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.

Wolcott/ October 8th

Yes indeed, Wolcott gave it up for a beautiful flight on the 8th. I was being a skeptic about the winds. I was hearing so many conflicting reports in regards to winds strength, that I almost blew the day off. Winds at the Copper AWOS were gusting to the mid to upper 30's, and at Eagle there were gusts to 27 mph. Since this seemed like the best possible day out of the week, several pilots decided to rendezvous at the hang glider LZ to check it out. After watching for 15 minutes, even with the AWOS reports, we decided this may be the last chance in a while, so we went up to launch.

We got to launch about 3:15 pm. Checking the winds, we recorded a gust to 27 mph, but the average most of the time was about 15 mph. Bobby Blount geared up and decided to launch as we felt there may be a surface compression, and the winds were mostly steady at 12 with gusts to 18 mph. Calling the Eagle tower winds were not on the increase, so conditions were after all looking quite favorable.

Once Bobby launched his penetration was excellent. As we were gearing up, Tom Vail arrived as the only hang glider pilot. Perfect conditions for baggies and hangies.

Once off I could not believe the conditions. I was getting 10 mph ground speed into the wind. Conditions at launch were definitely stronger then in the air, and the air was as smooth as a glass off. It was easy to climb out right from launch, and finally hooking a decent thermal I climbed out to about 11,000 msl. There seemed to be an inversion at this point as the lift stopped at this elevation. However, it was easy to stay between 10,000 and 11,000 msl as the air seemed really bouyant.

We could actually chat with the boys BJ, and SF at Williams and they were saying it was rowdy over Williams Peak, but nice over the valley.

We were lucky, it seemed that this was the only day we were going to get for the rest of the week. Maybe next week will work out to be decent after this winter like storm goes through. Stay tuned.

Sept 30/ Wolcott to Vail again

Well, sometimes you get lucky. After yesterdays cumulus clouds with streets all over the sky, I convinced Tomas to go up to Wolcott today to see if we could go somewhere. We decided to meet at 2 pm at the LZ. Conditions looked light, but straight from the west in the LZ. The forecast today was for northwest winds in the valley with the winds aloft forecast light and variable up to 18,000 feet msl.

Once we got to launch conditions looked great with light winds straight into launch, and cycles to about 12 mph. So we got our kits ready, and like on cue the winds turned north. A dust devil came through launch and Tomas had to jump on his wing so it didn't fly away. So we just sat there for a while. I did not hook in and considered packing up and bagging it. What was interesting is the valley ponds were showing southwest. So, we hoped for the winds to straighten out. Finally a cycle came through that was straight in and Tomas launched. Sticking close to the hill he ridge soared for about a minute, and then of course the winds lightened up and turned north, and he sunk out near launch.

By this time I was hooked in and watching the wind blow from the north again, and my GPS was not working. It would acquire sattellites and then friz out. It's a good thing my vario had an integrated GPS, but no detailed map of the area. Not thinking I would get up anyway, I watched as cycles straightened out a bit, but still had some north in it. I decided to launch. I guessed that there maybe a thermal out front as it was light and there really wasn't a north face to work anyway. Once out in front, I hooked a light thermal climbing at about 200 fpm so I did one 360 degree turn, still climbing, another 360, then another, and still climbing. Then it kicked in, and I was climbing at about 600 fpm, a perfect climb to 14,500 msl. It was quite turbulent to about 12,000 msl and then the thermal smoothed out. Unbelieveable! Maybe a north day would work if you get the right cycle, and thermal. What was nice about this climb was the flat bottom cumulus that was right over launch. I started toward Vail toward another cloud and found a weak climb to 15,300 msl. This is where the thermal petered out, but cloud base was still 2000 feet above me. So I continued to work toward Vail. Unfortunately I realized I had wind from the Northeast and I was trying to go east. I probably should have turned and headed toward
Aspen at this point, but I was thinking to try to make it to Copper Mountain and then on to Breckenridge. As I passed Avon, I noticed a small plane coming up the valley. I had talked to Chuck Leathers and he flew to Crested Butte today for lunch. I thought this couldn't be him, but as he got closer I recognized his plane. I was at 15,300 msl, and he was circling around me trying to get to my height. His Cessna 182 was trying. Just then I found a climb to take me to cloud base at 17,400 msl and then I lost him. What treat to have him flying around. It's kind of fun to out climb a Cessna without a motor. :-)

