Wetcoast Views

January Powder Time

2012-01-20T19:00:00.000-08:00

Finally some snow! It took until mid January this year but now the white stuff is coming down in full force. Last week the snow combined with strong outflow winds caused white-out, road-covering snow drifts and blizzard conditions in the Fraser Valley resulting in a shut-down of traffic for almost a full day. A screen shot from the Eagle Ranch webcam shows the conditions (not the best flying conditions - and no more driving up to Woodside launch until the snow melts!)

Blizzard at the FlyBC Eagle Ranch

We made good use of the snow and got out for the last two weekends on the Coquihalla. A paragliding friend showed us a new spot on Iago. It takes some route finding skills and about twice as long to get there compared to our favorite short-mid-winter day runs on Needle, but so far the longer approach paid off with very pleasant conditions.

New Years Road Trip: Dec 24 – Jan 1

2012-01-17T07:48:00.000-08:00

Looks like we are turning into wimps in our old age. Or maybe it was the forecast that looked very much sub-standard for skiing from Whistler to Revelstoke. Anyway, after much procrastination we decided to head south to look for some sun and warm temperatures and go on a last-minute road trip to California. A couple of days of hard driving paid off with a week of sunshine and pleasant temperatures (although during some of the nights I wished I had my warm winter down sleeping bag). After the mad dash to California, we drove the coast from San Fransisco to San Luis Obispo along the famous Big Sur stretch.

Highway 1

Teenager Elephant Seal

Scenic Campsite

Halfdome Sunset

Mono Lake

Crater Lake... must be getting close to home - there is some snow!

On the way we checked out lazy gigantic elephant seals, found a couple of very scenic camp spots, had a look a several paragliding spots (but none worked due to the wind conditions). On the way back we stopped in Yosemite Park and hiked past Yosemite Falls to scenic Yosemite Point which looked like a sweet paragliding launch – but unfortunately, although hanggliding is OK, paragliding is not permitted in the park. When we hiked back down, we were treated to an amazing sunset light show on Half Dome. Since snow levels were super low for this time of the year Tioga Pass was still open and we drove up to the crest of the Sierra Mountains and Tuolumne Meadows. There we walked on frozen Tenaya Lake among many people who were out on skates. A Californian told us how unusual this was and that he had never skated here before (normally the road is closed and the lake is covered with meters of snow). On the east side of the Sierra we checked out Mono Lake’s bizarre tufa formations which were fortunately sheltered from the crazy wind that whipped the lake into a whitewater frenzy and blew up a sand storm on the islands. We spend the evening and last night of 2011 with friends at their place near Lake Tahoe. Hadn’t seen them in over a year, so there was a lot to talk about. Our last stop was a morning visit at Crater Lake on the first day of the New Year. Finally we got back to winter and hiked in snow! At first we were the only ones at this amazing spot, but by the time we returned from our short hike, more keen people had showed up to greet the New Year - a very appropriate place to do it!

Chief Airtime – Dec 18

2011-12-23T21:00:00.000-08:00

It was time to try out my new (used) hiking wing (a 3.8 kg Swift). When I suggested a hike&fly from the Chief it didn’t take much to convince Paddy and Pete. Hiking with my new light weight kit was a lot more fun compared to my full size set-up (16 kg instead of 22 kg).

On top of the smooth granite dome the conditions were somewhat sub-optimal with light outflow (northerly) wind. Although the summit is a wide plateau the smooth granite rolls off towards the edges and the windward north side was wet and slippery since it hadn’t seen the sun for a while. But a few bunny hops on the training hill gave me confidence in the Swift (and there was some room for an abort before the slope steepened). After a reset the wing came up nicely and off I went.

Although the lightweight glider doesn’t quite have the same solid and re-assuring support as my normal wing, I was in the air well before the drop-off and flew out over the cliff. Definitely one of the more exciting sites I have launched from! I find it exhilarating to fly over terrain that suddenly drops away (like swimming/snorkeling over an underwater cliff or flying in a helicopter over a ridge). After a few passes along the cliffs we had scaled in our climbing days I flew out and with plenty time to sass out the landing (since I was first to launch I was also first land).

