2011 Rat Race - Day 7 - Final Task

Today was a day similar to yesterday.  The Rat treated us well and the valley winds didn't kick in until shortly before most made it to goal.  The Rat Race had just less than 30 pilots into goal at Longsword Winery.   The Rat Race task was from Burnt Ridge to Prospect Ridge to Burnt to John's Peak the back into the valley to Longsword Winery - about 73km. 

Race Task

I launched as soon as the window opened and had an easy climb over Woodrat Peak and made the early transition to Burnt to scope out the lift in the area of the start cylinder.   Soon the air got crowded over Burnt as we mapped out the convergence for the start.  About 10 minutes before the start I blundered away from the rather fragmented gaggles just long enough to find a massive sinkhole and put myself in a low position during an obvious down cycle.  Many good pilots were struggling to stay in the air.  I found myself a bubble at about 200' below mid launch and worked it patiently until it bloomed into a 450'/min. elevator back into the start gaggle.  I was very fortunate to make a reasonably decent start into Rabies for the leg to Prospect Peak.  The thermals were good sized and strong as we proceeded North.   I had vowed to get to goal today so my progress was deliberate and I remained high for the most part.  For those who were high the lifty lines were easy to see while watching the pilots ahead and below.

Sprint Task

The high cirrus clouds that had been approaching from the North West shaded the Prospect Peak area as I approached so it was very important to take a good climb before heading out to tag the cylinder and allow for the return to the ridge.  At this point I joined Jug and Szilard and we worked together.  Soon small areas of sun appeared on the terrain and we found booming climbs that made the return leg to Rabies fairly quick.

The leg from Burnt to John's Pk. was a slow tip-toe until we found a nice climb with a helpful hawk that calmly showed us the best core.  I headed into the turnpoint at John's and returned the 3km. to find the same climb.  When I got to the area of the climb the same hawk was still orbiting to show us the climb.

After that climb I rolled out with a 6:1 glide to goal and saw Jug and Szilard below and slightly ahead so I pushed full bar and chose a very lifty line to get to goal.  Every core I flew through gave me a lift, even while holding full bar, and I was getting around 10:1 glide.  I had such a lifty line that I was at least 2000' too high at the end of speed section.  I placed 15th (tied with Szilard because he beat me by 8 seconds, but I had more leading points) and this was my best showing of the week.

The day was won by Nate Scales, followed closely by Josh Cohn, Matt Beechinor, Matt Senior and Nick Greece. 
The Rat Race had 26 in goal and the Sprint race had 42 in goal today - Many happy pilots at the Longsword Winery!

Rat Race Scores can be found at http://flyxc.org/2011RatRace.html

Sprint Scores can be found at http://flyxc.org/2011RatRaceSprint.html


I just got in, after a 10 hour drive so that's it for now.  Here's a great video of the Rat Race this year.






Below is a photo of the festivities at RRHQ just prior to the awards ceremony. 

2011 Rat Race - Day 6 - Task 6

The weather in Ruch is treating us well this week.  Today was fun.  The task was well built for the conditions and the pacing of the day.  I didn't get a useable photo of the task board but the task was:

• Exit start from Burnt 
• Bald Mtn.
• Burnt
• John's Pk
• Jacksonville
• Donato - Total distance 65km

I had a very good start and the first leg to Bald was lots of fun with some ballistic climbs and nice lines along the convergence.  Those who mapped out the best lines had significantly better transitions than those who allowed themselves to get low in the cascading backside of the convergent shear.

I was running well, watching Jimmy and Hayden duke it out for the Serial Class title.  My climbs were good and made fast time until I got to Burnt.  At this point I lost Hayden and Jimmy and had to change gears for the transition to John's.  The Jacksonville area and Medford Valley were producing thermals, but they were more fragmented and much weaker than those we'd flown in for the first two legs of the flight.  I felt that I had set an appropriate pace for the conditions, but left one very unproductive bit of lift to search for better - only to watch in vain as the glider in the bit-o-lift started to climb well, behind me.  I tried to return to the climb but the bubble wasn't found and I was soon setting up to land 8km from goal.

Some of the R-11/R10/Boom8/UP Edge armada rolled into John's with sufficient altitude to make a balsy glide to goal and squeak over/around the hill just prior to Donato's field.

Today's Top- 5

1. Josh Cohn
2. Nick Greece
3. Nate Scales
4. Farmer
5. Eric Reed

The photo is at Donato's LZ.  33 pilots made goal today.  It's Saturday morning now, and the day looks similar to Friday, so I'm looking forward to a great final task.