At this time I was torn on which way to go. The cloud street led into tiger country, and the options along the road were blue. I was not in the mood to hike so I stuck I-70 corridor. I flew to the top of Vail mountain the toward the top of Benchmark which is east of Two Elk Lodge in China Bowl. I could not believe the lack of landing options toward Copper, so I was going to try to find one climb around Benchmark and then go for Vail pass. As I approached BM I hit alot of sink and then decided once near east Vail to jump the highway to the cliffs above the Vail Mountain School. No Lift. So I hit speed bar and landed back in Ford Park. Launched at 3:30 pm and landed at 4:50 pm.

It was interesting flying into the wind where generally you would have a tail wind. An amazing flight with the colors, perfect clouds, and a friend with a Cessna. Let's hope we can have a few more days like this before the snow flies.

Cheers!

Sept 22, 2008/ Back in Vail

Well, it was an amazing trip to the Owens Valley. Unfortunately, the high winds allowed us only two comp days. Of course the week before was epic, and this week was setting itself up to be awesome with less wind. Out of three days of flying I was able to get some decent cross country flying. 25 miles the practice day, 35 miles the 1st comp day, and 65 miles the 2nd comp day. So, 125 miles in three days.

The week before, there were a couple of pilots that had two 100 mile days. So it can be quite an amazing place when the weather cooperates.

The results for the Nationals:

1st: Dean Stratton (defends his title)
2nd: Josh Cohn
3rd: Peter Schaefer

Women

1st: Meredyth Malocsay
2nd: Melanie Pfister
3rd: Kari Castle

So, the weather is shaping up for flying in the Vail area this week after some rain and snow on the high peaks. This weekend I am planning some thermal and cross country flights from Wolcott. We will see if the fall holds true for some great flying. I hope to get some nice fall pics, so stay tuned.

Cheers

Day 5/ Sept 18th Nationals

Today we went up to Gunter, with a half decent forecast. The drive as the previous day went uneventful, and all the pilots got to launch sucessfully. I thought the task commitee was going to try to keep us closer to Bishop today, and they followed through. A couple of turn points near town and then a down wind glide to Hammil and then Benton.

The day seemed favorable, but what we all noticed is the clouds moving faster then yesterday. Wind at launch was also stronger. So of course we sent the wind techs out into the blue, and guess what, no forward speed or penatration. After about 15 minutes of watching, the task was called off. Now the long drive back down to the valley.

One of the comp pilots, Honza decided to suit up and go for big distance. He is from Czech Republic, but flies in the XAlps cross country race in Europe for the US. Last I heard he had flown about 50+ miles toward the north near Mono Lake and still at 14,500 msl. He may get the California record.

So, I will include more pics from yesterdays flight. Hopefully we will get another task off, as tomorrow looks to be windier.

Hang tight. Cheers!

Day 4/ Sept 17th Nationals

After three days at Flynns, which is in the valley and suseptible to valley wind, the decision was to go to Gunters today. It was the right decision. Winds were strong on top of the Whites. There is a remote weather observation station on top of White Mountain, and winds were blowing from 15 mph with gusts to around 23 mph until about 10 am. Gunters sits about 8,280 feet msl. This gives the pilots alot more room to find lift. The valley is about 4,000 feet below that.

Checking the weather there were as many different forecasts as I have fingers on both hands. Light and variable winds, strong gusty winds, favorable winds for cross country, which was it going to be?

The drive up to launch went uneventful, and all the pilots made it to launch easily. But the next issue was to get all the pilots off launch. You can only lay out two gliders at the main launch, and there are other small areas that you can lay out only one glider, but at least we could spread out to get the pilots off.

There was some cumulus developing over the Sierras, and over the Whites, and there seemed to be more moisture in the air then yesterday when some showers developed. The heights of the cumulus seemed even higher, but the cloud street forming up range looked enticing. The valley was staying clear, so it looked like we might actually get a task off.

The task commitee called about 103 km task into Nevada, a small town called Mina, with one turnpoint in the valley. The clouds actually settled down the conditions enough to easily get all the pilots off, and there was no rush as no one was climbing out. Thermals were taking pilots to about 2,000 feet over launch, but no higher. The clouds seemed to holding the lift at bay. So many of the pilots were gaggling about 500 to 1,500 feet over launch waiting for a better climb and for the start to happen. Finally the start time came, and I was about 500 feet over launch, but still in the start cylinder. This was an exit cylinder, so if you left the start cylinder before start time you would get penalized.