What an amazing place to fly! But this is about as much adrenaline as I need. And for the next time we’ll pick optimal conditions. Below is a short video friends took on a different day (but it looked and felt very much the same).

PS: I only remembered after being back on the ground a more somber story associated with the Chief for me, a story that curbed my enthusiasm for taking my wing up there for a couple of years. Years ago I met a friend of a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time, and since I had heard that he had taken up paragliding, I asked him how this was going. ‘Not doing it anymore because it’s too dangerous’ was his answer. A couple months later he jumped off the Chief. Whatever you were looking for, I hope you are in peace now…

Harrison Eagles - Dec 17

2011-12-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

Flying conditions didn't look inspiring, so instead of parawaiting we checked out our fellow flyers at Harrison River. Each fall thousands of bald eagle congregate here to feast on salmon. Often we get to fly and thermal with these magnificent birds on our fabric wings. But weather didn't look great for flying paragliders and even the eagles were sitting in the trees.

Yes, all of these dots are eagles and Pete counted over 80 just in this group of trees

Eagle portrait

Valle de Bravo Virgins, Dec 3-11

2011-12-18T08:49:00.000-08:00

Just back from an excellent week in Valle de Bravo, so Ithought I should lighten the winter blues with a short trip (gloat?) report andpictures. We had sweet conditions, flew every day, socialized with old friends (of thePemby monkey gang fame) and made new ones from Mexico and all over the world(Norwegians and Germans were out in full force, and I got to listen toparagliding instruction in German for the first time).

We explored the narrow cobblestone streets in town linedwith small stands and stores where locals sell nearly every sort ofmerchandise. Friendly dogs everywhere. Just watch where you step… not only becauseof the uneven cobblestones. Sadly, the scenic streets are often plugged with an endlessstream of cars and the associated exhaust.

We greatly enjoyed the delicious food (well, almost all ofit), which is, as we already learned during our visits to Huasteca, quitedifferent from what is offered in Canada as Mexican fare. Streetstands vendors sell jugo (fresh juice made from all kind of delicious fruits orexotic things like red beets, carrots and avocado), roasted corn and all sortsof tacos, but beware… the more rustic the eating places the higher the risk ofan upset tummy (but with the help of some Cipro even Pete managed to fly everyday).

We also checked out big bunches of Monarch butterflieshanging like giant grapes from tall pines in the mountains above Los Saucos.Unfortunately it was misty and cold when we visited the butterflies on theirmountain ridge at 3000 meter elevation so they were all ‘huddled up’ and noneof them was flying. But seeing the branches and trunks of giant pines coveredwith a coat of butterflies was impressive nevertheless.

One thing I just couldn’t get used to during our short stayis the Mexican fondness for fireworks at all hours and church bells ringingevery 15 minutes (bring ear plugs). One night, when fireworks and polka-like music of theNuestra Señora de Guadalupe procession kept me up, I thought I may as well join in… it felt rather unreal towander the empty streets at 4 in the morning. On our last evening in Vallethere was also an earthquake about 100 km to the southwest, thankfully withoutmajor damage and most of us didn’t even feel it.

Valle de Bravo is quite different from what most peopleexpect of Mexico,no palms and beaches and humid warm temperatures. Instead it is situated on thecentral highlands with rolling ridges and hills covered by tall pine forests.The main launch at El Peñon is almost 2400 meters high, and Valle de Bravo onthe shore of AvandoroLake is at an elevation of 1750 meter. On lesshazy days the silhouette of Nevado de Toluca (4691 m) emerges on the horizon.During the day the temperatures are warm enough for shorts and Ts, but in theevening you want an extra jacket.

