Surfing the Sierras - Sierra Safari - Final Cut

Route of the Sierra Safari Team.

In September of 2012, a bit more than a week before my amazing three days of XC in the Owens Valley, a group of pilots left Lone Pine with a goal that many have dreamed of accomplishing - but few have attempted.  The small gaggle of talented pilots left with the intention of pioneering the route from the Eastern Sierras, North to the Oregon border.  Time constraints, injury, and fatigue all conspired to whittle this group in number, but the team effort paid off.  24 days after launching in souther CA, the border of Oregon was crossed.

The boys camped at high camps and followed routes they had researched on Google Earth.  They endured many discomforts but had a great time doing it.

Here is a short movie that conveys spirit of the trip very well - it also voices the reasons we fly XC in a way that many of us feel, but few can explain.
Tim

Surfing the Sierras from Offshore Odysseys on Vimeo.

Three Amazing Days in the Owens

Mitch Riley and me at Benton Station - 100 miles from launch at Walt's

September flying in the Owen's Valley has been an occasional high point in my XC flying, over the years.  My first weekend in the Owens was in 2006 during my first season of XC flying on an old Sport 2.  I did my best to make goal each day, falling a few miles short, but flying 191 kilometers in the two flights.  Seeing the Sierras from the East side, while the sun set during my final glide to Independence made my weekend.  Setting two days of personal bests was gravy.

Flash froward to 2012.  The XC season had seen US records and state records fall so often that no one knew the 'latest' record. Meanwhile, because I had been unable to attend many comps this season, and the one's that I had attended had been skunked by winds or just unstellar conditions, my XC numbers for the year were the worst since 2006.  I went to Bishop with the hope that I could rekindle my excitement for the flying that had been my passion for many years.

IT WORKED.

I had planned to fly the NorCal XC league weekend Sept. 29-Nov. 1, but I met Jug and Steve on Tuesday night to do some flying before the league meet.  

Wed. we went to Walt's for a nice flight along the Sierras.  It was a rather low day, with climbs topping at 12,000' for the first 40 miles.  I landed in Bishop for a flight of 108 kilometers - 67 miles.

My flight can be viewed HERE 

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100 Miler

photo by Sergei Gridnev

Thurs. we went again to Walt's.  Today I hoped to make "The Crossing."  After launching from Walt's, flying 50 miles North to Big Pine, then crossing from the West side of the Owens to the White Mountains on the East.  This would allow continuation of the flight North for additional miles towards the Nevada border. 

I launched early and headed out as soon as I hit cloudbase.  I never saw anyone else ahead of me, until I landed 6 hours later.  The flight along the Sierra went well, a bit higher in the climbs, and was quicker than the preceding flight a day earlier.  Abeam Big Pine, I pondered how to do the crossing.  I made the decision to cross (in retrospect) a bit too far along the courseline, which put me on a crosswind glide.  If I had begun the crossing to fly directly over Big Pine, I believe it would have been a quicker and much easier crossing.  As it was, I had to make a save from 600' AGL over "Big Ears" to get onto Black Mountain and continue my journey along the Whites.  The climbs were very sporty with some averaging over 1200'/min.  The winds above 12,000' were slightly East which created some interesting mixing near the tops of the climbs.  At times, just keeping the wing open was a full time job.  

click for larger view

The flying along the White Range was straight-forward with moments of excitement due to that pesky East aloft.  Once I reached the Northern end of the Whites it was decision time.  Head out into the boonies for 120+ miles with the prospect of a long, possibly very late retrieve (we had no one to drive and I didn't know the location of the other guys) or land in Benton for 100 miles and drink beer while hitching home. . .  Beer suck won out again.  To actually hit 100 miles I continued North until I saw 160K and then returned to Benton.  I was amazed to see another wing in the LZ.   Hot-shit it's Mitch!

As it turned out, Mitch had been stalking me for 100 miles!  I hate to admit it but I never saw him in the 6 hours we flew within 10 miles of each other.  This flight was a personal best for both of us.  It was great to clink beer cans at Benton Station in celebration of our great day.

 My flight can be viewed HERE

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9 Mile

Friday we met up with Dean, Josh, Jimmy and a host of many other pilots at an obscure, launch that I would not recommend to the faint of heart.  The launch is about a 600' hike-up to a low angle bowl.  There is no LZ to speak of.  Anyone who doesn't get up is looking at a 5500' sidehill landing with the incumbent issues with rocks, cacti, and density altitude. . .