We did have a major event at launch today. One of the more experienced comp pilots did not clip in his leg loops and belly strap, and fell out of his harness from about 10 to 15 feet. He ended up spraining or breaking his ankle which was a small price to pay for his mistake. What was interesting was his glider flew for about 3 to 5 minutes on its own with just the harness attached. I will submit a picture above to show how well these gliders will fly even without a pilot. ;-). It is a maroon glider.

I was nearly one of the last pilots off launch, as I helped get the pilots off launch. I wasn't in any rush as none of the pilots were getting high anyway. Once off I climbed to about 2,000 over launch, but after that, I boated around launch waiting for a better climb sinking to about 500 over launch, once the start opened. About 6 minutes after the start I found a climb to finally get me out of there, and thermaled to about 11,000 feet msl. I started to work my way up the range and low and behold found a climb to 13,000 feet msl and I was on my way.

Pilots were really working together today at the start as getting up was not a given. A few pilots sunk out before the start, so patience was key. Jan Voegli, one of my mentors, had a hard time and sunk out making minimum distance.

So now on course, heading to the first turn point, I found some decent climbs that were taking us to cloud base, and even had to fly away from the clouds to not fly into them. Cloud base was at about 15,500 feet, I would leave the lift at about 14,500, and still flew around some of the clouds to avoid dealing the the white room. What was bothering me was not the clouds, but the vertical height of some of the clouds. They weren't that flat so you never knew if they would suck you in. In hindsight it all turned out ok.

So making it to the first turn point was fairly easy, which was in the valley, and then back to the hills to continue on course. The winds were southwest so I was working the ridges that faced that direction and finding reasonable lift. As I got closer to the end of the range the lift got more turbulent, and I actually left one broken thermal that was just too turbulent to find a core or a climb. I just had a few asymetrics today with no major recovery issues. However, as I mentioned above about the turbulence at the end of the ridge, we had a reserve deployment on the Northwest side of Boundary Peak, the pilot landed ok, but had an epic hike down a canyon with cliffs, and streams. I think since the winds were from a southerly direction, we were encountering rotor issues near Boundary Peak. Sometimes after a reserve ride, the adventure can start after you land.

Several pilots including myself decided once at the end of the range, to flyout to the valley and work the middle of the valley. What turned out to be awesome as every pilot that was there worked together to the head of the valley where Montgomery pass was, and eventually we climbed out and flew over the pass. Back on course, after the pass there was still 40 km to go to goal. Weak climbs, but there was lift. I did get high over the pass, about 14,000 feet msl, and went on glide. I was able to pass many pilots because of my height and really gain some distance, but you can't take that for granted. I found another awesome climb, and had the benefit of several pilots coming to join me, and climbed out to 13,000 + feet msl. Other pilots climbed higher, but because of the ugly cloud above, I went on glide. What was interesting at this point was it seemed very dark ahead on course, so pilots mentioned they got rained on or snowed on at this point. I felt a sprinkle, but no problems, I could have climbed higher.

At this point there were more clouds, lots of shade, and very weak lift. I sunk to about 9,000 feet msl, and started searching. I kept looking at my vario and checking my glide to goal. 11 to 1, 10 to 1, what would I need to make it. I would get to 9 to 1 glide goal, and with a high performace glider I thought I would get close. I also thought the air would be fairly bouyant due to the cloud cover. But, I was wrong. There was more sink then I anticipated, and I kept struggling toward goal. More weak lift, I finally climbed out to a height with 8 to 1 glide to goal. I went for it. 30 to 1 glide, and then 4 to 1 glide, I was going to make goal, no I was not going to. There was lift, but there was more sink, so my net glide landed me about a kilometer short. Pine, Andy from Golden, CO, dirted close to the same spot.

1 Km short of goal, but a 65, 102 km mile flight, an amazing experience, and a beautiful flight. Flying the topography, flew the clouds, and a long retrieve.

Kevin, the meet director, had to go get the pilot that threw his reserve, so four us were stuck at goal waiting for a retrieve. So, what do pilots do while waiting. You buy Coors Beer, at the small store in Mina, NV, and party.