After some pondering I decided to leave my trusty Sport 4 (EnB) athome and bring the new Artik 2 (since I just upgraded to EnC), and thus took things a bit slower at first.After getting up on launch I checked out the El Peñon rock tower before cruisingover to the Piano LZ on my second flight (on the first one I got unnecessarily low behind the ridge and ranaway to land in one of the fields just behind … oops). I was told the LZ is called ‘Piano’ because its shaperesembles a Grand Piano, but later I heard a second explanation: the housethermals in front of launch are so consistent that only those who fly like apiano bomb out in this LZ. But the Piano LZ is rather attractive for severalreasons: a horde of niños comes running to pack up the wings ‘professionally’(although comparison with previous reports indicate a bit of inflation in theglider packing business). However, 15 peso beers are hard to beat, and tacos and otheryummy treats (jicama, nopales, tacos) are for sale. And last but not least, it’s super nice to sit inthe sun, relax and chat with fellow flyers.

After a couple of successful‘test-flights’ in the Mexican thermals and a smooth evening scratch-fest on the Peñon rockface I got better accustomed to my new Artik 2 and more exploring of the Wall and G-Spot Mesa was in order.Each day I pushed a bit closer to Valle de Bravo, first to the Penitas, then toCasas Viejas and on Friday I finally made the almost 20 km arriving 700 metersabove Avandoro Lake, floated in a big circle over town and landed on the beachfor my well deserved landing beer. Meanwhile Pete and Alex set off on longer xcflights from 20 km to over well 50 km to Los Saucos, Tres Reys, and Divisadero.The flying is different from what our terrain in SW BC offers,and requires connecting the dots in form of smallish hills on the high,forested plateaus, or surfing the edges of big mesas. Cloudbase is pretty lowconsidering the elevation (400 – 600 meters above ground) making it aninteresting task to find lift on smallish features. But there is plenty of lift!

In summary, conditions were excellent; every day of our staywas not only fly-able, but also xc-able, with occasional strong lift for mystandards (new record and max on my vario 6.4 m/s). Cloudbase was usually between 2800 and3200 meters, not as high as it gets in January and February, but perfectly finefor us first-timers. We had two flights every day, with a nice progression for me from day to day. On the days when lift was abit disorganized, the gaggle-flying at the launch was challenging, with 20-30wings in the air. But away from launch other pilots were a rare and welcome sight,as by the time I made my escapes from launch, Alex and Pete were usually longgone, depriving me of their presence as thermal markers.

Definitely a sweet place to visit for pilots with previous thermaling experience! With careful timing, the lower air time flyers in ourgroup also made amazing progress, including first long thermal flights. Nexttime we may try for a late November trip, hoping for fewer pilots and lessfireworks.

Pictures here: https://picasaweb.google.com/WetcoastViews/ValleDeBravoDec2011

First powder day of the season

2011-11-26T16:17:00.000-08:00

Nice relaxed day skinning up to Red Heather and skiing Paul Ridge. Lots of folks out on this nice November day but we still found some untouched lines.Snow was very acceptable for early season and in the upper 10% of powdergoodness for Paul Ridge. The road down waswell covered except for two spots with minor rocks showing. With the high skiertraffic it was also well groomed for quick parallel turns on the ski out. (Thanksto Ben for getting us going after the paragliding party the night before.)

November Thermals – Nov 5

2011-11-06T20:22:00.000-08:00

Although I’m by no means an expert of thermal-powered flight, I’m pretty sure that it is a rare occasion to have cross country flying conditions in November in our part of Canada. There have been quite a few nice flying days lately, but unfortunately only during the week. Well, last Saturday we hit the jack-pot, mother lode, bonanza of early winter-flying.

We met a couple of friends early for a hike&fly from Elk Mountain, the 1400 meter-high first bump on the ridge between Fraser and Chilliwack Valley. A dusting of snow started where the trail got steep. Combined with sub-zero temperatures this made the approach rather treacherous, but my newly acquired mini-crampons made short work of it. Although the 1 h 50 min hike had warmed me up nicely, only minutes after launching my fingers were frozen and in pain. Not very motivated to spend much time up high, I searched for lift lower down, but had no luck and I soon was on the ground. The rest of the crew kept soaring at and above launch height until the cold got to them too and everyone landed, trying to warm up painfully cold hands and fingers (aptly named ‘screaming barfies’). After this for me somewhat disappointing flight we moved over to Woodside for afternoon air time.

