Chelan US PG Nats July 16

After yesterday's epic task, people were very slow this morning. It didn't help that it was overcast, raining slightly, and forecast to OD and possibly thunderstorm. But the organization was relentless and took us up the mountain anyways ;)

Today's task to keep us away from the OD

Eventually the skies cleared and the cu's started popping.  The issue was if it would go big when the sun heated the ground, so after an initial task around the lake, the task committee changed it to a flatlands task which would keep us away from the mountains and the highest probability of OD.

Lots of concentrating!

We had a reserve deployment just before the start; the pilot had an issue which resulted in a sustained deep stall which he was unable to recover, so he tossed and landed safely on the north side of the Butte, he on the ground and his glider stuck in a small tree. Zack and the safety guys were on it!

The clouds on the flats were nice and still small, but filling in with lots of shade, so I decided to stay high and slow down, as I could see other pilots struggling in the shade. Above 2000 m it seemed ok.  As we were approaching the Douglas TP our group met up with the group which had opted for the deeper, under the clouds line, so that route didn't turn out any faster.

Lots of shade.  Notice the dust devil at Waterville!

There was a small cell south of Waterville, and a larger one behind the airport and the final TP, so there were a few level 2s. I felt it was still ok but was keeping an eye on the airport cloud since we would be flying in that direction next. But the TP radius was 3km which kept us on the Rim and away from the mountains where the actual cell was sitting.

Fallout behind the airport.  Fortunately we weren't going that way!

Brett, Bianca, and I were getting our final climb over McNeil Canyon and yelled to each other that it was time to go to goal. Final glide was buoyant ad usual and mist pilots were arriving plenty high, with the exception of a couple of pilots who landed short and were forced to land in the Powerhouse Park parking lot instead.

Final glide to Chelan Falls park.

Lots of pilots in goal and the final task was a success!  A perfect end to the comp, packing up on nice green grass and shade trees right there, and next to all our cars so no retrieve needed ;)

Tonight is the awards ceremony and party at the airport.  Should be a good party!  When they are out, the results should be here.

Chelan US PG Nats July 15

A monster task was set to take advantage of the WNW wind. 224km to Fairfield, just short of the Idaho border, via Odessa.

Mega task today!

I was very ambivalent about flying the task because the launch conditions were a bit dicey...it was strong from the Lakeside launch and usually that means rough and turbulent air next to the hill.  As well the climbs weren't great, which meant that going over the back to the Rim could be an exciting ride. But after watching other pilots fly around it looked pretty smooth out front, so I figured if I didn't get high enough to fly over the back and avoid the rotor, I could st least land at the Lone Tree LZ.

Alien art near Odessa!

In the air it was surprisingly smooth and despite the late start (I had to wait an extra 15 minutes to get high enough to go on course) I was able to cross to the Rim with a few gliders.

Crossing the highway on a perfect day!

The first bit of the flight was low and slow, as I didn't really get comfortably high enough until Jameson Coulee and cloudbase at 2800m.  Then I was able to leave behind some slow gliders and speed up, catching the next gaggle at Coulee City.  Cloudbase was going up to 3200m and it was getting faster (I saw 82 kph ground speed at one point, and others reported low 90's), and things were going great!

Final glide just past the Forest Preserve.

There were some big clouds just outside Odessa and a couple pilots called level 2 (although one call was due to a broken speed system ;).  I was feeling good about the flatland conditions and kept going, and only got low at the Forest Preserve about 30 km short of goal.

I had to slow down to get high enough to cross this area of no roads, and then another slow and patient climb on the other side, and I was home free!  I could see Fairfield and the goal field, and lots of pilots ahead of me and lots still behind me.

Goal margaritas!

Goal was a zoo with, in the end, something like 65 pilots in goal. Margaritas were being served, courtesy of Steve Forslund, and it was a goal party!  It was a personal best for me, distance-wise, and also average-speed-wise. It was also a world record for the longest completed task at a Paragliding competition!

I was impressed by the amount of organization that went into this task. There were lots of retrieve vehicles at goal, ready to take pilots back, and Owen was downloading tracks from our instruments right there (for those with limited or no data on our phones).

I'm glad I decided to fly today as the conditions were lovely once away from the Butte. We could have kept going; Matt Henzi decided to do just that and got over 300 km by dusk!  The scenery was amazing, watching the OD in the mountains to the north, and the palouse as we neared the Idaho border.  It was certainly a highlight of this comp for me!

Chelan US PG Nats July 14

A high pressure, blue, and windy day...not the best conditions, but hey it's a comp so let's see what we can do!  The task was to just outside Electric City, via an in-out-in TP at Withrow and Farmer.

Today's task.