If you get up though, it's fantastic because all the standard routes that begin at Walt's are now 40 miles longer.  We launched at 10:30 am and I was cruising by Walt's at 12:30 with 5 more hours to fly.  Unfortunately the proceeding two days (11 hours) of flying hit me at around 5 hours and I was completely wonked.  I saw Big Pine and that became my destination, for 98 miles.
My flight can be viewed HERE

Three days in the Owens - 16:20 flight time - 275.5 miles.  I was stoked - and whooped.

Thanks to Jug and Steve for cajoling me into coming up early.  Thanks also to Mitch and Laurie for their enthusiasm and generosity.  It's a pleasure to hang out in the boonies with people of that caliber.

Tim


 

Aftermath of a fall - This one turned out well.

White Mountains in the Owens Valley -
Click photo for larger version - Photos by Jay Gordon

None of us wants to leave a three-day flying weekend knowing that we are leaving one of our own injured and alone in the mountains. We all want, even less, to be that guy.

This weekend, at the Nor-Cal XC league event; three days of flying geared towards new and improving XC pilots, one of our experienced pilots found himself down in the White mountains at around 2:30 pm and spent 12 hours lying injured on the hill, awaiting rescue.

I've heard words of surprise from some of my fellow pilots, that it took so long to get him to the hospital, but I was actually VERY IMPRESSED that the efforts of many culminated in the successful resolution of this event.

Let's work through the timeline of the event -

• Shortly after 14:00 the crash occurs at 11,000' in the Whites. No radio call is made by PilotX. No phone call is made by the pilot. It is not known if he was conscious or not.
• One of our group happens to be flying in a position where he can see this area of the White Mountains (which is approx. 1 mile East of flight tracks of those flying the task that day.)
• The pilot who knew the position of PilotX and another of our group, who had a private aircraft, fly over the crash site to verify the position of the victim and verify if he is injured.

This is the point where I got involved; Just back from goal, with no idea what's up– around 16:10.

• Once we had verification that he was on the hill and injured, with an accurate position, I called 911 to get to the local SAR teams mobilized.  (I had just been talking to the Mono Sheriff SAR Sargent, 2 days earlier, and actually had asked him the best way to alert them to a problem like this - 911 was the answer) 
• Stephan & I worked with the SAR coordinator and the ball started rolling by 16:30. Sunset is 1800 – I don't say it, but I know the odds are good that PilotX may be spending the night.
• The next 5 hours are spent getting SAR volunteers mobilized and up to the Barcroft Research facility. Once there, it was a 2.5 mile hike – in the dark – in tough terrain, with a couple steep canyons to enter/exit/work around (you get the picture – it took them a while to hike with their 50 lb. packs of med gear and technical equipment. They get to PilotX at 1am.
• It takes a while to assess, stabilize, immobilize, and package PilotX for carry-out to a suitable LZ for the chopper, which has been dispatched from NAS Fallon (200 miles away). The Navy pilots are using IR gear to navigate at 11,000' in the terrain – it ain't easy flying – RESPECT.
• By 3am I get word that PilotX will be arriving at the hospital in Bishop for evaluation. I get word at 5 am that he is going to be transported to Stanford by air, at 7am
  
  
  
  Why did it take 12 hours? Well, we got lucky on this one – that's why.
  

• BECAUSE one of our pilots spotted the crash, and
• BECAUSE another of our group had an airplane to view the scene and pinpoint the position, and
• EVEN THOUGH no radio or cell contact was made for hours, and
• EVEN THOUGH PilotX had no survival gear accessible, and
• EVEN THOUGH PilotX had not a single light source – NOT ONE. and
• BECAUSE the weather in the area was the warmest September 27th in history,
  
  
  
  This one turned out well.

This situation, if things hadn't gone well, could have easily been a body extraction, folks. 

You simply can't find someone in a mountain range, this big, without some hints.

Even though PilotX's injuries weren't life threatening, he was incapable of hiking out and had no survival gear with which to buy time to allow for rescue

The guys hiking into the site would have arrived sooner if they'd had the ability to see his position with a strobe light or headlamp. A SPOT would have been a valuable aid to pinpoint PilotX's last known position and to get rescue started in a timely manner. (I'll just go on record now – if I go missing, use my SPOT page on my blog & you'll see where I'm laid out.)

Yup, we got very lucky on this one.  Please carry some gear.  I carry a spare radio battery. I carry a AA power source for my cell-phone,  I carry a strobe light and a headlamp.  I carry enough clothing that I could spend the night on the hill.  A SPOT is cheap insurance.  If the crap slaps the fan, at least put the odds on your side that you'll live long enough to get rescued.

If you fly XC anywhere, even in the Dunlap valley, and you don't carry some survival stuff that is accessible while sitting injured, IN YOUR HARNESS,  then you are the intelligence equivalent of the idiot that hikes into the Grand Canyon in flip-flops, carrying a diet pepsi. Please don't be that guy.

