Weekend Vol Biv Kit

Jeff and I pulled together a last minute vol biv trip for this weekend.  We don't have any big goals, just to get out in the wild for a couple days, mainly as a shake down for his trip to New Zealand next month.   We are both on the west coast for work this week so the plan will be to huck off Laguna, east of San Diego and head north for a couple days.

Here's my kit for the weekend - all up weight less food and water is 30.6lbs.  Adding 2.5 lbs of food and 2.5 liters of water brings the total to 38.8 lbs.

Sleeping
1) Sleeping bag - Z-packs 30 degree, 15 oz
2) Silk sleeping bag liner - adds a few degrees and keeps the bag clean
3) Tarp - Zpacks Hexamid Tarp w/ cuben fibre ground sheet. 
4) Polycro groundsheet - since we will bivy in harsh desert terrain, a bit more added abrasion protection
5) Thermarest Neo Air sleeping mat, small size (42 inches).  I will also use my gilder as extra insulation for my lower body when sleeping
6) Patagonia neopuff synthetic hoody - mainly for added warmth when sleeping

Camp / Hike
7) first aid and emergency survival kit - standard stuff, bandages, whistle, signal mirror, etc
8) snake bite kit - threw this in there but the more I look at the weather (cold), I think I will leave it behind.
9 personal care kit - lite towel, wipes, toilet paper, sun block, advil, lip balm
10) misc ditty bag - 2 light weight headlamps, repair tape (gilder & camp stuff), extra lines (glider & tent), 2 spare pegs, fire steel, tender, butane lighter, digital thermometer, zip ties
11) Black Diamond Z-poles - carbon fiber walking poles.
12) spare clothes - extra merino wool base layer (top & bottom), Patagonia Cap 4 sweater, spare merino socks, fluffy sleeping socks.

Eat/ Drink
13) hydration kit - 2L, 1L and .5L platypus bottles.
14) mess set - meal hydration coozy bag.  Container has spices (salt, pepper, sugar, olive oil), tea bags, bouillon cubes, crystal lite packs, & titanium spork for eating
15) cook set - Snow Peak 700ml titanium pot, vargo stove, 4oz fuel, fire steel & butane lighter
16) food for 2-3 days - mix of pro bars, nuts, jerky, oatmeal, homemade freeze dried meals & meals from Packit Gourmet

Flying
17) Paraglider - Ozone Swift 2, size small
18)  Reserve parachute - Nevures Plum, medium
19) Harness - Advance Lightness, small
20) Rucksack - Advance Lightpack
21) Helmet - Smith Varient Snow helmet
22)Gloves & flight attire - 2 Buff's, 1 merino beanie, 1 pair merino liner gloves, 1 park Manzella goretex wind breaker over gloves.

Electronics (overkill)
23) Electronics - from top left:

• Garmin GPS Map 60
• Spot 3 GPS locator
• RescueLink  406 PLB (personal locator beacon)
• Gopro3 Black
• iPad Mini (in Alocksak)
• Anker 10k mAh spare battery
• Yaesu Vx-150 radio
• charging cables for phone/ipad/gopro & vario
• not shown - iphone 5 & FlytePark mini audio vario

Yes, It's over kill.  iPad is for checking maps and reading at night.  Gopro to document the trip &  radio for in air communications - we want to stay together.   There is also a bit of redundancy with both the Spot and the PLB.  For emergency help, nothing beats the PLB and but the Spot lets our wives track us (piece of mind) as well as allows easy coordination of a retrieve.  I could likely ditch the Garmin, but I've been using it as a backup nav for flying and hiking for years and I'm comfortable with it.

What you don't see:

What I'm wearing  - We will be starting off with a flight so I will have plenty of layers on for cold air at altitude:

• Exped expedition boxer briefs
• REI silk base layer (top & bottom)
• Smartwool hiking socks
• REI softshell pants
• Icebreaker merino t-shirt
• Mountain Hardwear fleece pull over
• Sierra Designs DriDown puffy jacket (no hood)
• Hard or soft shell, depending on temps - either a windshirt, a Mountain HW light weigh Softshell or a OR Helium 2. Depends on temps and chance of precipitation
• Salomon Goretex 4d Boots

Next, the items you might have expect but don't see:

• Rain gear - we are not expecting rain and a few spinkles or a dusting of snow won't bother us. If it looks like a downpore, the chances for flying are nil so we will scrap the trip and go ride dirt bikes.
• Water Filter - we will be in the high desert and will be packing in all our water  The only water I expect to find would be snow and we can boil that for cooking.  There should be some accumulation in the shade at the higher elevations.