When Kevin arrived, he had several other pilots, so 9 pilots crammed ourselved into his truck, and we headed back to Bishop. An hour and a half retrieve. We almost ran out of gas, but once in the Owens Valley we found gas in Benton, and were able to tank up enough to make it to Bishop. Got back to town about 9 pm. What a day.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's adventure. Cheers.

Day 3/ Sept 16th Nationals

Today we went up to Flynns to try again. Forecast was for thunderstorms in the afternoon, and stronger winds as a Low pressure system was moving into central California. Like clockwork it happened. Still we hung on launch trying to make a task to happen. Pilots launched, but didn't get very high and were drifting back quite fast with what thermals there were.

Kevin finally called the task when pilots weren't pentrating and not climbing out due to too much wind. By this time the showers were showing over the Sierras, and cumulus were developing over the Whites quickly. It didn't take long for the valley to close in with clouds and outflow from the showers throwing out gust fronts.

Stay tuned for tomorrow. Cheers!

Day 2/ Nationals Sept 15th

Today the winds forecast was higher then the previous day. Weatherwise we have been under the influence of High Pressure, but it's to move out of our area, and a closed Low Pressure area to move in. This is forecast to give us some wind and maybe a thunderstorm or two. And yes, the wind came in today. A tight pressure gradient the culprit.

We went up to launch as usual, and the task commitee set a task for 112km race north with the wind. It was quite calm early on, but as the wind techs launched before the window opened for competition you could tell it just wasn't like the previous days. No one was really climbing out and the wind speed on launch was increasing. Once the window opened about 20 comp pilots launched, but you could see there was penetration issues, and no one was climbing out easily. One of the wind techs, Vail's very own Tomas Pecinka, climbed out on one thermal that took him 5 miles north of launch and to 12,000 msl. From there it would have been a little hard to make the start cylinder into the wind near launch, as the wind was now blowing a steady 18 mph with peak wind of 25 mph. Many pilots with non comp wings were not moving forward anymore and parked into the wind.

Kevin decided to call the task. I never got off the ground, which I was not too disappointed considering the conditions.

Tomorrow doesn't look good for a task, but we will see. I will keep you posted.

Cheers.

Day 1/ Nationals Sept 14th

So, the first day of the US Nationals has come and gone, and it turned out to be a good day, a challenging day, with a perfect task called. The task was about a 100 km race to goal from the Flynns launch to Hammil, a small town to the south, then a return to the north end of the range to Big Ears, and then finishing at a place called Fish.

Kevin the meet director, decided to go to Flynns as it is much more user friendly to get the 80 pilots off launch safely. Flynns is only 1,500 Vertical feet from the valley, so it makes for maybe a more chanllenging climb out as you don't have as much vertical as Gunter. Gunter has approximately 4,000 vertical feet above the valley, with about 2,500 vertical feet to the alternate LZ. Quite a bit more room to find a thermal and climb out. Plus the road up Gunter is very narrow with no real turn around at the top. With about 15 vehicles it is logistically a nightmare.

To the task. Launch window opened at 1:00 pm and the Start was at 2:15 pm. Wind techs launched at about 12:15 pm and started to climb out nicely. The launch window opened and the valley wind started to kick in. The first few pilots off launch had a nice 10 to 12 mph southwest wind. However in about 15 minutes the winds increased to 15 mph with cycles to 23 mph. It quickly became sporty with a couple of pilots getting blown back and one landing on the hill, a couple getting dragged on launch. No one got hurt and everyone did get off the hill.

I luckily had no trouble getting off and had a great climb out launching at about 1:40 pm. It seemed a fairly slow climb as I topped out at about 14,000 msl which is about 8,000 feet over launch. I only had 10 minutes until the start instead of an hour, which made it nice not to have to wait an hour before the start. I hate having to wait after getting high. Once the start opened it was a cruise north up the Whites toward Gunter Launch. That area always seems to work and the few pilots that were ahead were already climbing in next thermal. The second thermal was nice and another climb to about 14,000 msl again. On course I found myself staying on the upper third of the mountain range as it seemed to be working nicely. Some pilots were going to the very top over the range to climb out, but I felt since it was working in front it would be easier to get the turn point which was out in the valley. The third thermal was excellent and I got a climb to 16,000 msl which made it an fairly easy get the turn point.