It's not like I haven't preached about this before – My article about survival strategies and a DIY survival kit was in the USHPA mag a while back.  It's available at http://biggovtsucks.blogspot.com/p/articles-by-tim.html. EDIT: I've had some input from the NAS Fallon helo crew, and they recommend carrying Lite Sticks (red is best) in our survival kits.

The 2010 XC season is almost over for us in the Northern Hemisphere, so take some time and make a survival kit. I hope you'll never need to use it.  But if I'm coordinating your rescue, I'll rest easier knowing that you have a light source, water, warmth, and can communicate. I'd also like to send a word of Thanks to the Mono County Sheriff's Dept. and their volunteer team of SAR team members who gave up a nice warm bed to help one of our guys. Fly Safe, Tim

Owens Valley - Bonus Day!

Mt. Whitney from 13,500'
Click on photos for larger version

A group of us decided to do some "value-added" flying today.  Conditions have been suitable for launching from Walt's Point on the Eastern side of the Sierras all week.  This launch has been a popular launch since the 60's and allows for long flights to the North.
The launch can be tricky though.  Walt's is a cliff-launch - that is, you layout on level ground and then pull up-turn and walk off a cliff. . . It can be interesting.  Unfortunately, Walt's launch isn't suitable for a large group due to it's restricted size and requirement of high launch skills.

Flights from Walt's are spectacular because it provides views of the Eastern Sierra Range from perspectives that noone else can experience.  You can hear and smell - almost touch the most beautiful mountain range in California.

Mt. Whitney over my shoulder - at 14,000''

We didn't have a goal today.  Bishop would be nice, crossing to the White range would be cool, but we were just going flying.  A nice relaxing flight with friends.  Dean was flying high point - patiently relaying info to Heidi, who had graciously offered to drive for us.

I launched first and went directly to 13,500'.  I loitered around launch for 30 minutes to allow a gaggle to form so we could convoy up range together.  The views were so amazing that I won't even try to convey their beauty with words. Even my photos don't even begin to produce the vivid colors of the rock and the deep blue of the alpine lakes.

Dean on his R10.2

We all made it to Big Pine without struggle but some high Cirrus was washing out the sunlight so lift was getting shut down.  I was tired (not much sleep while monitoring the situation in the White mountains all night) a bit hypoxic, and generally beat.  I found a nice big field about 63 miles from launch and landed.

The flight.

It was a great weekend with 13.5 hours flown and 185 miles flown.

Results will be HERE, when posted.  My flights are HERE.

BAPA Comp - Owens Valley - Sept. 2010 Day 3

Paiute Launch - Click on photos for larger version

Another great day in the Owens.  To be able to fly three straight tasks is a treat, not often experienced here, due to the areas sensitivity to winds.  The ridge has brought us sweet conditions and high temps at the surface - GREAT racing weather!

This was the last task of the 2010 Nor-Cal League and it was fitting that there were pilots from all over the country in attendance.



Many pilots who started their XC comp 'experience' in the league have moved out of the area and it's great that they traveled as far as they did to experience 3 straight days of perfect flying.

Jug leading the pilot meeting

Jug Aggarwal has done a great job of organizing the league events and we acknowledged his contributions to the league.  Without him at the helm the events would not be nearly as easy to participate in.  This weekend, in particular, highlighted the generosity and selflessness of many of the pilots and their partners, who served as indispensable drivers, fluffers, and just generally spiced up the landscape.  Thanks everybody!  Seeya next year.

My track on task three

Since most of the pilots would be heading home this afternoon, we called a short task of 30 miles to goal in Benton.  Conditions were similar to prior days, but the lift improved during the short task.  Today I had some serious fun since I was in the hunt for much of the race and, in the last two thermals, managed to put myself in a position of contention with Kansas, Jug, and Arnie.  I was very fortunate to find a nice core and roll out just at the right moment and altitude to allow me to use full speed-bar all the way to goal.  Kansas, who was on a superior/faster wing, wasn't able to use full bar due to the turbulence, and this allowed me to hold him off to goal.

Dean Stratton won the day, but I was second - First among us mortals ;-)  It was a really fun day.  I think this flight was the most 'racing' I've done on an XC task.  There were more than 20 in goal again today so there were many pilots who had fun.   A great way to end the weekend for many of us.

On a more somber note, we had one pilot go missing.  He had crashed at 11,000' in the White Mtns. and was extracted by Mono Co. volunteer SAR crews and a NAS Fallon helicopter early the next morning.  His injuries are still being addressed and our thoughts and prayers are with him. My write-up on the rescue of this pilot is HERE.