Packing:

So where does all this fit?  Well, most of it goes into the harness for both flying and hiking.  The sleeping bag & clothes fit into the harness in the back protection pouch (after removing the foam back protector).  The sleeping bag is in a dry sack and partially inflated so it would provide a bit of protection in the event of a crash.

The tarp, sleeping pad, repair kit & ditty bag fit in the ballast pocket of the harness.  The electronics are mounted on the harness during flight or stowed in the helmet for hiking.  For hiking, the glider goes into rucksack first, with the harness, with its contents goes on top.  Then I can put the cook set bag in the rucksack, wedged between the two.  The first aid kit lived in small top pocket on the rucksack.   Water is stowed in the side pockets of the rucksack and I put the food in a Zpacks chest pack, attached either the top or front of the rucksack.

Should be a fun weekend.  I will post a trip report once we are back in civilization. Also gotta pre-thank Ron for the eventual retrieve we will be imposing om him.  :)

Escaping Winter, at Least for an Afternoon

I know I promised my next post would be on paragliding rucksacks and the selection process for a new one to use on vol biv trips, but....

The weather this week has been beautiful.  Yesterday afternoon it was 58 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  I headed to the Bessemer airport and pulled in just as Mark was launching.  I quickly setup and launched as right after I took off, Curtis arrived.

I flew for about 20 minutes then landed so I could force Curtis to fly the demo Geo 4.  I snagged his pig of a wing before he could object, thus leaving him with no option but to try the sleek new Ozone.   We both took off and buzzed around a bit.  I landed after about 25 minutes and started packing up my motor.  Curtis flew for close to an hour.

I gotta tell ya, I sure have been spoiled flying Ozone gliders the past 8 years.  His glider is supposed to be on the better launching motor wings but it was a chore to launch.  It's heavy, hard to launch, the risers are huge and the controls clunky.  I think Curtis enjoyed the Geo 4 also.

I will try to finish the bag post tonight and get it up tomorrow.

Another Aborted XC

I keep getting skunked when I plan XC flights.  Based on the forecast, my intention this morning was to get up early, fly against the wind to the Clanton Airport, refuel and fly back.  The forecast winds aloft showed I could just barely make it the 42 miles to Clanton on a tank of fuel in just under 3 hours.  The return trip would take just over an hour. 

I launched a bit later that usual,  10:40am, since I wanted some thermals to help should I need them later in the flight.   Once in the air, the usual south wind rotor you get at Bessemer from the Shades Crest ridge was in full effect.  Bouncing along, I started the climb out - I like to get to 3000 feet before leaving the field if I am departing to the south.  Lots of trees and inhospitable terrain, not to mention the 700ft ridge.

At 700ft AGL I knew I had issues - my ground speed dropped to 2mph.  At 800ft I was parked.  I wasn't going anywhere today.  I didn't feel like buzzing the field, nor did I want to fly over to the RC field, since with those winds it would be over an hour to get back. I landed after a short flight and went back home to work on the honey-do list.

Quick Flight on the Geo 4

The plan today was to test fly the new Ozone Geo 4 demo.

It was windy when I launched at Bessemer, at 8:30 am Saturday.   Despite the early hour, it was a bit rowdy this morning.  I a few laps of the airport, getting bounced around a bit, then decided to land.

Nice glider, typical smooth Ozone handling.  It was too short a flight and too bumpy to give a full review, but once I have a few hours under it I will post a better review.

More West Coast

Another business trip to LA means a long weekend at Ron's in San Diego.  Finished up LA meetings Thursday and haul butt down the 5 to catch the last of the lift at Torrey. It was very, very light and cross but I got a flight in!

I headed to Ron's to wait on Jeff and Rob C.  Rob was in LA too and decided to drive down the next day and Jeff would not get in until around midnight.  Took Ron to dinner (BBQ) and caught up on email.

The next day the weather wasn't great for Torrey and I spend my usual Friday doing conference calls and emails before taking Jeff back to the airport to return his rental car.  Rob showed up in time for dinner and we hit the Mexican place down the street.

Occupy Vista!

Earlier in the day, Jeff and I had been sorting out our camping gear.  We both have our dual sport motorcycles in Ron's garage and all our bike camping gear stowed in one of his spare bedrooms.  He should start charging us rent.


