Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Hedley Fly-In, October 10-12
Even the old timers said this was the best flying weather at Hedley ever (not sure if we should come back next year – with expectations that high). We all got plenty of flights in. Pete flew up to 2600 meter, until his fingers went all numb. Great views of the mine perched high on the cliff. Evening board games and fun with friends. Night temperatures -11 oC. Thanks for an excellent Thanksgiving weekend!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Rain - October 17/18
The paddlers pray for rain! I rarely had this wish even in our paddling days (mind you we are living on the wet Westcoast). Now rain started for good with big downpours just before the weekend. And I remembered how fun it is to get out for a quick afternoon run on the Capilano at a nice full level of 5. Couple of flights off Woodside over fall colors in the Fraser Valley completed the weekend on Sunday.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Victoria Visit – October 3
The valley was blown out, so for a change we had some family fun in Victoria.
Pitch and Put with water obstacle and beautiful views of Mt Baker. Riding a tiny motorbike. Making friends with mini horses (13 of them, including 4 foals). Excellent fun!
Pitch and Put with water obstacle and beautiful views of Mt Baker. Riding a tiny motorbike. Making friends with mini horses (13 of them, including 4 foals). Excellent fun!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Baldy Fly-in without Baldy flight, September 26/27
Paragliding is very weather-dependent and planning has to be flexible. So instead of heading to the Baldy Fly-In in South Central Washington right away, Pete and I took a detour over Whidbey Island and Tiger Mt near Seattle.
Early morning flight at Whidbey
We got up at first light to fog, but it lifted exactly at sun rise (7:10). Wind was light but got stronger after half an hour. Pete took to the air, made several passes and sank out. 30 min later the white caps and wind from Smith Island had reached Whidbey (W, 20-25 km/h, with gusts to 30). Second and third flight for Pete (playing with speedbar and big ears). For me first some high wind kiting and then a short flight. Of course by that time the wind was too weak and I was in for a hike from the beach as well. We waited for a while but winds never came up again so we moved on to Tiger Mt.
Launch at Tiger Mt near Seattle
Tiger was quite the zoo. The parking lot was packed, cars all along the road too. Local pilots told us that most belong to hikers, phhh. We decided to go for the full deal and pay $17 for the shuttle, which took almost 2 hrs, with vehicle switch and all. Next time hiking is in order (apparently under 1 hrs). Flying was nice, but unfortunately by the time we got to launch, the clouds had covered most of the sky – so it was extended sled rides. As I said, it’s quite the zoo – lots of people on launch, many students, mix of ridge soarers and thermalers, some people top landing into the crowd – looks like they have BFAR every day.
Saturday night we meet up with the Deimos contingent at Baldy. Quite a change of scenery from the green rain coast to dry inland desert. Sunday morning we drove up to Baldy – all was nice and still until the very top ridge below launch where gusts over 35 km/h welcomed us. A couple of Canadians launched (with the help of almost every pilot holding down their wings), but for the rest of us (including the locals) it was too windy.
Pete enjoying the ride up Baldy
Hiding from the wind at Baldy
Everybody moved on to Saddle Mt. Great conditions there and everybody had great flights. New for me were the interesting landing conditions in the desert. After I dropped low on the ridge, I thought I would be on the ground in a couple of minutes, but there were plenty of thermals from the desert below and I kept cruising around for another 10 or 15 minutes, keeping a watchful eye out for dust devils.
Airtime at Saddle Mt
All said and done – a nice weekend. I finally got to fly two sites I had visited a few times in poor conditions (Whidbey and Saddle) and an bonus site (Tiger) thrown in. Maybe a few more visits and we will get to fly Baldy too!
Early morning flight at Whidbey
We got up at first light to fog, but it lifted exactly at sun rise (7:10). Wind was light but got stronger after half an hour. Pete took to the air, made several passes and sank out. 30 min later the white caps and wind from Smith Island had reached Whidbey (W, 20-25 km/h, with gusts to 30). Second and third flight for Pete (playing with speedbar and big ears). For me first some high wind kiting and then a short flight. Of course by that time the wind was too weak and I was in for a hike from the beach as well. We waited for a while but winds never came up again so we moved on to Tiger Mt.
Launch at Tiger Mt near Seattle
Tiger was quite the zoo. The parking lot was packed, cars all along the road too. Local pilots told us that most belong to hikers, phhh. We decided to go for the full deal and pay $17 for the shuttle, which took almost 2 hrs, with vehicle switch and all. Next time hiking is in order (apparently under 1 hrs). Flying was nice, but unfortunately by the time we got to launch, the clouds had covered most of the sky – so it was extended sled rides. As I said, it’s quite the zoo – lots of people on launch, many students, mix of ridge soarers and thermalers, some people top landing into the crowd – looks like they have BFAR every day.
Saturday night we meet up with the Deimos contingent at Baldy. Quite a change of scenery from the green rain coast to dry inland desert. Sunday morning we drove up to Baldy – all was nice and still until the very top ridge below launch where gusts over 35 km/h welcomed us. A couple of Canadians launched (with the help of almost every pilot holding down their wings), but for the rest of us (including the locals) it was too windy.
Pete enjoying the ride up Baldy
Hiding from the wind at Baldy
Everybody moved on to Saddle Mt. Great conditions there and everybody had great flights. New for me were the interesting landing conditions in the desert. After I dropped low on the ridge, I thought I would be on the ground in a couple of minutes, but there were plenty of thermals from the desert below and I kept cruising around for another 10 or 15 minutes, keeping a watchful eye out for dust devils.
Airtime at Saddle Mt
All said and done – a nice weekend. I finally got to fly two sites I had visited a few times in poor conditions (Whidbey and Saddle) and an bonus site (Tiger) thrown in. Maybe a few more visits and we will get to fly Baldy too!
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