So, it has been about 4 and half months since I posted in the blog. It's not that I did not have anything to post. I had plenty that I could have talked about, especially about some of the epic powder days I experienced this year. Briefly, in the ski industry, it has been a slow season. The economy has taken its toll on skier visits, and skiers taking lessons, and I have been unfortunate to lose 50% of my winter client base. I have been fortunate to be able to fill in my extra time with training and skiing with peers, which is something I have not been able to do for many years due to private business. Now that we have blown the training budget, I am just plugging away at finishing the season, and getting ready for flying fulltime. I apologize for not posting for a long time. So, I must start where I left off from the Mingus trip. :-)

So, I remember from my last post that we had flown in Chucks Cessna 182 to Cottonwood, AZ, getting a low budget hotel room that even Chuck was ok with. Unfortunately, it did not have a hot tub, so we had to settle for the shower, which was borderline ok. It didn't have hot water the first night of which we complained. The next morning we had plenty! So, getting up the next morning, winds were still forecast to be from the east at a fairly strong speed, but since it was the first day we had to go check it out. Drive up was easy, a paved road until we got to the Mingus Mountain national forest turn off. Even though it was dirt it was well graded, which we were thankful as our little Nissan Versa was riding low with three pilots and three gliders. Once we got to launch we were fronted with an incredible view, steep launches, and strong winds. It seemed the forecast was right on. Once we saw this site, we were awe inspired to get a flight. 4000 vertical feet to our landing zone at the municipal airport where Chuck landed his plane. They had a drop zone landing pad, which if we followed the right protocol was open to paraglider pilots landing there. The managers of the airport were awesome, and were very supportive of us flying and landing there. We were amazed at the hospitality. Unfortunately, during the four days we were there, we never met any of the local pilots, which was surprising considering the forecast, especially hang glider pilots, because of wind strength.

So, after hanging on launch for about an hour, and realizing it might be awhile before the winds mellow, we decided to go have lunch at the little town perched on the mountainside on the way up. It was a great, hippie type place, with great restaurants, bed and breakfasts, and bars.

We grabbed a sandwich, ate, and decided to read for a time. At about 2 pm we decided to head back to launch, and see if we could get one flight off.

Once back at launch, the winds had dimished somewhat, and it looked like we might get lucky. The wind meters we had were showing about 12 to 18 mph, with an occasional 20 mph. Comfortable, if you know the site. This was to be our first flight, so we were being slightly cautious. I took my time, and began to suit up. Conditions were consistent so I laid out and launched. I was happy with butter smooth conditions, and a little lift, but we were late in the day, and since this is an east facing site, the sun was on the other side of the mountain. So a nice sledder to the airport, and within a half hour we all had our first flight at Mingus.

The next day opened as a repeat. Strong winds in the morning, giving way to diminshing winds in the afternoon. This time we were there a little earlier, and were able to get about 40 minutes of soaring with great views over the back of Mingus. This site is well worth checking out.

The third day was exactly the same, but even more soaring time. We definitely look forward to coming back to this area. The people were great, the access was easy, and we were always able to find a driver to bring us back up. Now that I am in the spring mode, and ready to get back in the air, I will be posting regularly. So, thanks for all you patient waiting, and stay tuned. Cheers!

Cottonwood, AZ/ Mingus Mountain

It's been a while since I have post some text, and that's because I haven't had anything exciting going on. I have skied a few days on the white ribbon of fun at Breckenridge and Loveland, but not much above and beyond that. Now we have something going on, back in the paragliding arena.

Mingus Mountain, just outside of Cottonwood, Arizona, is not far from Sedona. Sedona is a place known as having harmonic convergence, and energy centers everywhere. The valley in Cottonwood, not known for much, is at 3,500 feet msl. Launch on Mingus, 7,800 msl. So, about 4,100 to 4,300 vertical feet. A two wheel drive road to the top, and you have one amazing flying site. Let's put Cottonwood, AZ on the map.

We decided to come down to Mingus to paraglide. We were thinking of going to New Mexico, but their sites face west. High Pressure to the north, and with it's clockwise circulation, the prevailing winds up to 30,000 feet msl were from the east. What made it easy to come down to Arizona was Chuck's Cessna 182. Rather then a 12 hour drive by road, we have a 3 hour flight from Leadville, Colorado. That flight was an adventure in itself for Bobby Blount and I. For Chuck it was like a walk in the park.