Fly Safe,

Tim

BAPA Comp - Owens Valley - Sept. 2010 Day 2

Another fun task in the Owens.  We had around 40 pilots fly today.  Conditions were essentially identical to yesterday, although climbs were higher in the afternoon.

The task was from Paiute Launch to Qendix -29k north, back South to Jeffry 18k, then North to goal at Benton.  Total task distance was 73Km (45 miles).

I was low for the start but headed out anyway, which was a slow beginning to my flight.  Eventually I got in the groove and made good time to the North in spite of some weak climbs and low tops of lift.  After the turnpoint at Jeffry I had two fantastic climbs to 12,500' and 13,000' that made it possible to cover the last 17 miles in less than an hour.

Results will be HERE (when published)
My flight is HERE

I was off the pace a bit and placed 5th or 6th today, but had a fun, great flight.  The views of the bristle-cone pines, high on the White Mtns. and peeks East into the next valley were fantastic.  There were over 25 pilots in goal today - many for the first time.  Many pilots had their highest, and longest flights of their lives today.
Here is a photo of some happy pilots in goal.

Happy Pilots in goal at Benton.

BAPA Comp - Owens Valley - Sept. 2010

Today was an eventful day. . . and a lot of fun.  We had a great turnout for this weekend and the weather was classic high-pressure Owens.  The nice thing about a ridge of high pressure moving in, is that the winds are generally light.  The less than nice thing is that the thermals are rocket ships that just shoot through your wing with lots of enthusiasm. . .  If one isn't flying with the same enthusiasm as the bullets being launched upward, it can be an un-enjoyable day.





We met at the Motel in town at 9am and had a large parade up to the Paiute launch.  There were a lot of new faces so we did a site briefing and an extensive pilot meeting.

The task was from Paiute Launch North to Montgomery Creek (just short of Boundry Peak) the South to the Flynn LZ - 86Km or 53 miles.

I launched about 40 minutes before the 12:45 start and had a decent start.  Kansas, Jug, Fred and I were leading out for much of the first 20 mile leg to Montgomery Creek.  The winds were light, but definitely had a South component.  Just after tagging the turnpoint, I was heading into a nice bowl on about 1/2 speed-bar when the right line severed and I was suddenly without speed-bar for the 30 mile upwind leg to goal. . .

Things were going fine (in spite of my equipment problem) with Kansas a thermal ahead and Fred flying deep and downwind of course.  Jug and I were making good time and staying ahead of a gaggle of 4 or 5, behind us a mile or two.  We flew a good line with abundant lift and finally Jug and I got a climb, 7 miles from goal, that gave us a 5.2:1 glide to goal.  We rolled out & within 5 minutes I saw a wing ahead of me fold up and cascade to impact in the foothills ahead.  I thought it was Kansas and made a call.  It turned out to be Fred, and he sounded OK.  I landed near him about 10-15 minutes later and hiked up to his location with a group who had 4-wheeled as close as they could get, to help.  When we arrived, Fred had packed his wing and was just about ready to hike to the ambulance that had arrived.  It was a welcome surprise to find Fred walking and talking after watching him pound in.  We were met by a Cal-Fire crew and Fred posed for a recruiting ad.

My flight is HERE.


Scores will be HERE.

Strong Owens Air (finally)

CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR LARGER VERSION

Monday we finally got some post frontal fun. The system, that passed through yesterday, left behind quite a bit of snow on the Sierras and even closed the passes for 24 hours. The remaining airmass was unstable, dry, and extremely cold. Winds were forecast to be light from the West.

We all met at the TownHouse Motel and then shuttled up the 45 min. 4X4 road to the Paiute launch.
The task called was from Paiute launch to TowerControl (10 miles S.) then back to the North 35 miles to Benton, which is well into the flats.

I suited up with as many layers as possible, hot hands in my gloves, and balaclava. The temps at 12,000' were in the mid 20's.

I launched early and climbed to 10,500'. I had a good start and proceeded South for the first leg. The air certainly was more active and sharp than previous days and I decided early that I didn't want to put myself close to the terrain with such strong, sharp edges. I started the task taking climbs that I probably could have passed up, but felt that conservative was the way to start things off.

I made good time down to the first waypoint and managed to get out to the turnpoint and back in good shape. I then hit a massive thermal that gave me a fight for three or four turns. It had some 800+ft./min. air, but also spent time slapping me silly. It was all I could do to find some semblance of a core while fighting to keep the wing open. Eventually I managed to get some consistent lift, and was soon back above 10,500' and heading North.

Eric was ahead of me and deeper into the terrain, but I seemed to be making good progress by staying in the lower terrain. I had a slight tailwind so I was happy with the lower line. The lift was very dependable and sometimes very strong. They were the kind of thermals that grabbed the wing and just forced it upwards. It was quite a workout by the end of this 3:30 flight.