Anyway, we decided to setup a simulated vol biv camp and sleep in the yard that night. The result was it looked like the Occupy Movement had setup shop in Ron's backyard.  I slept great, btw.

Saturday was the Bama-UT game, so Ron and I stayed at the house to cheer on Bama while Jeff and Rob C headed to Laguna Mtn with the San Diego PG club.  They took extended sledders and then headed back.  After the game (Bama whupped ass), Ron and I took the bikes for a spin up to Pala and back.  We got back just before Jeff and Rob and threw some steaks on the grill.

Sunday looked great a Blossom, and Blossom never disappoints.  We even dragged Ron with us, although after hiking up the hill with his heavy, old school gear, I'm not sure how much he appreciated us dragging him out there.  I had 2 good flights but never went to El Cap.  Both Jeff and Rob C. made it El Cap.  Ron had 3 good flights and top landings.  Gonna make him a thermal pilot yet.

Another fun trip to SoCal.

Rob C setting up to launch at Blossom

XC Postponed due Rain Delay

Well, our intent today was to fly from Bessemer to the Old Baker Farm off highway 280 in Harpersville, a nice 42 mile XC.  I dropped my truck off there yesterday in preparation.

Laps at Bessemer

Curtis and I meet at 8:00 at Bessemer and the sky did not look good.  The forecast rain for later tonight was here...there were patches of clouds dropping a bit of rain but there looked to be an open area to the west.  We hung out for half an hour and watched the sky.  It looked iffy but potentially do able, so I launched to sample the air.

It was not too bumpy but while I was flying I could see more rain on the way, so I landed and we called it a day.  Dropped my car and gear at the house and Curtis gave me a ride to get my truck.  He also learned an important Rob lesson - when I am headed into the gas station and ask "do you need anything?" -  you better speak up.  Don't be mad I didn't get you a roady just because I got myself one - I asked.  ;)

Four in a Row

Today made the 4th day in a row for a paramotor flight.  The winds aloft looked good on the forecast for a bit of exploring to the south, but were expected to switch from SE to N later in the day and get stronger.

I took off around 9:20 and climbed up to 3000 feet before crossing all the trees to the south.  I wanted to check out some clear cuts from old strip mines in an area off Coalmont road.  We used to ride dirt bikes there and I figured it might make a good spot for a motor-bivy one day.


The air was cool and smooth, but sometime about 15 minutes into the flight the wind switched to the NE and picked up considerably.  My ground speed increased to 41 mph about the time I reached the cut outs.  Given that the wind was stronger up high, I had to drop lower than I would I liked to penetrate on the way back.  Landed after a 50 min flight, but the route back had me low in some bad spots if the motor quit.

Here's the GPS track in Leonardo.

Motor XC with Curtis

Can you spot Curtis?

Met Curtis early this morning at EKY and took him for his first real cross country.  The plan was to fly West and check out the strip mines east of the I-20/I459 interchange. 

I had another motive too - I was scoping out a couple LZ's for a future steath fly and camp (motor-bivy trip).

We launched and pushed into the slight headwind on the way over, and then looped south a bit before returning to EKY.  We even stopped and buzzed the RC field.  I landed and talked to the guys and then relaunched.

After landing we hit Little D's for cold ones and nacho's. 

Here's my GPS track on Leonardo


And a link to the Dorama of the flight.

After Work Motoring, Part 2

Launching

I love living so close to the Bessemer airport.  5 minutes after I decided to go flying, I am unloading my gear at the airport.  It takes longer to throw the stuff in the truck that it does to drive over.

After yesterday's flight, I could not resist another post work sortie.

I buzzed around the field for about 30 minutes then saw a friend pulling up to Little D's, so I landed and packed up - cold beer calling my name.

Tomorrow, if the weather holds, Curtis and I are off on a little XC jaunt.

Had the airport all to myself!

After Work Motoring.

Met up with Curtis at EKY after work today and we buzzed around the local area.  This was my first flying since France.  Had fun and Curtis and I are planning a little XC this weekend


Had dinner and beers afterwards at the new bar & grill on the field - Little D's.  Stop by and check it out.

Note that they are working on the pavement at the airport and do not want anyone using the front gate.  The lower gate is open from 8am to 6pm.  Once new locks are installed both Mark and I will have keys.  Contact us if you need access.

Flight track from my second flight today.