So, we loaded up in Leadville on Sunday at noon, and we were off at about 12:40 pm. It was so cool taking off in winds blowing 15 to 25 knots from the northwest. After taking off, we flew south toward Monarch pass east of twin lakes. We had a heavy load with three paragliders, and clothing for 4 nights, weight was definitely an issue. We had 5 hours of fuel, but our climb rate was weaker then normal. We finally climbed out to about 15,000 feet msl, and Chuck decided to try going west over Monarch pass. We were worried about rotor over the big peaks, because winds were strong from the northwest. We finally topped out at 15,500 feet msl and made it over the Pass with no problem. The next step was to fly through the San Juans. So we stayed high and continued south of Telluride, Silverton, and actually flew over Purgatory ski area outside of Durango. It was all downhill from here. Of course at this time I felt the urge to take a bathroom break, and got teased by the boys, but I know Chuck would not have landed if he didn't have to go, so we landed in Cortez, Co near the 4 corners for a quick stop.

15 minutes later we were back in the air. Chuck felt like a bush pilot and we skimmed the ground over Navajo territory checking out the farms in the middle of the Arizona desert. They all have Hogans which is basically a sweat lodge, and are octogon shaped. As we got closer to Flagstaff, AZ we had to climb a little bit to get over a couple of mesas, and as we approached Flagstaff we passed a couple of flying sites called the Craters. Merriam and Sheba craters and low a behold there were three paraglider pilots getting ready to launch. It was about 3:30 pm. So, we buzzed around them a bit and then headed to Sedona to check out the cliffs.

The colors of Sedona were amazing with the setting sun. We encountered a lot of turbulence in the Sedona area as we flew below the cliffs which faces west, and winds were from the east, so we were definitely fighting the rotor. No problem with the Cessna 182.

We approached Cottonwood, AZ as the sun was beginning to set, but we had one more task to fly over Mingus to check out launch and landings. It was definitely strong from the east, but it certainly set up that excitement for the next three days. I will post more in the next couple of days about the awesome flying. Stay tuned.

Wolcott/ October 30th,2008

It was great to have another visiting pilot from the front range. Allen Sparks (Sparky) came up and met us at the Bellyache LZ at 9:30 am. He had flown Bellyache before, but had never flown Wolcott. Hopefully, he was going to do both.

It was a good morning for flights at Bellyache. Andre De Lucinge, a former pilot, had not flown in 3 years. He had a shoulder injury, and was finally healed up and wanted to get back on the horse. So, Andre and I did a tandem. He was like a kid in a candy store, nervous, but psyched he got back in the air. Hopefully, we will be able to get flying solo again.

We decided to meet for Wolcott at 1:30 pm as it usually turns on after 2 pm this late in the season. Tom Vail, Braden, Kris, Bobby, came along, and we all went up in Sparky's truck. It was blowing in nicely, with some lulls between thermal cycles. Kris Husted was first to suit up and give it a go. Once in the air he flew around launch for about 10 minutes and then one of the sink cycles had him landing below launch. I took the honors next, and launched into strong cycles, but didn't get a ton of lift right off launch. I actually started to sink and headed to the north of launch to try to find something. Though light, I hooked a thermal and cored at 300 fpm lift which got me above launch. I then boated around north of launch, and was able to dabble in a couple of small light thermals getting a 1000 feet over launch. From there it was hard to getting anything. I topped out finally at about 10,500 msl, and that was that. What I liked about the day was playing in the light stuff. It was fairly smooth. Unfortunately, due to a high cirrus cloud cover, I think thermals were weak which didn't allow for big gains in height.

Braden, a new pilot with about 40 flights, had his first flight off Wolcott. He launched and flew toward the LZ with about a 20 minute flight. Way to go Braden.

Sparky decided to fly his hang glider, and did finally get a flight off Wolcott. He scatched hard, and flew for about a hour which was impressive given the light conditions. Tom Vail scatched, and was graced with about an hour flight as well. All in all, everyone else had about an hour to two hour flight. Amazing for this late in the season.

With a storm approaching it looks like Wolcott is done for the year. I have been amazed at the late season flying this year. Maybe we will get a few more flights in the area, but I think the best optin will be to head south. I will update weekly, and keep you all posted on what we are doing. Soon it will be skiing.

Cheers!