I made good decisions for most of the flight and was flying relatively fast. It was my first competition task on the Boom 5 and it felt good, even when the air got rowdy.

The last decision I made (relative to the task) was my undoing. I got a little impatient, or excited, and made the decision head directly from the mountains to Benton on a heading of 300*. I should have continued up the range, another 4 miles or so, before pointing at goal. This would have had me spending less time trying to penetrate upwind along course line. . . As it turned out I landed 1.5 miles short of goal. Eric, Arnie, and a couple others made it to goal by making a better final glide decision.
It was great to get today's task in before driving home. I flew 4 days out of 5 and learned a lot about the Boom 5. I really enjoy flying it and am getting more comfortable on it.

It was also great to see the commitment everyone made to fly this week. Everybody had fun and flew well. There were no accidents and all were very generous with their time & vehicles. It was good to have the time to meet and learn more about people I'd flow with but not gotten to know. Thanks to Jug for another great season with the BAPA league.

My flight is HERE.
League scores are HERE.

Fly safe -
Tim

Sunday in the Owens - No fly

CTRL/Click on photos for large version

Today the crowd gathered and we decided to head over to Flynn's to have a look. The weather reports were not encouraging, but when 30 pilots gather you have to take a look.

This is what we saw from the East side of the valley, looking West -

I took the opportunity to see what the Tundra could do. Because of the load of 800lbs of wings and people, or faulty driving, I only made it up 75% of the way up the hill. The ground got very sandy & soft and I bogged down.Tomorrow still looks promising, so we'll hang for one more day.

Tim

Flirting with wave

To view photos larger cntrl/click on photo
All photos were taken well after today's flight!

I’ve been in Bishop for three days. Flying the Owens is the best anywhere, when it’s good; and a great disappointment when it’s not. Usually it’s either great or not flyable. This week has been fairly ‘ho-hum’ with some exceptions. . .

The first day (Thursday) was Jug, Tom, Steve, Eric, and me at Paiute launch. We knew the climbs would not be above 10,000’, but we still made plans to fly North. I went first and flew around the area for 45 minutes before heading out. Tom and Jug were in the flats getting decent climbs and I was paralleling them along the foothills of the Whites. Eric and Steve launched a bit later, and the climbs improved a bit for them.

Eventually Tom, Jug, and I all landed about 14 miles from launch, next to Hwy 6. Steve made it up to Benton, and Eric landed about 30 miles out. We all hitched back to Paiute and met the truck there.

Friday we all headed up to Paiute again, this time the 5 of us were joined by 15 other pilots on launch. I launched early again and flew for 1:15 in ragged conditions, never climbing over 9000’. I landed in the LZ, while Jug, Tom, Steve, and Eric all landed after 30-40 minutes, a few miles N. along Hwy 6.

Saturday was the first scheduled day of the BAPA league competition. We all met at 9AM and the decision was made to cancel the day due to forecasts predicting high winds. Jug and I were making plans to go for a hike in the Sierra when a contingent of pilots suggested a quick flight off Flynn’s launch. I didn’t have to be asked twice, and went along to “take a look.”

When we got to launch the conditions looked very benign and the wind at the Bishop airport was calm. A few of the crowd launched and went to the LZ quickly. I waited about 15 more minutes and figured I’d get an extended sledder and a ride back up the hill. Katrina, I, and Phil all launched together and played with a couple of sharp-edged thermals that took us to about 700’ above launch and then fell apart.

Eventually I was able to coax another 1000’ and worked back a bit to the higher ground, where another bit of lift put the next bench back into reach. I was very aware of the winds aloft as I climbed and watching the valley for any indications that the forecast winds were picking up. Every 1000’ or so I’d roll out of the climb and do a short ‘penetration check’ to verify that moving forward into the valley wasn’t a problem.

When I was climbing through 11,000’, I started to feel the cold. I really hadn’t planned on a high flight and hadn’t worn my thermal top and balaclava. At 12,000’, the lift felt much smoother and I started to feel that I was flirting with the wave that was obviously in the vicinity. I decided that it was time head back out front; I’d had my fun and didn’t want to extend the flight into the ugly conditions forecast for later in the day. I had to anticipate what the conditions would be in the LZ 30-40 minutes from now, since that was how long the descent could take. As I penetrated out, I played with the speed bar a bit. It’s amazing how much the speed increases on the Boom 5. I pushed ¼ bar for quite a while, then ½ bar. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to take the opportunity to feel out this wing. All the while, I’d throttle the bar to compensate for movement of the wing due to turbulence.
My concerns with the wind and penetration were valid, but I’d made the decision to come out front before the winds increased above 12-14 mph.