Climbs over launch were not that great; we weren't getting much more than 1800m, which is *way* low for crossing to the Rim. But we went for it anyways, and it was amazing to see what happens when you throw enough pilots at a problem ;). We actually climbed out over the canyon.

At the top of the climb a bunch of us decided to go for it, and across the flats we ventured. But it turns out my gaggle was composed primarily of Enzos...and they climbed out while I sunk out in a moon dust field. I should have waited for a group of M6s or P4s instead!

Watching pilots struggling just past the Rim.

As I was packing up it was raining gliders all around me...the wind was picking up and the climbs so close to the rim were too low to effectively get on course. In fact a good portion of the field landed either before the race start, or shortly after, with only a handful still battling the wind as the afternoon progressed. Reports were of climbs that took pilots away from the TP, and by the time they pushed forward and had to start the entire thermalling process over again, they had barely made any progress.

Excitement of the day has to go to Brad.  I watched as he and (I think it was) Andy flew into a dust devil at around 300', Brad's Enzo did an incredible loop/inversion as he went over his glider, but he kept the lines taut and rode that dusty out of there!  But the "thwack" was very loud from my vantage on the ground ;)

This is what happens when you land in ankle-deep Chelan moondust.

In the end I believe there were 7 pilots in goal, an amazing feat considering the combination of wind and blue thermals today. Congrats folks!

We have a very full bus from the Rim!  And there were more to pick up!

Chelan US PG Nats July 13

July 13 task.

Really nice looking skies today and not too much wind, so the task committee decided to mix things up a bit and send us north. First we had to fly partway up Lake Chelan to 4th of July peak, then head to Omak via the Chelan airport. This would allow pilots the choice of flying the mountains or the flats.

Heading up past Manson.

Flying up the lake was fantastic with a nice gaggle to share the thermals with, and things were going well until the airport. I got a bit low and was in the south wind, so I had to slow down.  Scunging along in weak broken lift I got myself to Pateros where I was able to semi-establish myself at 1300m and continue scraping along the foothills.

Approaching 4th of July peak.

I had company for a lot of the flight and my gaggle of mostly Peak 4's made our way along the foothills until about 20 km from goal. There I lost them as they got a climb I missed, then I was solo for the last bit of the flight. I could see Omak but didn't have a visual on goal, so I made sure to top up before flying over the river and city before I could see goal in the far side.

Goal in Omak was the baseball diamonds to the left.

Time on task was just over 4 hours, quite slow, but I was glad to have been slow and steady as it looked like a lot of pilots landed short tafte getting low in the valleys north of the Methiw valley.  Those that took the flatland route were a bit quicker but it looks like the majority of pilots took the mountain route!

Lots of pilots in goal!

Results, when available, should be here. And tracking can be found here here.

Chelan US PG Nats July 12

The forecast was calling for some big clouds and possible precipitation, but we were hoping to get a quick task in.  So a short 53km task along the main roads to Mansfield and Farmer was called.

How much $$ sitting in the back?

The clouds were building so it was going to be marginal as to whether the task would even run or not.  As I started my climb out over launch I kept an eye on the clouds over the flats...they were building fast.

The skies around 10:30am

When I finally had a chance to get on the radio to alert the organization that it was starting to drop out along the course line and it may be a good idea to cancel things, Matt got on the radio and announced that the task was cancelled due to rain on the course line. I was glad, as the clouds were building at an incredible rate and flying into that building mass of clouds did not sound like a good idea.

The skies at 12:45. Task cancelled!

About 20 minutes after landing, it started thunder and lightening from the cell sitting directly on the rim over Farnham Canyon. Everyone in the vicinity was down safely, and those still in the air ran either east towards Mansfield and then north to Bridgeport, or straight north to Brewster.

The skies at 1:15, everyone is landing ahead of the incoming storm from the south!

Chelan US PG Nats July 11

A much better-looking sky today!  The task committee gave us a 162 km task to Davenport, via a TP to the south of Dry Falls. Cloudbase was around 2800m on the Butte, and with the WNW wind it was an easy crossing.

Today's task to Davenport.

Flying south was initially easy, but as we kept heading SE the wind direction changed to a strong SE, 25 kph, so our progress slowed to a crawl. Single digits on ¾ bar!

As we neared the TP there were 2 reserve depliyments.  The first glider was in a spin when he tossed, and he landed safely under reserve in a moon dust field. But it was so windy he was getting dragged by his reserve and couldn't pull it in. The second reserve ended much the same way, except the pilot managed to cut his reserve away after a shorter dragging session.  

Meanwhile we had finally gotten the TP and it was time to turnaround for Coulee City. Unfortunately it was still a crosswind flight, and I was kinda low. Another pilot and myself were forced to ridge soar the cliffs at Dry Falls until a thermal came through...at one point I was below the ridgetop and fully inside the Coulee!

