sound easy to pick colors and a pattern, but trying to find one that is both aesthetically pleasing and isn’t already in use is a bit tricky!
Dave
Dave a.k.a Karlos (whichever you prefer) – had at least two lives before he came to us. 1) was a as a local South Burlington police officer for 20 years, and 2) he was in charge of washing and waxing the F-16s flown by the Green Mountain Boys that used to be based at Burlington International Airport. Ok, ok, he actually retired as the Chief Master Sergeant. Now we are subjected to his corny puns and bad dad jokes in the chase truck (let’s be honest, they are actually grandpa jokes).
Vicky
Vicky likes to work as a flight host when her husband Gary (a.k.a. “Lunch Lady) is also crewing. Vicky is a talented graphic designer who worked for the Shelburne Museum for over 18 years. She now works for the YMCA of Greater Burlington. Vicky and the Lunch Lady are empty nesters now that their daughter has graduated from Northwestern and is gainfully employed.
Jason
Jason Provost – a.k.a Tobby Korrobos, International Piloto
Jason soloed an airplane before he even had a driver’s license. He then went to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and became a Commercial Airline Pilot. He later added a Commercial Balloon Pilot rating to his license. He is presently a Simulator Pilot Instructor for American Airlines in Dallas, TX. He teaches and recertifies pilots on the Airbus A320 platform. He grew up in Vermont and comes “home” to fly balloons during the very busy parts of the season.
David
David Tanzer – David likes the puzzle of flying both balloons and those aircraft that have wings. He’s been doing both for a long time. In 2019 completed his 4th decade of safe balloon flying. He was awarded the “Ed Yost Master Pilot” award bestowed upon those who have been safely flying balloons for 40 years or more. In the airplane world he volunteers his time, skills, and his airplane when he transports passengers in need of medical treatments for the Angel Flight organization. Despite all of these impressive aviation accolades he could talk about he his mostly inclined to talk about his daughter’s accomplishments as she progresses through the dual M.D./PhD program at Tufts University.
Jo
“Aunt” Jo – comes from a large family in Westford, Vermont and earned that nickname from her many nieces and nephews (some of whom are also on our crew). She worked as a dairy farmer for almost three decades and then drove a mail route for the US Postal Service for 17 years. She takes lots of wonderful photos of our flights that you might see on our Facebook page or website. She is also a loving and proud grandmother. You will not see anyone out work her.
OJ
OJ started crewing with the Above Reality in 2021. Before that he was intrigued by balloons that he used to see at the Essex Fairgrounds during the festivals held there in the 90s. OJ’s day job is on the manufacturing side of Green Mountain Coffee (now Kuerig Dr. Pepper). In his free time he enjoys camping, video games, car shows (with his own affinity for Japanese cars #delsolowner), playing guitar, and seeing live music. And he can do an impressive impression of a David Lee Roth high kick – ask to see it!
Bonus Trivia: His given name is John. But we already had an existing crew member named Jon on the team when OJ joined. It was confusing. We started calling him “the other John”. Which has way too many syllables. So the moniker “other John” was shortened to OJ. Which made perfect sense to the entire crew and hence, a nickname and alter-ego were born.
Eric
Eric is a native Vermonter who has lived in Essex his entire life and grew up on a small family farm his father ran for many years. He is married and has two grown children in their 30s. He spent 34 years at IBM until “retiring” in 2023. However, he still works year round by helping plow farm fields for Paul Mazza’s farm in the spring, crewing balloons with the Above Reality team in the summer and fall, and helping with his family’s maple sugaring operation (about 28,000 taps) in the winter months. In his free time he plays pickleball and spends time with his grandkids. Eric’s favorite aspect of crewing is seeing how excited passengers are after their first balloon ride!
Geoff
Geoff retired from his desk job in the insurance world. He now likes to spend his days hiking, biking, and enjoying time with his family. He works now in the world of maple syrup. If you have questions about maple syrup production, ask away as he spends a lot of his days working in a sugaring operation. Geoff is pictured here with his son, Hunter, inside one of our balloons on a flight they took in 2023.
