In article ,
Dana M. Hague wrote:

On Tue, 26 May 2009 10:53:34 -0400, Mike Ash wrote:

And there is of course an entire sport dedicated to this called
paragliding. I believe their parachutes are somewhat different, but that
just means it's harder to thermal a skydiving parachute, not impossible.

Despite some similarities in appearance and construction, a paraglider
is COMPLETELY different from a skydiving parachute. A paraglider is a
wing (PG pilot's don't call them "parachutes"), designed solely for
gliding flight, and cannot be used for jumping (the shock of a free
fall opening would destroy it).

But yes, it's just [barely] possible to thermal a skydiving parachute.
And there are some horror stories of people who have bailed out into
thunderstorms and reached alarming altitudes...

"The Man Who Rode the Thunder", Lt. Col. William Rankin, USMC, for one.