The Daily Telegram - 15 majestic images from the world's largest hot air balloon festival

A fall tradition for 44 years, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta took flight for nine days amid some pretty vicious winds.

Though the weather was warm and pleasant for spectators, cyclone-like winds above forced the cancellation of the event’s premier gas balloon race. “This is the most difficult balloon-flying weather we’ve ever had,” Roger Hoppe, a pilot of 40 years, told the Albuquerque Journal.