Results are at http://flyxc.org/2011RatRace.html 

Tim

2011 Rat Race - Day 5 - Task 5

The skies were overcast, the hills were obscured, and the temperatures were chilly when we awoke this morning. All the forecasts were indicating an improvement could be expected so the collective headed up the hill. As forecast the day was a good Woodrat day with convergences to be exploited and winds to contend with.

The task committee called an task that had the race group start at Mt. Isabella and then to just past Squires to Burnt - repeat. . . 4 times. The sprint group also did some similar laps. The task made for some amazing views to the spectators at Longsword Winery which served as goal for both races. I had a good start, getting high above Rabies Pk. and making the first turnpoint at Buncom in good time. The rest of the flight was enjoyable, but uninteresting because I took myself out of the race to fly without the distraction and hazards of flying with the extremely packed gaggles in the valley. The pilots that flew the course had good flights and some very exciting racing.

One of the great features of the Rat Race is the generous mentoring going on during the days and evenings. Nick Greece held daily impromptu Q&A sessions on the hill and the group grew from 6-8 a few days ago to 20-30 today.  Shown is Eric Reed offering some hints.

Volunteer appreciation

Another amazing feature of the Rat Race is the number of helpful volunteers at the race.  Without these folks the race just wouldn't work.  

I found a glass of wine and a good seat at Longsword for the race finish and watched as Dean Stratton won the day followed by Josh Cohn, Matt (farmer) Beechinor, Nick Greece, and Nate Scales.

A live news feed on Channel 10 in Medford for the 6PM news was broadcast from the launch and is available at http://www.ktvl.com/

Results are at http://flyxc.org/2011RatRace.html

Tim

2011 Rat Race - Day 4 - Task 4

Today looked like another good day at Woodrat Mountain. The forecast for the day indicated that lift would be to 6000’ and winds wouldn’t be too much of a factor until late in the afternoon. The task committee went with a suggestion that a “do-over” was a good idea. The task was yesterday’s task modified to include Grant’s Peak, then to Williams Overlook, to Donato (South in the Medford Valley).

I launched shortly after the launch window opened and climbed up above Woodrat Peak to the inversion, which was fairly low. It was also obvious that there was considerably more wind than on previous days and than forecast. The progression across the valley to the start cylinder at Rabies Ridge was not a simple one climb transition for many, since the headwinds were strong and the climbs were low. I managed to cross with a few friends and we soon found a nice thermal - nice, only because it was better than the alternative. The truth is that the climbs today were weird, one-sided, meandering, shards of lift punctuated with areas that can only be described as ‘holes’ where the wing wasn’t really flying but rather, quivering and hovering in the white-water like conditions.

Once the start-time arrived, it was on to Billys to work our way to Grant’s Peak as we did yesterday. The into the wind performance of the 2011 2-liners is amazing. I’ve not seen a time when the performance of the latest comp ships was so noticeable when compared to last year’s model or the latest hot Serial Class wings. What this meant today was that a few of the 2-liners were able to make a transition past Humbug canyon that the rest of us found to be quite a slug-fest.

In this part of Oregon the afternoon winds arrive like a swift moving tide - sliding down the valleys rapidly and relentlessly. At the Humbug area we hit the wall of wind that turned the thermals into nasty rides that you hesitated to turn in. But turn we did. Over and over we tried to climb through the inversion. At the top-of-climb I’d try to penetrate forward, towards goal, only to take a necessary climb and frisbee back to the same position and altitude. I was at 8.4 miles from Grant’s Pk. at least 4 times with very little progress. It was pretty obvious that the winds were getting stronger than one should sensibly fly in, so I headed to the main valley and the road. I wasn’t alone - many pilots also chose to land before the option of landing carried more risk than acceptable. There were 8 of us in the same big field and after roughly 1:30 in the air we had only flown about 15 Km. Shortly after I landed the Task was “stopped” which allows the scored to be based on progress to the point

The task winners got 98 points - those of us who flew and fought the fight to Humbug only to decide to land in the valley next to the Applegate Store got 55 points. The Sprint race was cancelled before the start.
Results are at http://flyxc.org/2011RatRace.html

It's cloudy this morning (thursday) but forecasts indicate that it may be a day.


Tim

2011 Rat Race - Day 3 - Task 3

Today's task was a great use of the day - Conditions improved as we headed North to Grants Peak allowing climbs to 6500-7000'.  The lead gaggle was playing it cagey - conservatively working towards Grants Pk. at a pace that allowed me to make up for my 8 minute late start.  I joined a couple perfect thermals that put me into Grants in touch with the lead gaggle.