Wolcott/ Oct 29th, 2008

So, after I have been talking up Wolcott, and all the great flying we have been having, several pilots came up from the front range for some west slope action. Casy, Rusty, Al, and Kiernan took the drive up to check it out. None of the pilots had ever flown Wolcott. Casey had been up here a couple of times, but got skunked each time due to strong winds. But, we have to give it up for the guys making the two hour drive in hopes of some great flights, and Casey secured his Tandem 1 certification. Congratulations, Casey!

Well, true to form Wolcott seemed to be setting up for a great day. The only reservations I was having is listening to the AWOS on top of Copper mountain as it was gusting to 35 mph most of the morning and early afternoon. We met at1 pm and conditons were still calm in the LZ. So driving up we were considering when it would actually turn on. Once at launch, winds were light and variable, with no definite direction. After about 15 minutes cycles started to come up the face, with the occasional 15 mph speed. Casey set up with Rusty, did his perfect tandem briefing, very comprehensive, and launched. Nicely done Casey! They soared in front of launch for about 10 minutes and then worked toward the LZ. A little soaring in the LZ area, and set up in increasing winds to a nice landing. Pilots began to get ready. Kris, set up and was first on launch, but bocked at launching due to the increasing winds. Cycles had kicked in and it was now blowing a steady 15 with some gusts to 25 mph. It was a good thing he waited as winds continued to increase topping out at a steady 20 mph with peak gusts over 30 mph. So, unfortunately we settled in to the waiting game.

Needless-to-say, we ended up waiting until one hour before sunset, and then with a little diminish of the winds, Dave set up and hucked. Winds were still strong as his penetration was not stellar, and launch conditions were still quite sporty. Gradually all the pilots got off, and one pilot reported he was going backwards at 5 mph at one point. So, speed bar was in use during part of the flight.

So now that this wave has passed through, we are hoping for the next couple of days to be good. It looks like after Sunday, the weather may shut Wolcott down for the season. At least you finally got to fly the site Casey.

It was great having the visiting pilots come up. Stay tuned for the last few days of the fall season. Cheers

Wolcott/ Oct 27, 2008

You probably thought that we weren't flying anymore as we have been waiting for Wolcott to finally give up another day. Well today was the day. With winds forecast to be from the Southwest 12,000 feet and below, we decided (Mike Wiman, Alex Hintz, Chuck Leathers, Garret, and myself), to meet around 1:15 pm and give it a whirl. Chuck and I feeling fat and out of shape decided to hike up to launch, while Alex drove Chucks vehicle with our gliders in it. I can't imagine hiking two and half miles with a 55 pound kit. It felt good to breathe hard, and the ski season is not very far away.

Once at launch the winds were showing light and variable with some cycles up the face, but nothing very convincing. At about 2:30 pm there was finally some texture on the lake and we began to get some nice steady cycles. Finally it filled in about 2:45 pm and we got ready. There were some strong cycles which had us wondering if it was going to get stronger, but it didn't and we launched around 3:15 pm.

Conditions were definitely high pressure and the thermals felt like you were climbing through an inversion the whole flight. Alot of broken lift with sharp edges to the thermals. I managed to work myself up to 9,700 msl and boated around that height for about 15 minutes. Then another thermal came through and got me up to about 10,900 msl. It was definitely hard to get up as the other pilots couldn't climb above 10,300 msl. The conditions were a little choppy up to about 10,300 msl, but smoothed out above that height. I finally got to 11,300 msl at about 5:00 pm. It seemed it was beginning to glass off at that time and there was light lift everywhere. We all flew to about 5:30 pm. Alex Hintz got to fly his new glider. I hope to get pics soon.

It felt good to get some late season flying. It may not be much longer for soaring conditions, so we are going to try to get up as much as possible until the snow really flies. Stay tuned for more late season blogging. Cheers

Wolcott/ October 18th, 2008

So, we went up again today, not knowing what to expect as NOAA hasn't been that accurate on the forecasts. Listening to the AWOS on top of Copper was leading us to believe that we would be blown out, with NOAA saying light winds at 5 to 10 mph. We went up a little later today, arriving at launch about 2:45 pm. Conditions looked ten times better then the day before, but it still seemed light. It was a popular day as we had visiting pilots from the front range, Dan and two Mikes, a new pilot named Peso, and a visiting pilot from Seattle, Rob, his girlfriend Jaime, and his friend Matt who lives here in Vail. Jaime and Matt were up for a tandem, so we hooked them up. It was awesome to see four Hangies come up for the evening,lead by the famous Thane Chase.