Post Alps Trip Update #2

I finally got around to editing some video myself.  This one is a big long, but I did it to show some of my motor pilot friends what it's like to fly XC without the use of a motor.  It's a summary of my 30km XC from September 12th that I blogged about previously.

Enjoy.  (Be sure to click on the 4 arrows to get full screen so you can enjoy the HD quality)

Going Nowhere Fast from Rob Reynolds on Vimeo.

Post Alps Trip Update

Jeff's been busy editing and he just posted a great video from the trip.  Check it out!

https://vimeo.com/75793418

Paragliding Saint Andre Les Alpes September 2013 from Jeff Thompson on Vimeo.

XC for All!

Nigel's Taxi Service (Nigel in the middle)

Today's forecast looked good.  Still the lingering Mistral, with strong NW winds but the early look at the forecast encouraged us.

We caught a ride up the hill with Nigel, and he decided to fly with us today!

After mucking about on launch for a couple hours, we almost waiting too late to launch. There are 3 groups of visiting pilots here (Swiss, British & Spanish) and that makes for a crowded launch - we waited until most of them had launched before we setup. The cycles were coming up the hill very strong and frequent.

I hucked first and my launch was not very good.  I drifted left and almost stepped on Jeff's glider.  Once in the air, I discovered I had my right brake looped thru my rear riser.  That explained the lack of control authority to the right.  I made a couple passes in front of launch to gain some altitude before headed north on the ridge.  My first attempt to make the transition to the antenna's did not go well.  I wrongly assumed that the white rocks in the lee of the antenna's would be working and I would find a lee side thermal that wasn't being blown by the prevailing NW wind.  I was wrong.

Climbing up at the Antennas

I was sinking, fast.  About this time I heard Nigel on the radio saying that he was leaving for Lambrusse Ridge - talk about getting up and away from the hill fast!

After sinking below the height of the ridge, I turned a south and scratched for a saving thermal.  I found some lift and got back to ridge height.  Then I figured I'm make another go for it, but instead of hugging the ridge line in the lead of the point, I pushed over the valley and made beeline for the point.  I snagged a nice thermal over the valley and rode it as it drifted up the hill on the lea side.  Then I transitioned around to the front and got the usual elevator ride at the point just north of the antenna's.

Cote Lounge to the left, Cheval Blanc ahead.

Once I was bout 1000 feet over the point, I made the jump to Lambruisse ridge on about 1/2 speed bar.  The Swift 2 glides really well at half bar.  I made the transition only losing about 1100 feet and arrived about 150 feet below the ridge line.  I quickly worked my way back up and then headed to the north point of Lambruisse, the jumping off point for the transition to Cheval Blanc.

The lift here was strong, but the NW wind was too.  There were probably 20 other gliders working the lift over this peak, but at least we were all spread out.  As I climbed higher it got rougher as I was in the lee of Cheval Blanc.  I made one attempt to push into the wind to the NW but it it was obvious that I would not make it Cheval Blanc.    After a few minutes of getting knocked around, I spotted Jeff and called out to him on the radio that we should make a run for it.  Remembering what Nigel had told us, the Cote Lounge would be the best route given the strong NW winds.

Track to Cote Lounge

Little did I know that Jeff radio was not working, but it didn't matter, right after I made that call he headed off to the east toward Cote Lounge.  He was about 300 feet higher than me at the time, but He also headed straight east and then made a turn toward Cote.  Since he was on a better glider, I figured I should use all the altitude I had and I made a beeline for the Cote.  The issue with this approach was I was going to be flying thru the lee of the strong thermal I was just leaving.  It was a wild ride.  I got tossed around and had 2 collapses but once I got clear of the turbulence I had lost very little altitude and would make the crossing easily.


I followed Jeff toward the west side of the Cote and when we arrived I had about 200ft of altitude on him.  We scratched around for a while, waiting on a decent thermal that would get us to above the ridge.  I wandered a bit too far up the west side valley and when I started to head back, it looked like the headwinds were going to have me trapped.  I was sinking and getting ready to side hill land when I saw 2 hawks circling behind be to the right out of the corner of my eye.  I quickly turned to follow them and joined in their thermal.

Once I climbed up a bit, I pushed back out south toward Thorame-Bass and then hooked into an awesome climb.  Just as I was entering the thermal Nigel appeared and we shared the ride as we climbed up to cloud base.  Jeff saw us and got the tail end of the thermal too.  At cloud base, we proceeded along the top of the ridge to the north.  Over the peak of Cote Louge it got hairy.  Jeff described it as "being in the washing machine"  Both Nigel and I got rocked and took several collapses and Jeff went parachutal at one point.