After getting out front I headed North to fly over launch. I still had around 8,000’ (3,000-4,000’ AGL) and pushed about ¾ bar for a while. The wing felt very stable and solid until I hit a ‘bump’ that loaded up the wing and then I went very light in the harness. At that moment the wing just ‘went away’ and disappeared behind me. I waited for the surge and caught the wing as it came forward without any asymmetry, but the right wing was badly cravatted. I counter steered and weight-shifted to hold my heading (as best I could) and started to fish the stabilo line to clear the tip. At that point the wing started to wind up to the right and I had to increase the counter-steer by giving the left brake more pressure, to slow the turn. The tug on the left brake caused the wing to stall, so I went immediately to a full stall position with both brakes to ‘reset’ things. After holding the stall for a couple oscillations I recovered, with the cravatte cleared, and stopped the surge. It was a text-book recovery and I hope they all go that well. From the looks of my flight trace, I only lost 200-300 feet during the maneuver.

I landed in the LZ about 30 minutes later in dead-calm winds. About an hour later (2 hours after I decided it was time to head to the LZ) it was gusting to 25.
The lessons learned from today’s flight:

1. Don’t underestimate the ferocity of the conditions in the Owens. The weather can change very quickly. I would have shown more sense, perhaps, if I’d called it a day earlier in the flight, or had not climbed as high. The reason I say that is because I do believe I was nibbling at the edge of the wave. Paragliders aren’t an appropriate flying machine to play with wave - especially in the Owens Valley. I pushed things a bit today and got away with it – If I’d pushed any farther things might have gotten ugly because the envelope of a PG is so narrow.

2. I only have about 5 hours on my Boom 5 now and I really shouldn’t be playing around with more than ½ speed bar until I am comfortable on the wing and can understand what it’s telling me. One of the reasons my wing blew up is that I didn’t recognize that it would probably do so when I hit the bump. I’m proud that the recovery went well and I didn’t over control and create a cascading event that went on and on. Using speed bar down low is for others, more motivated than I.

3. The Boomerang 5 is a good, honest wing that is solid until you (I) fly it with a disregard for its peculiarities. It treated me well today and I am getting better at flying it.

4. Thanks to Brad Gun for his SIV magic. I must have learned a lot because it all came through today.

All-in-all today was a fun, eventful, educational, and humbling day. That’s the personality of the Owens and maybe, that’s why I enjoy flying here so much.

Fly safe –
Tim

U.S. Paragliding Nat'ls - Day 4 - Task 2

Today we drove to the Gunter launch on the White range. This launch is at 8300' (2524M) and provided a very nice open area,if a bit bushy, for us to lay out & launch. The weather cooperated well - light Southerly winds and good lapse rates & enough moisture to provide some nice clouds. Cloud base during the day was around 15,000'. Any threat of overdeveloping was soon dismissed.

The task was a run North along the Whites that required a dip to the edge of the valley at MVWHIN and the a straight 75K shot to MINA. Total distance, 110K (68miles)

I launched an hour before the start and climbed out slowly. I was fortunate to have good height at the start - many others were stuck on the terrain trying desperately to get up enough to get away. I headed North with the second gaggle. The lead gaggle was high & moving along the high ground quickly. The second gaggle seemed to disintegrate and I was soon flying alone from thermal to thermal. Sometimes I was the pimp & sometimes I was the pimpee, but I was able to move along quickly with at least half speed bar most of the time.

I seemed to be making good time and staying high until reaching Boundary Peak at North termination of the Whites. As I crossed over the Western spine of the peak I saw a paraglider under reserve drifting down onto the peak. He 'landed' just below the tree line at around 11,000'. HERE is his Google Earth landing spot. I announced the toss & tried to raise the pilot but was unable to. About this time, I encountered the trashy air that precipitated the toss & had my hands full. I took a GPS fix, in case the pilot needed extraction & then set about flying my wing. . . I was down to 10,000' by now & needed some lift. I had hooked into a nice 800'/min. thermal when I heard Chris K. on the radio, announcing he was OK. It was good to hear his call & I was able to concentrate on my flight to Mina again. I'm sure Chris has a interesting story to tell tomorrow.

This climb allowed me to kick the bar some more and I was soon surprised to see a gaggle of comp gliders ahead and below me. As I approached them, I realized this was the lead gaggle! I came in on top & soon was circling with them in weak scattered lift. It soon felt a lot like gaggle suck to me & I had the slowest wing in the gaggle so I made the decision to push things a bit & head out. I climbed for a while but left with 10.6:1 glide to goal (20 km away) knowing I would probably need a short climb to make goal. As I pointed at goal, I knew this decision would either put me in goal fast, or put me on the deck trying. To make matters a bit more dicey, 90% of the ground was in shadow from cloud so I was hoping for lift in an unlikely patch. . .