After Grants Pk the leg to  Wellington Overlook was the crux for most of us.  The lead gaggle headed across to Prospect Peak with dismal results.  They were just far enough ahead that I and a few friends bent South and slid into the Williams valley with few options.  We all eventually landed in the valley, at 30-35 Km.  Those who stuck to the high ground on the East side of the valley, or even headed directly to the Wel-ol turnpoint had better success.

The top 10 included at least 6 Serial class wings because the line the lead gaggle took was much slower.  Congrats to Peter Warren for winning the task on his Ozone Mantra M4!

The China Gulch field that I landed in yesterday had three wings in it today. It was confirmed to be a tight fit, but all pulled it off. We had one injury that involved a tree landing somewhere on the Rabies Ridge.

Running short on time this morning so that's it for now. It looks like a nice day again so we are heading up the hill.

Results are at http://flyxc.org/2011RatRace.html
Tim

2011 Rat Race - Day 2 - Task 2

Today’s Rat Race task was a 62Km task with 2 crossings of the Ruch valley and then a beat upwind to John’s Peak (North of Jacksonville) then a downwind leg to Immigrant Lake via Donato.  A restriction of 6000’ in the area of the Medford final approach corridor.

Many of us got into the cue early and got up at Woodrat Peak and were bouncing off a rather snotty inversion at 5200’.  Rather than bounce around at the top-of-lift and wait for another 50 wings to form under us, a group headed across the valley to the start cylinder at Rabies Peak.  We had 45 minutes or so to kill so pre-positioning seemed like a smart move.  The conditions, upon arrival at Rabies Ridge were dismal.  I found myself low on the ridge and fought for 15 minutes as I slowly worked my way down to a height that required an approach to landing.

Here’s the short list of absolutely stupid things I did and how I feel my decisions should have been changed.

• I tried to make an early transition while flying with R11s.  They will always have more time and options upon arrival at the ridge.  

  Try to make tricky transitions with wings that have similar performance, so you have friends at your altitude.

•  I put myself in a committed position that slowly (insidiously) put me on the leeward side of the ridge, with limited landing options and dismal flying conditions.

   I had never been low in this area (China Gulch) before, and really didn’t want to be there - but I put myself there.  Dumb, Dumb, Dumb.

•   Once it became obvious that I was loosing ground (altitude) and facing a glide into a shallow ‘gulch’ with a couple of useable LZs, I allowed myself to fight until only one, marginal LZ remained available to me.  As I got closer to landing, it was obvious that the LZ was short, downhill, had wires at the end.  None of these things were unknown to me, but the combination was much tighter than I expected. The approach was over trees and very critical - overshooting wasn’t and option.

  In retrospect, this LZ was unusable. The consequences of a low hit, a pop of lift, or any rotor, while maneuvering as close to the obstacles and stall point were not pretty.

• Once the ‘gravity’ of the situation was fully realized (what had I been thinking?)  I managed to fly around one oak tree, through a narrow gap (not a wingspan wide) and then used the ‘butterfly’ method to make the wing draggy enough to get down in the remaining *downhill* field.  Fortunately I know this wing (Avax XC3) well,  it’s an honest wing that allows tickling the edge of stall. 

If this plan hadn’t got well - The options were a tree, wires, or parachutage from 15 feet.   Fortunately everything went well and I walked away with an intact body and kit. 

Shortly after moving my gear to the shade of a tree the landowner, Judy, came by and offered a ride.  I hopped in her car and she told me I was always welcome to land in her field.  I responded, “Judy, there is no way I’ll EVER land in that field again, but thanks much.”

Meanwhile, those that made the start, were working their way to John’s Peak and found that the entire complexion of the air had changed in the Medford Valley.  All dirted on the way to Immigrant Lake.  No one made goal today.

There were some fun stories told around the HQ this evening.  A couple of the top pilots had incorrect radii on the Rabies Pk.  Another forgot to tag Woodra before heading to John’s Peak.  And another had to go back to tag the missed Donato point. 

I got minimum distance (I believe this is a first for me) and decided that I would reflect on my mistakes rather than rush up the hill to relaunch among the sprint crowd.  I had made enough mistakes for the day -




Winner for the day was Nick Greece, who made it 50Km.  2nd was Farmer, 3rd was Nate Scales, 4th Hayden Glatte on a Serial GTO, 5th was Josh Cohn.  No one made goal in the Rat Race task.

Results are at http://flyxc.org/2011RatRace.html



The Sprint race was a 27 Km task that stayed close to Woodrat and ended at the same goal field as yesterday. 


It's a new day and I'm looking forward to flying again -

Tim




 

2011 Rar Race - Day 1 - Task 1

The weather improved today and it was a fun day of flying.  Classic Woodrat convergence and occasional snotty air, but the afternoon valley winds that everyone was waiting for, never materialized. 

