Second day of the Rat Race Comp. Today turned out to be windy with a cold front on our doorstep approaching from the west. A task was called with safety in mind due to the changing conditions. Task committee decided to keep us in the Ruch valley with a short fishbowl type task. Launching was interesting as winds were already blowing 15 mph from the west. The task went from Burnt mountain to Rabies, then to Squire and back to Rabies, to Burnt, then to Cemetery and on to Donatos. It was a around a 35 km task.

In the air I figured there would be more turbulence then yesterday due to stronger winds, but overall it didn't turn out too trashy. I had a good climb out from launch and got to about 6000 msl which is about 2200 over launch. I then headed towards Rabies Ridge to prepare for the start, but ended lower then I wanted. It took me about twenty minutes of climbing in broken lift to finally get high enough to then head to Rabies. On the way to Rabies there was the convergence the usually sets up. In hindsight I could have gone to the convergence area and probably gotten up sooner. By this time I was quite a ways behind with the lead gaggle already tagging two turn points.

After tagging Rabies the course seemed to get easier. I was able to stay high with a climb near Rabies Ridge and a straight glide to Squires and then back to Rabies. A short climb at the convergence zone and tagged Rabies no problem and then on to Burnt. A good climb over Burnt, on to Cemetery, tagged Cemetery and a short climb to 6500 msl and on to goal at Donatos.

Fun task even though short. It has been interesting with the conditions and a large group of pilots. We had two reserve deployments on Saturday, two on Sunday, and at least one today. We also have had a few tree landings. So far no one has been hurt. There are many new pilots here that have not flown in mid day thermic conditions and for as long. Not to mention sharing a thermal with anywhere from 10 to 30 pilots. So the learning curve is huge for pilots learning to compete and fly cross country.

Here are some pics from today. From launch to the Medford Valley on the way to Donatos.