I watched the required glide ratio to goal and decided to take the next bit of lift I could find, until I indicated 8:1 required. I found a small 350'/min. thermal & stayed with it until I had goal made & headed the last 10 km on 1/2 bar. Quite a few guys passed me on the final glide, but hey - it's a thrill for me just to be in a position where I can see the winner cross the goal line! I finished 6th in the Serial Class & 16th overall for the day. There were 42 in goal and it was a great day of flying with lots of buddies in goal. I must be getting acclimated because I don't have the fatigue problem I had after the first task. Flying without O2 made me keep my climbs below 15,000' but wasn't really an issue today.

Tomorrow looks like similar conditions so we may go big again. So far, in three flights, I've flown 12:47 & 327KM (203 miles) and we still have three days to go!

I'm not sure of the results for today - Results will be HERE.

My flight is HERE.

US Nat'ls Bishop, CA - Day 3 - Task 2 - Canceled

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The forecast for the day looked a bit windy but the conditions at launch were encouraging. The wind on the valley floor, at the Bishop airport, was calm & we had cumulus clouds forming nicely over the Sierras and the Whites. A task was called early that took us North from launch, along the White range, with a turnpoint in the flats at the Paiute LZ and Hammil then to Benton at the North end of the Whites. The task was short at 49.8km.(31 miles) but would have us on the deck before the wind picked up. . .

The start was a multi-gate start, every 20 minutes beginning with a 11:45 start and ending with a 1:05 start. The goal would close at 4pm.

Some of the wind techs were hanging on but not getting up at 11:45. I wanted to get in the air before the wind picked up so I got in line, only to step out when nearing the launch point. I waited 15 minutes and saw some weak climbs out front, so I launched into the fray. The lift was very weak but I was able to get to about 1500' over launch. The thermals seemed to break apart at this altitude so, for the next 40 minutes, I just boated around in disorganized lift and a 10-20 mph wind from the South. The clouds were beginning to overdevelop with virga visible so being in the air much longer wasn't going to be fun. The task was officially cancelled at 12:20 or so. A couple guys, with more hunger than I, were able to get away & they flew downwind along the Whites. I think most landed down in the Paiute LZ. I landed after the launch director reported strong winds at launch, around 12:46pm.

It's a bit disappointing because the day looked quite good for a while. The forecast for tomorrow still calls for some 10kts of South wind and cloud cover for much of the valley.

I must say that I am still impressed by the handling, performance, and safety of my Gradient Avax XC2. It has been solid in some very dynamic air. I'm really happy with it after flying 80+ hours & 1300km. in 4 major competitions and many more weekend events.

Tim

2008 U.S. Nat's Day 0 - Practice Day (EPIC)

WOW - A great day of flying today. Jug, Tom, Jack, Nick, Gary & I all headed to Walt's today for a warm-up flight before the comp begins tomorrow. The forecast was for very light winds at all altitudes with an Easterly component. This combination made the choice of Walt's (on the Sierra side of the Owens Valley) one that made sense. It also had the added lure that none of us, except Tom, had launched from that side before. The plan was to head for Bishop, about 60 miles up-range from launch.
I launched second and found lift very quickly. I have no oxygen system for the week so my plan was to see how my body reacted to climbs to 13500-14500'. For the first 15-20 miles I climbed to 13,500' & left the lift to go on glide until I was 12,000' & then take climbs again to 13,500'. I basically pointed the glider North, climbed when it made sense, glided along the Eastern side of the sierras on one of the most enjoyable flights ever. The scenery was amazing. I've flown the Owens before, but never this side. Mt Whitney and the associated pinnacles were unbelievable. My photos don't do the views justice, but may give an idea of the scale of the landscape.An early gaggle launched an hour or so ahead of us & some of these guys flew 100 miles. Our group split up & most landed 15 miles S. of Bishop in Big Pine. I was able to make it to Bishop & landed next to 395 in a nice field. Roger Marsh was just driving into town (from San Diego) & stopped to give me a ride - Thanks Roger!

A great day with a 68 mile flight. I hope the conditions continue to be so conducive to long, enjoyable flights. My flight is HERE.

Heading to the Owens Valley

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Tomorrow I'll be heading for Bishop to fly the US Nationals. Conditions look good with lift to over 17k & light winds (for the Owens) so I think it will be a good week.

Jeff Wishnie had a good warm-up flight on Tuesday & flew from Walt's 168K to the North end of the Whites. http://www.xcontest.org/world/en/flights/detail:jwishnie/9.09.2008/18:14

If you would like to have a look at the waypoints used in the Owens so you know where we are flying, you can download a waypoint file that will open in Google Earth, HERE.