Left or Right?

One we passed this turbulence, we had a decision to make - turn left and try to get in front of Cheval Blanc, gain some altitude and then push north, or continue on the same line, working the ridges and peaks in front of us.  I called to Nigel for advice on the radio but he didn't answer.  I was out in front now I made the decision to continue on the current line.  There were 2 peaks ahead with a col in the middle.  The East peak was in the sun and very rocky so I figured it should be working, so I stayed east.  Jeff followed.  Bad move.

Crossing the Col

There was nothing working on that face.  Nothing.   I was too low to make a move to the peak on the west side I had passed up, so my choices were limited.  Either side hill land to the right, land in the col or head thru col and see what I could find in the valley beyond.  I looked back and Jeff was setting up to land in the col.  At think point my competitiveness got the best of me.  We had been trahs-talking all week about XC comp points and I figured my once chance to beat Jeff in points for a day was to push thru the col into an unknown valley.

Into the unknown valley

As I crossed the col, there were few landing options but I was getting a bit of zero sink on the south side of the valley so I pushed forward, trying to fly out of the west end of the valley.  I passed over little village and figured I could land there if necessary.  Once I got over the village I determined that the headwinds would not let me clear the mouth of the valley.  The village that look like a good LZ was ripe with power and telephone lines so I headed back up the valley to a small meadow I spotted earlier.

My LZ

An uneventful landing later and I had broken the 30lm mark.   Jeff relaunched from the col and landed at the bottom of the valley to the south and Nigel, who took the left route made it one valley north of me.  I packed up and hiked out for 2.5 hours, finally meeting Nigel in the village at the mouth of the valley I landed it - Prads-Haute-Bleone. As luck would have it, the bar was CLOSED!  We rested by the fountain in the town square for a retrieve.  Steve had done another "Tour de Chavlet" and landed back at the farmhouse, so he loaded the car with chip and beer and made retrieve run.

Those cold beers on the way back were killer.  Thanks again Steve.  We picked up Jeff on the way home.  Jackie & Werner, flying tandem again had made it up on Chevel Blanc and then turned back and landed near Thorame-Bass.  They hitched back to the house just in time for a fantastic dinner that Marc and Elena prepared.  After desert we polished off 2 bottles of Lemoncello before saying goodnight to Mark and Elena.. (I think it was more "good nyeshish").

You can see all our tracks at this XC Comp link.

Or watch a Doarama of my track.

Hiking to Launch

Jackie got this shot of Jeff's sled ride after he relaunched.

Steve with Chevel Blanc in the background

Chavalet Launch

Jeff on the LM5

The Man, The Myth, The Legend - Werner Messerschmidt

Neddles? Where?

The forecast today looked good - still have some strong winds from the NW, but we were excited about the possibilities.  We got up early and did a sledder this morning.  Jeff and Werner got some good shots as it was smooth and we were all able to fly together.  We did a quick pack-n-turn and grabbed a ride back up the hill from Nigel to be ready for the cycles to start around 11am.
 
Strong cycles were going up launch and take-offs were difficult, but once in the air there was abundant lift, but very strong NW winds.  We were all able to make it North to the antenna's but could not push further upwind.  I got high, and headed back toward launch.  Once I made it to the end of the ridge I caught a nice thermal and rode it up to over 6500 feet.  At this point I had been flying for about 50 minutes and was absolutely freezing, so I decided to head back to Marks.
 

In a descending glide over the town, I started to warm up.  I arrived over Marks with over 2000 feet of altitude so I headed to the ridge to the SE, that leads to the Crete de Chamatte.  I arrived about half way up the hill and after about 15 minute of the most intense, low-level, tree kicking scratching I've ever done, I as at the height of the ridge.

I happened to see Jeff coming back from the South.  He had made the same transition and soared the length of the ridge to the Chamatte peak.  There was plenty of lift along the ridge but it was a mix of the NW wind and thermals and was quite rowdy.  I started getting cold again and tired of fighting the turbulence.  With the gite in site, and knowing there was cold beer in the fridge, I made a couple passes along the ridge and then set out for home.

Jeff and I arrived over the house about the same time and the entire valley was full of lift.  We were actually coordinating radio calls of where to find sync so we could get down.  We both landed at the same time and were met by Mark in the LZ.  Steve showed up a bit later, having crossed the valley at the Antenna's and made a nice triangle taking the 'Tour de Chavalet".

