I guess it must be   

that most all Heli pilots have such small D energy that they would feel threatened by a guy flying a paramotor up at omg 5k......it's so crazy.

You idiots really do need to educate yourselves.  For your own sake.  You share the sky with paragliders now, deal with it.  You would think to learn all you can about a threat would be in your best interest.  But I guess ignorance is bliss.

I've gone to only 8k, and that was cold enough .  Most everyone I fly with has been higher.  5k is no big deal.  Actually you can get there from sea level in about 15 minutes if you are easy on the throttle with a moster 185 and only burn a liter to get there.  We carry 10 to 15 liters typical for a full tank on a motor....you do the math.  5k in the summer time is actually quite nice and a normal/typical altitude we go to to "cool" off from the heat or do acro runs. 

Most times you can cut the engine at that alt and just thermal.  That's right, thermal up to cloud base at 5k or even higher if you have the skills and know how to do it but cloud base is usually where I stop.  If it's a really poppin day with lots of vertical development I've had friends core cells from base right up to 10k. 

Paragliding is huge Overseas and is just starting to get a real foothold here in the states since about 4 years ago.  You may find it interesting to read up on the story of a gal who got cloud suck and spit out the top of a super cell half alive and frozen to death/just about, who holds the world record now for highest flight.....by accident