This year the Rat Race has two races running concurrently - The SPRINT race and the RAT RACE.  The SPRINT task was 19K and the Rat Race was 59K.  I am flying the longer tasks.   The start cylinder was across the valley and an early start was important.  The launch cue was very slow for quite a while and I got a late launch and paid for it with a start at least 10-15 minutes behind the lead gaggle.  No worries - Lots of company.  The first 30km of the flight went well and I was able to make up a bit of time without getting myself into a hole or too alone.  The lift was dependable and strong with the occasional slapping around in the convergence. 

After crossing back from Woodrat Mtn. to Rabies for the last push into Sugarloaf Mtn. I was hoping that I was early enough to avoid the strong North or West that had a chance of developing.  No strong winds were encountered, but there were some seriously sinking areas the went of for an eternity.  Sink of 2000 to 2400'/min. were not uncommon and put me in the position of not wanting to push bar because the wing was fluttering in the trash, but needing to push it just to escape the sink.

I came across the valley on a direct line to goal 12 miles away, and I had some company.  We all had plans that varied enough that we got a good sampling of the air, but unfortunately none of us were finding lift.  On the West side of the valley I found some minor lift while surfing closer to the trees that I like and ended in the flats at the mouth of the final valley to goal.   I joined Hayden and we worked slowly towards goal - he with about 400' more to work with.  I eventually needed to cross one finger while I had the altitude to make it and Hayden was able to contact a nice climb, behind me, just after I left him.  He made it to goal.  I made it to goal, but it was the SPRINT race goal - 5 miles short of my intended destination.  At least there was beer at my LZ ;-)

I placed 22nd overall and 9th in Serial class.  Not a great start but I'm having fun.  Monday looks good, so we can expect another good one.  Results are online at http://flyxc.org/2011RatRace.html - here's the top 5:

1. Farmer
2. Kansas
3. Eric Reed
4. Nick Greece
5. Josh Cohn

More later -
Tim

Exhibit A

For many who view paragliders, they seem like big, slow jellyfish - unable to do precise and exciting things.  But for those who have the skills and cajones to do acro, these little buggers can do a lot.

Exhibit A -

Showtime from francois ragoski on Vimeo.


Fly Safe  -

Tim

Good flying going on in Dunlap -

A number of NorCal folks headed to Dunlap this weekend and conditions were reasonably good compared to Woodrat, OR and here on the coast, where the winds were howling. I was unable to get to Dunlap due to work commitments.

On Saturday Josh Cohn, on his new Ozone R11, flew South well beyond the distance anyone prior had flown - almost to Bakersfield.

Monday, a day with only 4000-5000' top of lift in the valley, was the day everyone was heading back to the Bay Area after flying.

Josh decided to fly.   He launched around 11AM and flew for almost 7 hours and covered around 85 miles. 

Two great flights - setting site records.   Nice flying Josh!  His Track on Leonardo can be viewed here: http://paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/458312




The California distance record is held by Dean Stratton - 147 miles from Walt's Point in the Owens, North into Nevada.

Tim

PWC Korea

Big Congratulations go out to Jack Brown, who won the PWC last week in Korea. His consistency allowed him to top the results in the two-task event.

Jack has really put a lot of effort and time into his flying in the last two years and the results speak for themselves. Jack(USA #3) joins USA #1 Brad Gunnuscio, #2 Josh Cohn, and U.S. Female pilot Melanie Pfister to make up the US World Team. Unfortunately #4 Nick Greece, won't make it since only 3 + 1 spots were available this year.

The above was edited after the straight scoop was provided by Nick Greece

Here's a great video about the Korean PWC event -

To donate to the US World Team Fund please visit http://usparaglidingteam.org/

Here's another great video showing the views and experience of high-performance paragliding -

Vol test Cam Annecy avril from Jean-Mi ARA on Vimeo.

Fly Safe -
Tim

Serial v. Open Class Revisited

The annual discussion flurry about "Serial V. Open Class Competitions" has flared up this month. . . The ignition point was a letter of resignation from Mark Hayman to Brit team leader Kitt Rudd. In it Mark criticized CIVL for making banal rule changes that essentially did little to improve safety.

Mark writes: “I know, living in the real world, that every time I attach an uncertified two-line glider to my body I am increasing my risk substantially of having an accident over flying a certified wing.”

Mark was participating in Valle de Bravo in 2009 when he watched Stefan Schmoker wrestle with a low collapse and make a fatal impact.  Mark also had a brush with mortality when he had a major event on his R10.2 that included lines wrapping around his neck as he descended under his reserve.