Werner and Jackie had flown tandem that day.  They had side hill landed near where I was scratching.  I was right over them but never saw them.  Werner insisted on hiking up the ridge and relaunching, which took them 2 hours of bushwhacking.  They relaunched and joined us at the house just in time to make a run into town for pizza and beers.

During the hike, Werner had tromped thru some sort of bush with small thorns, which collected all over his clothes.  Some of them worked with way past his pant line and down his butt-crack - thus he named his new launch accordingly on XContest!

To celebrate the day, Steve and I cooked a big meal - mushroom soup, steaks, sausages & potatoes.  And of course beer.  We even splurged and got some fancy Belgium ales.

Not a bad day and a nice 24km flight for me, although Steve ruled the day with the most XC points.

Here's a Doarama of my track.

And the XContest tracks for Jeff, Steve and I.  

Jeff & Werner go XC!

The mistral continues.  We got up early and did a sledder this morning before the winds picked up but the forecast for noon today is 35km/h at launch.  Jeff and Werner got some good shots as it was smooth and we were all able to fly together.

Steve and I elected to stay at the apartment and catch up on some work and do some video & photo editing.  Jeff, Werner & Jackie headed back to St. Vincent.

Around 2pm we got a txt from Jackie - St Vincent was working and Jeff and Werner had made an impromptu decision to try and fly back to St. Andre.  We pulled up Jeff's SPOT tracker and his location on Friend Finder and watched as they scooted over 40km south toward St. Andre.

They were on the front side of the range and could never get high enough to make the transition at Chevel Blanc.


The both landed safely by the main road at La Javie and Jackie picked them up.  The tracks are in the photo to the right.  Jeff's is Red and Werner's is Green.  Here is the link to the XContest Airbuddies tracks.

One other note - just thinking this flight would be a local ridge soaring flight, Jeff elected to fly his LM5.  Instead, Werner took off south and Jeff followed him.  This was the first time he flew it in really rough, thermic conditions and he said it handled great.  I don't think we will see his Alpina out of the bag anymore this week!



Edit: - Here's Jeff's video of the flight.


Paragliding St Vincent to La Javie from Jeff Thompson on Vimeo.

Hike and Fly

We awoke Tuesday to a forecast of a Mistral wind.  A Mistral is a local phenomena to southern France & Provence.  It is a strong, cold dry wind from the NW, that is caused when there is a high over the Bay of Biscay and a low over the Gulf of Genoa in the Med.  The wind funnels down the long, thinning Rhone river valley that acts as a venturi.  Top speeds of up to 90KM have been recorded.

Given the conditions, we were looking for lower elevation sites that would be shaded from the strong winds.  Luckily Werner knows the area well and suggested we hit Greoliers, about hour to the south.  Greoliers is a hike up site and is south facing and usually a good ridge soaring site as the sea breeze from the Med moves north.

After an hour of Werner's best Michael Schumacher driving thru the mountains we made it, but I was a bit green from the ride.  The hike up wasn't that bad, unless you are a fat, out of shape Alabama redneck.  There was a gentle breeze at launch and our hopes of soars were decreasing.  We had a good time fooling around, taking pics and enjoying the outdoors.  Finally, Jackie and I launched and took the inevitable sled ride down.  Just as I was landing I felt a bubble of lift but it was too little too late.  But at least I flew!

Jeff was coming in behind be and was a bit smarter.  The LZ is actually on a terrance before dropping away to another 700 or feet to the valley floor.  Jeff got over the lip of the terrance as was able to work some light lift before he landed.  Werner did his usual Cuv imitation and caught a thermal and benched up the upper rider where he had stronger winds.  Steve worked his way more east and was staying up, but starching.  Wasn't long before both of them joined us in the LZ.

We loaded up and headed back to St. Andre.  Upon arrival we didn't see any gliders in the air (not expecting to either) but decided to head up to the west launch to see if the wind was going to lay down enough for an evening sledder.  When we got there it was blowing straight in at around 12mph - perfect to soar the ridge.  We all launched and had the entire ridge to ourselves in butter smooth air.  It start to shut down after about an hour and we all headed for Mark's LZ.

Earlier we had grabbed some steaks so the evening meal was tossed on the grill and cold beers were enjoyed by all.


Here's a brief video of the evening soaring session.



La Chavet Soaring from Rob Reynolds on Vimeo.