Check back for the blow-by-blow.

Tailwinds,
Tim

Owens Valley weekend

My Sun. Flight is HERE
My Mon. Flight isHERE

Jack G., Dave S. & I headed to Bishop to fly in the Owens Valley with the BAPA XC league. We had high hope for good weather & long flights. On the Friday eve drive North on 395 we saw the weather at left over the southern White Mountains (the East side of the Owens valley.) (click on pic) We saw some beautiful cloud build-ups & the Sierras were dusted that night with snow.

This proved to be the last of the weather though. Saturday dawned clear & beautiful. Unfortunately the winds were higher on Sat. than was prudent to fly, so we all had a recreational day in/around Bishop. Sat. night we all met at a pizza parlor to tell stories & celebrate Kari Castle's birthday.

Sunday looked good on paper, but had a very stable lapse rate, so lift was forcast to be weak & tops of lift - low. A task was called which ran us upvalley to Casbah & then South to Pupfish & across the valley to Keogh.

The leg North was straight-forward but lift petered out below 9000'. The field of 45 was littered all along the course. It was not a day to race - it was one of survival. I was able to hang with Jug & Rob S., thermaling towards Casbah. The guys decided to head out in the valley & tag the point & come back . I decided to hang back & work the last of the weak thermal. After gaining another 400' I too headed for Casbah. A mile from the turnpoint I found a great little core which bought me another 800'. I then tagged the turnpoint & returned to the foothills and entered the thermal the boys had found - this time I was on the top of the stack. This allowed me to work up high enough to make it down range & limp a mile of so farther than the field. Jug & maybe Josh C. were the only guys who made it further South than I. I put down in scrub near Susan who was headed to the waypoint. The scrub consisted of what seemed like barbed-wire tumbleweeds & it took 15 minutes to clear & fold the wing and another 50 minutes to cover the three mile hike to Hwy 6.
Miles covered: 15
Flight time: 1:40

Monday the forecast was for SE winds in the valley, & light winds aloft. Jug knew everyone was heading out on long drives at the end of the day, so a 25 mile task was called - Just a downwind dash N. to Benton (about 5 miles from the CA-NV border.)

A few pilots launched 30 minutes before the start & flushed to the LZ in spite of some gallant struggles. A couple of good pilots hung in there & eventually I launched about 5 minutes after the Start Cylinder opened. There was speculation on the hill, earlier, that it may be the kind of day where you may be lucky to exceed minimum distance (5 miles) but after launch I climbed well to 8300' & Dave was ahead of me with good altitude. It looked like the day was improving.
Since climbs were low, I headed out lower than I wanted to. 15 minutes later I was only 600' off the deck & looking at another long hike to the road. . . I needed some lift NOW. With only 4 minutes to landing left, I felt a burble that foretold a core nearby. Soon I was happily climbing back into the game. I hate getting low when competing - it just slows you down drastically - but a save from low altitude is quite rewarding & set the tone for the next 18 miles.

I soon found myself flying with Bill Belcourt & Montana (both of whom made goal, dangit). We climbed in a couple of serpentine thermals to around 8000' but they wanted to push deep into the high ground. I knew the potential for high climbs was greater over the high ground, but I was sporting a serious blister from yesterday & didn't want to hike more than a couple of miles. They were also on higher performance wings, so I played it safe & stayed over the fingers.

This worked for awhile, but eventually I needed to point at the goal, use the tailwind, & head into the flats. I was able to find a couple of small thermals in the valley but not enough to make goal. I eventually landed 3/4 of a mile from Hwy 6 and 6 miles short of goal. This time I found a nice spot with an intersection of two dirt roads that allowed me to land and lay the wing down, clear of any scrub. The landing went just as planned & the wing came down with nary a snag. Meanwhile Dave had his best day & landed a mere 1/4 mile from goal.

Miles covered: 20
Flight time: 1:42

Altogether Dave & I drove 12 hours & each flew about 3.5 hours. . . This is within my personal 4:1 acceptable ratio of drive/fly. To be able to fly 2 out of 3 days in the Owens is great. Jack was very generous to offer us the use of his Tahoe to shuttle pilots up the hill. Dave was a great flying partner - able to candidly debrief with meaningful insights. The breadth of experience in this weekend's competitor list was unprecedented in BAPA comps. We had 5 US National Champs (including 3 of this year's US World's Team members) & many more top 20 pilots competing. What a great learning experience. Jug has done a great job of building this league to a regional status. His attention to detail & professionalism has made us all better pilots.

A great weekend.

Tim