His message has been loud and clear. . . and, as many times happens when one raises the flag of caution, his message seems at times, to be somewhat overstated -  Perhaps so his voice is heard by the resistant masses of enthusiastic pilots who enjoy the sport as it is.

R10.2 line plan

Marks' main point seems to be that the new crop of 2-liner wings are being accepted by CIVL, and being flown by every wanna-be comp pilot, with only a superficial examination of the flying characteristics of these wings.  The prevailing views seem to be that the current crop of 2-liners (essentially a row of A-lines at approximately 25-30% chord - and B-lines at 60% chord) are very collapse resistant when flown well.  The problems become apparent after the wing goes away - the recovery characteristics are just plain bad.  Where as an EN-D (certified) glider is required to recover with proper pilot input, the 'open-class' uncertified wings aren't required to demonstrate recovery.   It's not uncommon to hear of 2000'+ cascades before the wing recovers or the excitement is terminated in a reserve toss.  Mark is simply asking, as am I, IS THIS REALLY THE KIND OF AIRCRAFT BEHAVIOR THAT WE WANT TO PROMOTE?

I've been flying a long time.  I've flown all kinds of aircraft.  But I've always known that if the aircraft departed from "normal flight attitudes" that I could recover without the need to bail-out.  Even the homebuilts - the early fiberglass competition sailplanes that had marginal stability - the 2nd generation swept-wing jets that required 'skills' - they all displayed a required, predictable level of safety and handling.  Mark's primary message is that this is not the case when flying the open-class wings of the last 2 years.

The argument to Mark's point, is that the "good" pilots have no problem on the new wings.  I agree that with the right set of skill, judgment, and luck a good pilot can successfully fly the new wings without incident.  But is that a healthy attitude when considering the sport as a whole?  Let's look at US pylon racing in the 1930s - Speed and performance ruled - The good pilots lived the longest, but even they couldn't fly aircraft that had negative stability and couldn't survive minor equipment failures without fatal consequences.  To compete with the fastest "good" pilots, many other pilots flew similar *dangerous* aircraft and died trying.  Was that the fault of the pilots, or the system that allowed dangerous machines in the air and required others to compete on that "level" playing field?


Pylon races, in spite of their popularity, didn't survive the carnage of 1933 - 1940 and the interuption of a couple of world wars.  Now the few races that are staged in the US are very highly regulated and safety is highly regarded.

So the question becomes one of scale and philosophy.  How many accidents/incidents are to occur before Mark's cautionary message becomes valid?  In my case, he's preaching to the choir. 

In a parallel logic path, the DHV in Germany is making some important moves that may get the parade moving in the right direction. Jorge Ewald translates -

From a post on the German Forum by Ulrich Prinz:

* DHV recognizes the harmonic community of Serial and Open Class pilots in Germany as a good model that may be applicable for FAI-1 events as well: Introduce a Serial class in parallel, crown a Serial Class World Champion. This would prevent pilots from lower qualification countries from giving in to the temptation to fly in the Open class, just to remain competitive. Hence the DHV will now work on the international level to introduce the Serial Class in parallel, rather than to get rid of the Open class. [which is a complete paradigm change, as far as I can see. Great, Mark Hayman - given he stays away from bikes and stairwells long enough to heal - may have a glorious come-back. Mads and other PWC old-timers may feel like after an involuntary ride in a De Lorean, though...]

* DHV (especially Charlie Jöst, their president) will task the DHV technical department with finding new test criteria for competition wings (in collaboration with the other testing houses). This because it is now understood that today's testing criteria are not applicable to competition wings, which were built for actively piloting pilots

It's great to see a European entity, with an official acronym, working in a reasonable fashion to actually make some positive changes in the way Serial class is viewed.  Stay Tuned!

Tim

News Item Oddities

I must admit, I'm a bit biased against Powered Paraglider pilots. . . Most of the ones I've met have been, well, a bit, um . . . odd.  They are the recumbent bike riders of paragliding.  A few of them have insisted on the title, "Captain" or "Super-(insert-name)" and generally, they have not impressed me with their flying judgement nor people skills.  But that bias aside, I'm betting you'll wonder what this guy was thinking - especially his choice of flying attire.