Yummy skies!

I finally got out of there and was flying over Coulee City but couldn't find enough lift low down in the wind-swept thermals, and landed just outside Coulee City. Many other pilots landed on the way to Davenport, and I believe there were about 6 pilots in goal.

I think the strong SE was unexpected to the task committee, we certainly didn't expect it in the air!

Chelan US PG Nats July 10

More unsettled weather with more clouds and rain than yesterday, but less wind. The models were showing a drying trend so even though it wasn't taskable initially, we stayed on the Butte in case this happened sooner rather than later.

Setting up one of the sun and rain shades.

Cells came and went, the wind picked up and then dropped off, over and over again. Things kept changing every 20 minutes!  A few pilots flew while we waited for taskable conditions, launching Lakeside and flying a mixture of ridge and thermic lift, then top landing to wait out the next approaching cell.

Watching cells up the Lake.

Eventually the task and safety committees decided it wasn't worth staying on the Butte any longer, taskable and safe-for-all-pilots conditions simply weren't happening, and the day was called.

Line of cells on the flats.

A few pilots stayed behind to free-fly but the vast majority of pilots opted to drive down with the thought to perhaps go back up later in the evening if/when things had calmed down. I ended up driving Brett back up for a late evening flight and several others were already in the air, it looked strong but doable. But apparently it wasn't that nice over the Chelan Falls LZ, ad a new cell had formed over Lake Chelan and was dumping rain and wind, and wrapping around to make Chelan Falls a nice washing machine of air. A few going-backwards landings later and everyone was safely on the ground in the LZ, maybe a change of underwear required for some ;)

Brett getting ready for an evening flight.

A few pilots made it to the flats and even Mansfield but I was glad to be on the ground. It's tough on these maybe/maybe not days...if it was raining steadily that would be an easy decision, and if it was sunny with ok winds that would be easy too. But it's days like these where the task and safety committees have their work cut out for them ;)

For those interested in watching the live action, the tracking is available here.  Look for the tracks starting around noon (Pacific time zone) each day.

Chelan July 9

It’s been unsettled weather the past few days, and today was a bit on the windy side. But since it was the practice day we went up, just in case the wind dropped.

I finally went back down the mountain but lots stayed up, and a half dozen eventually flew. Tough scratching on the rim and the south wind was drifting then towards McNeil canyon and the rotor. But they managed to keep out and get to Lone Pine, before flying back as a band of shade moved through.

Tomorrow is the first task day and hopefully the wind will back off and it's not too cloudy!

Grouse Mountain June 26

My first flight of the season at Grouse; I suspected it would be average but it was convenient on a day where I was stuck in the city until late.  Punchy and scrappy thermals and east wind made for a shortish flight.  But it's Grouse, so it was extremely scenic!

Pemberton June 20-21

With the summer solstice coming up and a full moon to boot, Alex and I decided to get out of the city and fly Pemberton, and then camp out on launch to celebrate the shortest night of the year.  The weather wasn't forecast to be that great, but it looked there would be a few-hour window before the thunderstorms arrived which would allow us time to get a flight in.

Upper launch, before the storms arrived

Cloudbase was nice and high over launch, 2300m or so, and downrange it was more like 2700m.  I could see a large area of darkness down south past Lilloet Lake, and the Interior was showing Marge-Simpson-like clouds, so I suspected the storms were on their way.  The darkness got closer and closer, and soon we got a report from the community centre LZ that it was starting to pick up and get gusty.

Judd LZ, just before the storms arrived

So we all decided to play it safe and landed down the Meadows at the Judd LZ, where it was still nice landing conditions, although picking up wind-wise as the minutes went by.  About 30 minutes after the last pilot landed, we heard the first booms of thunder over Ipsoot as the storms from Lilloet Lake merged with the storms coming up from Whistler/Callaghan.  A quite impressive gust front accompanied the storms so we were all glad to be on the ground!

Back up at Upper launch to watch the storms

Back up at launch with Alex and Paddy it was an impressive sight to watch the cells come in and dump their rain over Mt. Currie or Ipsoot.  Not much actual rain over launch but nice and windy to keep the blackflies and mosquitoes off!  The storms died off around 8pm and blue skies again by sunset.  It never really got dark since the sun set so late, the full moon rose, and the sun rose again early!

Upper launch next day

Next morning was definitely blown-out, clouds whizzing by at 30+ kph overhead and the trees were whipping around on launch.  After a leisurely morning and some exploration of the nearby fallen logs (Paddy is planning on building a second bench from one of the left-behind logs behind launch) it was back down the valley bottom to a nice Whistler Express and definitely no flying going on!

June 20 flight.