Cycles were fairly straight in, then a little south, and a little north, but mostly straight in and light. So the front range boys got their kit ready, and Mike and Dan launched and climbed out immediately. Though it was light, it seemed pretty lifty. Alot different then the day before. Then the tandems, then Rob. Climbing out was quite nice, Jaime and I had no trouble right off launch, and a climb out to about 700 over launch. After boating around a little, we found an awesome thermal just north of launch and climbed out in 800 feet per minute smooth thermal to 11,200 msl. Jaime was very happy, I was very happy, and we flew around launch for a while deciding to land after a 45 minute ride. Mike Jobin climbed to about 13,000 msl, and got the highest of the day. Several of us decided to land about the same time, and then the Hangies were off, catching a nice glass off that seemed to start around 5:00 pm. Peso launched about 6:00 pm and was happy to get four decent flights for a full day.

It turned out to be a beautiful fall afternoon of flying. It looks like the next several days are going to shut us down with a front approaching, but stay tuned. Until the snow flies we will be up in the air. Cheers!

Wolcott/ October 17th, 2008

So, we decided to head up Wolcott early today to get the full afternoon soaring conditions. As usual, when you plan to go up early because of the forecast, you end up waiting for conditions to turn on. We got to launch about 12:45 pm, and the six of us proceeded to watch the wind cycles blow from every direction. About 2 pm a Red Tail climbed out to the Northwest of launch, and we thought things would turn on. We started to get some cycles, and Alex laid out, launched and boated around for a while. He then got low and headed toward the LZ, and hooked a nice thermal to climb out to about 11,000 msl. So, Dave was next and launched into the best cycle yet, and had no trouble just flying around staying above launch the whole time with out working very hard. At this time Alex came back over launch and just found sink which took him all the way to the ground landing in the LZ after about 30 minutes.

After Dave launched Chuck and I laid out, and then, nothing. Cycles were blowing from the North, and sometimes over the back. We were getting reports that the conditions in the LZ were light and variable with wind blowing down slope some of the time. Finally after about 20 minutes I had a south southwest cycle that I launched into just to get off, and found sizeable sink immediately. I flew past the big rock, and headed straight out from launch to the little knob, in front of the launch rock. I hit some broken lift and began turning aggressively to try to stay in it, after a couple of 360's with no appreciable climb, I began searching, and then WHAM, a full frontal and a front horseshoe. Since I had only about 200 feet, I thought reserve, but still had the glider in some sense of control as it opened up. I turned about 180 degrees, and then the glider opened surged, and began flying. I maybe lost only 50 feet. ACTION! The air just felt broken and unorganized. I tried to find that lift, but it was just to broken to consider, and I headed toward the LZ. The same place Alex and Dave found the lift was still there, and I turn vigorously to stay in it. I finally climbed above launch height, the lift organized and smoothed out and I was on my way. The air between 9,000 msl and 11,000 msl was fairly consistent and smoother. Below 9 and above 11 it was broken, disorganized and turbulent. It seemed there was an inversion that the thermals were trying to break through for 2,000 feet. Interestingly, I felt like I was getting pushed from behind most of the flight, and the lines would alcken if not continuously flying active.

Anyway, sporty flying is always interesting. Climbed out to 13,400 msl, and Dave was boating around up there, too. Dave took off toward the top of Red and White mountain, and I headed toward Edwards hoping to find something on the way to fly into Vail. Dave was working hard to core something near the summit of Red and White. I sunk to about 10,500 msl and found a thermal near the Singletree golf course which got me back up to 11,500 msl. I was heading toward Wildridge and I found a nice climb from 10,000 msl back up to 12,400. I was back on my way. Dave at this time glided out from Red and White mountain over Mountain Star and landed at the Christie Lodge. I continued on my way to Dowd Jct. hoping to find something, before heading into Vail, but nothing there. I arrived at Dowd Jct. at about 10,000 msl and searched, and found nothing. I landed at Battle Mountain High School, after about an 1 hour 45 minutes. Nice, but not the most relaxing flight I have had.

Maybe tomorrow will be better. It was nice to be able to go on a short cross country flight this late in the season and on a technically difficult day.

Stay tuned.