From the Buenos Aires Herald:

A man was arrested in Puerto Madero this morning, after having managed to paraglide around the city centre for a number of minutes, attracting the attention those pacing the streets, Naval Command officials reported (PNA).
A spokesman for the PNA said that “around 9AM this morning a man landed after paragliding and was swiftly arrested by PNA agents.”
“The paraglider managed to fly for a fair few minutes around the centre of Buenos Aires, including over 9 de Julio avenue, Teatro Colón, San Telmo and finally landing in Puerto Madero,” the source added.
Hernán Pitocco, the sportsman in question, said in an interview that he took off from Venezuela and Belgrano streets where there is a little park. He mentioned that the “glider isn’t regulated,” and furthered that, “at no point was I endangering the lives of others.”

I've spent quite a bit of time walking the Avenues of BA and wonder what this guy was thinking.  There is very little open space in that city and LOTS of wires, but he managed to find a way to get in the air and back down.  Maybe he's a dapper lawyer whose car wouldn't start that morning, so he decided to take the ole' Powered PG to work.

One of the few open areas in the city.

Apparently Hernan is a skilled acro pilot who was participating in some kind of Red Bull 'event' over the city.  Here is some video of his short flight - I think I can see why the authorities were concerned.  No matter how you present it, this isn't good for our sport.  The problem with PPG is that they can exhibit their stupidities over large metro areas, over crowded beaches, or over events, souring the taste of the sport to many, in one flight.

Here's a video of his takeoff:  According to Ad Age, Red Bull was filming an ad where a businessman was stuck in traffic and decided to fly above the traffic - after all, "Red Bull Gives You Wings."
Bad use of judgement by the Red Bull Producers in my opinion.  How do you feel about this abuse of the "publicity machine"?
Y'all fly safe out there.
Tim

NorCal XC League - Dunlap - April 2011

In his new book on XC competition flying, “Flying Rags to Glory,” Mads Syndergaard writes extensively about the subconscious and its ability to process more information and react many times faster than the conscious mind. This weekend, at the first gathering of the NorCal XC League in Dunlap, CA, I tried my best to use the principles mentioned in the article, with some success. I also proved that there is a bone-headed, impetuous, 25-yr-old lurking inside this brain that I need to get the reins on.

Waiting for a cycle at launch - Photo by Bad Patrick

Saturday we assembled on launch and Jug lead an informative pilot briefing. Over 30 pilots from All over California, Colorado, and more than a handful of foreign pilots were in attendance. Notably missing was Eric Reed who had made an epic vol bivuac journey through the entire length of Nepal and was finally released from a month of house arrest in Sikkim, India, this weekend, after all charges regarding “permits” were dismissed.

Cloudbase was 1000‘ above launch, so Jug built a short task that kept the pilots within the Dunlap valley and had 3 valley crossings. I launched early and explored the area while feeling out any conditions that might be hazardous. It was a buoyant day with slow climbs but dependable lift. The start went well and I made it to Hill 49917 and Last Chance in the lead gaggle. I got a bit low at last chance before finding lift and I watched Josh and his armada of GTOs heading back to the ridge to tank-up before the crossing to Granny’s Knob.

Note the hard right turn to "Damn Kitty"

As I climbed to near cloudbase, I caught a glimpse of a bird circling in lift West of my position (on a direct line to Granny’s) and decided to head directly to Granny’s. I had company as Natalia, Max and I headed out on a low-percentage glide on course. Our move paid off as we contacted some nice lift near Granny’s and we tagged the fix and glided across the valley to the ridge at launch, before the other gaggle had headed out for Granny’s. When we climbed up at the ridge I was feeling pretty good and was contemplating the best route at the next crux in the route - the glide to Airstrip. . . but I had completely forgotten about the need to tag Big Cat on the way to Airstrip. I rolled out and pushed some bar, drank my water and futzed around to get a granola bar out of my pocket, when I noticed my 5020 pointing 90 degrees to the right of my heading - “OH Fudge!” - I had spaced on Big Cat. This blunder cost me dearly and was the beginning of the end for me. I tagged the (now renamed) Damn Kitty turnpoint and, instead of taking a deep breath and reminding myself to reassess my situation, turned to cross the valley to Airstrip. This move was my undoing as I arrived with very little altitude at Granny’s with which to find a thermal. I was low, alone, and whether I was leading or not, I was in terrible shape. The flight was extended with short, trashy, drifty climbs, but soon ended in the valley with two turnpoints to go.

I should not have let this blunder cost me as much as it eventually did. I should have taken a cleansing breath, marveled at the beauty of nature, and taken the time necessary to climb on the ridge and make a sensible crossing. I also had completely missed the cues that the day had matured and the winds had picked-up from the West.

Note to self - When you screw-up, reassess and recover intelligently.

Three pilots made it to goal and deserve congrats for using the day well. Results for day one are HERE.

A view of launch on Saturday morning.