It doesn't always matter how high you are, you can lose the altitude you have gained faster then it took to get there. From the turn point you have to come right back to the mountains to climb out. It was down wind to the 1st turn point, now coming back down range it was going to be a head wind. Again, today the winds were forcasted to be from the southeast, though light it was still putting us slightly in lee side conditions. It feels very unusual to crab into the hill to stay on course and in the mountains instead of crabbing away from the hills.

Once back to the hills I found a climb out with a few other pilots including the famous Rob Sporer from California. Rob has been instructor of the year a few times and was a poster child model for Old Navy. His bright green wing with red tips is unmistakable. So, on course we were flying together a bit, I would continue to climb, but Rob would push ahead. I thought the higher I could get the better even though it was making me slow. On the second thermal coming back I had my ass handed to me. Some time there are thermal monsters out there. I noticed ahead a couple of pilots entering a thermal climbing wildly, then sinking as fast. I wasn't there yet, but expected some action. I wasn't disappointed. Just as I got there I was greeted by a full frontal right into a front horseshoe, about a second later I turned 180 degrees as the horseshoe snaked out and the glider began to sort out, but still was not flying. So, I said fly mother )(%^&%. The glider handled perfectly, not letting it surge too much , also not letting it get behind me, she flew nicely out of the event. Back into that nasty thermal and let's climb.

A few of us pilots were still in front, and many pilots chose to go to the top of the range, which was the best option in hindsight. I decided since the front was working so well why not stay in front. I finally got another great climb to 16,500 msl and so I thought cool, I have plenty of altitude to find something else. This is where I should have gone to the crest of the ridge as there probably was either a convergence, or the southeast wind would help from the back side. Why, because I went from 16,500 msl to the ground in about 20 minutes. No thermal and just a strong head wind. I ended up making it to the Flynn LZ. It turned out to be about 55 km flight. I guess around 35 miles. About 3.5 hours in the air. About 35 pilots made goal. Eric Reed won the day.

So, a great first day, every one was safe. Let's see what the rest of the week brings.

Training Day in the Owens/ Sept 13th

It was a beautiful day in the Owens Valley. Not an offical training day, but almost every pilot, many who had never flown here, headed up to Gunters launch in The White Mountains. There was no task really, just personal flight plans were the norm. My goal was to get high and go north to White Mountain which is a 14,000 foot peak and fly back to my car at the "offical" Gunter LZ.

Other pilots flew to the end of the ridge which is Boundary Peak in Nevada, and flew back to town. Some pilots were in the air for 4 or more hours. I enjoyed a two hour flight with a relaxing pace, about 25 miles.

The climbs were well spaced and fairly consistent above the ridges. Some pilots went to the top of the range to get some height. I stayed about 3/4ths the way up the range which was nice. I didn't get too cold. Some pilots complained of numb hands. My highest point was about 14,500 msl, and some pilots made it to the 17,999 msl threshold.

Some pilots flew from Walts Launch which is on the Sierras and east facing. About 6 pilots flew 100 miles. So the Owens valley shined big.

Tomorrow is the first day of the comp. Conditions look similar to today. We will be using a different launch then we did today. It's called Flynns. Gunter launch is almost an hour 4 wheel drive road. So logistically it takes quite some time to get up there and organized. Plus there really isn't a good turn around up there, and you can only lay out 2 to 3 gliders to launch. Not very friendly when it you need to get 80 pilots off the hill in a about an hour.

Stay tuned for updates. Cheers!

In Bishop/ Sept. 12

Made it to Bishop today. What an easy drive it is from Colorado. Even though you have to drive some two lane roads, the roads are so straight that you can cruise an easy 80 mph. So the time from Vail is about 12 to 13 hours. Not bad. What I love about the drive is the desert colors. Through Utah, right off I-70, the views are amazing.

I love Bishop. It is a small town that reminds me of Steamboat, CO. The Sierras are to the west and the White Mountains to the east. I took a picture of the Sierras where there seems to be a wildfire on the west side of the mountains west of Bishop. I hope this doesn't become a problem for us. We will be flying the Whites.

I drove up to the Flynn launch LZ, and saw a few pilots that flew from Gunter launch south, where the comp will be flown from. One pilot landed at the Flynn LZ. Conditions seem very stable with a big inversion but pilots looked to be up fairly high.

I am going to rendezvous with the Colorado group and hope to have a good training flight tomorrow. I will keep you all updated.

Cheers