Marcel
Marcel has been part of our team for several years. He is a college student from Poland who has grown to love Vermont. He also loves pierogi, racoons, and Taylor Swift. Marcel is getting a degree in computer science to become a Java developer. He is a sharp one and will be very successful in his career. When his brother, Oktawian, was also part of our team they were affectionately known as the Polish Air Force – Balloon Platoon (American division).
Dónal
Dónal is both a student balloon pilot and one of our most frequent Flight Hosts so you’re likely to see his smiling face when you check-in. He’s hoping to remove the word “student” from that sentence in 2026. He moved here from The Emerald Isle back in 2008 and is now a U.S. citizen! In his former life he helped his Dad run a painting business and he flew airplanes for fun. And if you don’t get to see Dónal crewing when you fly, you might see him flying his own balloon alongside us!
Riker
Riker is part of our team. He will frequently accompany the crew when his Dad, Dónal, is part of the chase crew. Riker has been on many balloon rides and loves them all. He also loves motorcycle rides. Sometimes he will just watch the inflation process and balloon flight. But other times – especially when Jake is crewing, Riker gets put to work!
Steve
Steve joined the Above Reality crew in 2023. In the winter he works on the snow making team at Stowe Mountain Resort. When not chasing balloons or making snow, he enjoys mountain biking, skiing, riding motorcycles, and boating at his family’s camp in Lake George.
Riggins
Riggins – the only “official” four-legged crew member of the team. Adopted in 2017 through the Passion for Paws, Riggins will be on the launch and landing fields on almost all flights keeping us safe from squirrels, ground hogs, and field mice. However, unless you catch a glimpse of him getting out of or into the truck he will mostly remain out of site finding all of the wonderful smells and critters on the ground. He does NOT go flying with us but happily jumped in the basket one day when we offered him a tethered balloon ride.
Alumni Crew
Jon
We were lucky enough to have Jon come across our path a few years ago as he was changing careers. He is not only a student balloon pilot but is also our Crew Chief. You will generally see him behind the wheel of our truck and/or as the first one to arrive on foot and assist in the landing. He has also had experience as a ground crew member out in Phoenix, Arizona. In between flights he runs his own boutique landscaping company. He spends his winters trekking around the mountains of Vermont for a local maple sugar producer.
Nate
Nate found his way to us about a decade ago when looking for things to do in his spare time when he wasn’t working, mowing his lawn, or making lawn art . He has been a very valuable crew member over the years. Interestingly enough, Nate wasn’t wild about flying in general (or balloons for that matter) when he first started. He has now been on more balloon rides than he can count and loves flying! He also loves a good craft beer with the crew after a good flight and we’re pretty sure that’s why he sticks around.
Paul
Paul If being part of a balloon chase team isn’t an obscure enough way to earn a living, Paul is also a professional forager of wild mushrooms, ramps, etc. (which he provides to local restaurants), a furniture refinisher, a wildlife photographer, and Red Sox lover (although that doesn’t provide much income J). He is originally from Maine and that’s why he talks funny.
Stephanie
Stephanie spends her summer days playing softball, riding motorcycles, and chasing hot air balloons. By day she works for Keurig Dr. Pepper – formerly Green Mountain Coffee Roasters as a Sensory Specialist – she sniffs and tastes coffee beans for quality control. She loves music concerts (especially heavy metal)!
Brandie
Brandie was interested in balloons for a while and we landed near her home one day. She asked if she we ever needed any additional crew members on sunrise flights as she had early mornings free. Her main job is medically analyzing people while they sleep (yup, you read that right) so she keeps unique hours. She is also a mom to two teenage boys.
Kristy
Kristy is a balloon enthusiast and has been interested in balloons well before she found us. She has been on many balloon rides with us and we’ve even landed our balloons in her backyard! She is a lover of country music festivals, organization, and road trips. If Kristy is the host who greets you on the day of your flight she can answer almost any question you might have about the flight experience.