On Sunday the early cloudbase was lower and we considered doing the same task as Saturday’s. A ‘do-over’ was popular last year since it allowed those of us who had mental lapses to refly the same task. As the sun warmed the valley, cloudbase rose substantially and we decided a task similar to the first 3 waypoints on Sat with a run down to Sand Creek and back to the pizza place in Squaw Valley was doable. I launched early and found the lift to be very weak and sporadic. I eventually found some lift on the correct edge of the start cylinder about 5 min. before the start. The climb took me away from the cylinder and when the start time came I was forced to penetrate back to the start against the traffic of, what seemed like 25 wings, all passing me on their way to the first turnpoint.

I made the start cylinder and caught a good climb which allowed me to get back into the hunt. By the time I had hit the first two turnpoints I was running just behind Josh and was feeling good. The crossing from Granny’s to Big Cat (Damn Kitty) went very badly for me and I spent the last 35 minutes of my flight trying to put together a decent climb on the ridge behind Damn Kitty. I eventually landed at the St. Nicolas ranch in defeat.

Meanwhile Jug and Alex were the only two pilots to get beyond the ranger station and they eventually landed in the Sand Creek area. Josh landed at the Ranger Station, no doubt in disgust that I had blown it so bad in the crossing ;-)

Congrats to Jug and Alex for the best flights of the day! Sunday's results are HERE.

It was a great weekend with many pilots in the air and many first-timers. There was very little drama and no incidents.

My personal struggle to fly well but not take stupid, low-percentage risks will be foremost on my mind next month. I need to take Mads’ advice and listen to my subconscious (The Force, if you will) but temper the crazy 25-yr.-old that wants to dash around the course without the intelligence to fly with my buddies and not venture out on my own early in the task. I need to mature as a XC pilot. When I was a kid I wanted to be a pilot when I grew up.  Since then I've heard it said that, “You can either be a pilot OR grow up . . . but not both.”

Well, I’m going to try.

Fly Safe -

Tim

Himalayan Odyssey 2011 - Update - Free!

Good news from Eric's Facebook post -

Himalayan Odyssey - Update

A recent dispatch from Antoine Laurens indicates things are going well for the guys.  He writes:

The other day , i had a call with Brad….
First of all, they are fine, and they are expecting out of Sikkim very soon…Maybe , he will be able to make it at the Ghana Festival.
Brad and Eric were participating at a flying festival, organised by local Sikkim pilots, and I supposed, they were a bit the “stars”. They really enjoyed, as many pilots came, especially from Nepal for the venue.
So, everything is going well, and it s again only a timing question…
their case are in the hands of Politics…Mainly, their  relation with Sikkim police is very good and they are treated like special guests.
wish you good luck guys and hopefully, you ll make it out soon.

 Good Luck Brad and Eric!
Tim

Cuesta Flight 4/8/11

Driving past Cayucos at 11 am

The XC Skies forecast models all said Friday might be sporty so I headed up to Cuesta for some rodeo action.  On the way to the mountain I snapped a couple of shots along the coast.

The development was already fairly active by 10:30 so I knew it wasn't a question IF it would overdevelop, but WHEN.    

Ready for aviation on launch at Cuesta

The conditions at the hill were looking good, with nice strong cycles blowing up launch, but cloudbase was only about 1500' over launch.  The clouds in the gap across the grade were even lower.  I talked myself into thinking the base would go up when the temps increased and proceeded to set up my gear.   Today I used all the goodies - hand warmers, good gloves, balaclava, and I was still cold.

The flight wasn't spectacular but it was quite interesting as I negotiated my way along course (up wind since that route was clearer) around and often through graupel.

Some might say that today would have been a good day to stay on the hill - If my timing hadn't been what it was, I might agree, but today was all about timing.  I was there early enough to get in the air before life got complicated with dark cells over the launch.  I also was in the air before it got gusty on the ridge.  Visibility was good and the big clouds weren't an issue until later in the flight, when I flew into a large bit of precipitation that covered me and my gear with graupel.  Other than that bit-o-fun the flight was enjoyable and interesting.

Today was my first experiment with my Helmet Hero HD camera and the imovie software that came with  my new Apple MacBook Pro.  I hope you enjoy the bit of perspective that a half mile of altitude and very little protection from the elements can provide.  The 90 minute flight has been trimmed to a little less than 11 minutes.
 
Cuesta flight from Tim O'Neill on Vimeo.
A chilly flight with some overdevelopment and precip. It was more fun than it looks!


EDIT - Here's my flight track - http://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/430033

Tim

2011 U.S. Paragliding Team Fund-Raising

The U.S. Paragliding Team Inc. is a non-profit corp. set up to help subsidize the expenses of our U.S. PG team.  They have made it easy to make tax-deductible donations to the team and the fund raising has begun.

The team consists of Brad Gunnuscio, Josh Cohn, Jack Brown, Nick Greece, and Meredyth Molocsay.  Team Leader is Rob Sporrer assisted by Jeff Huey.  Our standing in the international stage has been improving over the last few years and these pilots are the standouts in US Paragliding and responsible for much of the improvements in our US ranking. 

If each of us threw $20 in the pot it would take a large bite out of the costs and overhead incurred by the team as it attends competitions in Spain this Summer.  To make a tax-deductible donation go to www.usparaglidingteam.org and click the 'donate' link.

Fly Safe -
Tim

Himalayan Odyssey 2011 - Update - Not so bad . . .

Killing time in Sikkim.  Photo from Eric's Facebook post.

The latest news out of Sikkim is good, relatively.  The guys are comfortably under house arrest.  They have been ensnared in a kind of "catch 22" bit of red tape, but they are optimistic about the final outcome.

For a complete update see this XC article with the latest info.  It clears up the timeline and shows the complete lack of intent by these two pilots to flaunt the laws of the area. http://www.xcmag.com/2011/03/himalayan-odyssey-pair-bailed/.

And here is the latest from the HO team blog - http://himalayanodyssey.org/blog/?p=569

Tim

Himalayan Odyssey 2011 - Update - Arrested ?!

The news out of India is a bit disturbing.   According to the Telegraph, out of Calcutta, Eric and Brad have been arrested in the small, land-locked, Indian state of Sikkim.  According to the article in the Telegraph,  the guys, "were arrested yesterday in Sikkim for travelling to the strategic border state without the inner-line permits mandatory for foreigners. The two had valid passports and visas for entering India. Preliminary reports suggest they flew in without the permits because of a misunderstanding."  

With officiousness, that is endemic in India, "The foreigners were found roaming in a bazaar in Uttarey, a town in West district in Sikkim. They were picked up by the police after they failed to produce the permits.

Deputy inspector-general of police N. Sridhar Rao said the two Americans had used paragliders to sail into Sikkim and had landed on the flat terrain of Dhaap, near Uttarey and close to the India-Nepal border, on March 14." . . .

"The DIG said foreigners must take the permits from check-posts at Rangpo and Melli, the two main points of entry into Sikkim. “Neither Reed nor Sander had the permits and they were charged with entering Sikkim illegally.”

They have been charged under the Foreigners Act for not carrying documents necessary to enter restricted areas in the country. Police officers said that if convicted, they could be jailed between two and eight years and/or fined Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000."

So - The guys have set the bar exceptionally high, by flying from Himachal Pradesh, across the length of Nepal to land in the land-locked Indian state of Sikkim.  In doing this epic feat the pilots, who have valid Indian Visas, failed to check in for permits at check-posts at Rangpo or Melli. These border check-posts are on roads - not an option for those who chose to vol biv through the Himalaya. . . What's an adventurer to do?

Let's hope this, like most official SNAFUs in India, can be remedied with a simple monetary transaction.  And please don't let this minor bureaucratic hurdle eclipse what they have accomplished.  It's impressive - It's inspiring - and I'll be the first to pony up $100 to bail them out of the Indian hoosegow.
Tim.

Himalayan Odyssey 2011

At this very moment, a couple of paraglider pilots are doing something special. They are truly exploring areas of Western Nepal that have not been seen from their perspective - or with the degree of difficulty.

I knew Bay Area pilot, Eric Reed was headed to India for the trip last month, but I had not stayed on top of events because frankly, these guys aren't the 'PR' kinda guys. I tuned in today to find that Brad Sander and Eric are the only pilots continuing East on their quest to "Vol Bivouac" from Himachal Pradesh, in Northern India, across Nepal to Pelling, Sikkim, India. I can (and do) only imagin the amazing scenery and epic struggles as they fly-hike-camp-repeat their way across the most imposingly beautiful terrain on the planet.



View Himalayan Odyssey Paragliding Expedition Route in a larger map

This is serious adventure and I wish I was there. To stay tuned, go to http://www.himalayanodyssey.org/ and explore their site -

Eric Reed's Track - Click image for larger view

The live-tracks are using SPOT units to broadcast position information. I am very glad to see that these units are working reliably in obviously extreme conditions. I recommend SPOT units for anybody flying XC.

Here is Eric's Live-Tracking Page, which can be viewed at http://www.himalayanodyssey.org/spot_eric.html


Good luck Brad and Eric! I'll buy the beer to lubricate the best stories this summer.

Tim