We were much intrigued by the interesting cloud shapes over Mt Woodside, Agassiz Mt and Bear Mt. Looks like some thermaling potential! After launch I sank out again, but patiently worked the lift until I joined a fellow flyer and many eagles floating around at 1200 meters. The first thermal flight on my new wing, an Artik 2! Although it had felt pretty sensitive on the sled-rides I had done so far and surprised me with a somewhat dynamic exit from a spiral, it felt just fine in the thermals. Pete had already taken off to Agassiz Mt, and after some wisp-surfing and close and personal views of several eagles I headed for Agassiz Mt too. There I arrived low at 500 meter (probably the lowest ever) and worked my way up to almost 800 meter a couple of times. Alas, November sun doesn’t stick around long and so I left to fly back and land at Harvest Dykes to shorten the walk back. But there I lucked out again. As soon as I had packed up and got to the road, a PG pilot on his way home picked me up, turned around and delivered me to the Coffee Kettle where our car was parked.

Ocean River Skookumchuck – Oct 22/23

2011-10-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite trips in fall is to drive up the Sunshine Coastand surf Skookumchuck Narrows, so I organized a VKC club trip, drummed up a crew and off we went. The weather looked marginal for camping and wejoined everybody else at the Backeddy Resort, relaxing in cozycabins, nice rooms and around a very social campfire, shared by a pod ofpre-Halloween pumpkins.

As always the surfing was a lot of fun and many wide-eyedSkooks-newbies had there first rides on the wave. I got my share of wave time and was almost ready to pack up, buthad to do this one last surf... when I flipped on the second wave. The water pulledhard enough on the paddle that it tweaked my shoulder. Trying to roll up I immediatelyrealized that I couldn’t use my left arm – oh, not again! So I pulled the deck, popped out and up a distance away from boat and paddle. Theoretically the kayak providesextra buoyancy and I struggled to get to it. But as soon as I got hold of thegrab loop, a whirlpool formed and sucked the boat under. Here goes anothertheory, I thought, and gave the boat a good push into the centre of the whirlpool hopingthis would keep me out of it. No such luck. Soon I was getting suckedunder too but was strangely calm, enjoying the green light filtering down from above.Fortunately the underwater venture took only a few seconds and when I popped upagain, Pete was there to the rescue.

The rest of the story took about half anhour. Pete and I in tow went for the Tour (that's how we call it when a paddler doesn't make the eddy and has to paddle through the run-out of the rapid with its crashing waves and whirlpools). Back on shore it took a couple of tries and some repositioning, but we successfully put the shoulder backin its place (all the while watching the 'surf lions'). Knowing how to deal with a dislocated shoulder is certainly a useful first-aid skill to have as a paddler. This and a bit of lucksaved us from a trip to the hospital and another night’s stay on the Sunshine Coast. I was pretty bumped out aboutthis injury, recalling the months it took to heal my other shoulder 5 yearsago, but a few days later the shoulder felt way better and only one weeklater, I flew my wing already. But I guess I will have to lay off whitewater paddling for awhile.

Mt Cheam Early Winter, Oct 15

2011-10-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

First snow of the season!

After two years we finally got around to fly from Mt Cheam again, the 2112 meter high sentinel of the Fraser Valley. It’s a pleasant hike&fly (the hiking part took me just under 2 hours). But the shuttle logistics make some serious planning necessary. I managed to spark the interest of two German paddling friends to join us for the hike. Since a 4WD vehicle is needed to access the trail head they would get to ride up with us and then drive the car down (Danke, Caro und Arndt!).

I had expected intense fall colors with red blueberry bushes and yellow alders (or is it ash?), but most of the flank of Mt Cheam was already covered in ankle-deep snow. It still made for a nice hike and beautiful flight launching from the snow, skirting the bowl with tiny Spoon Lake below, over the ridge to the Fraser Valley and down to our usual landing at Bridal Falls.

Not a single beep on the vario. Better get ready for winter flying…

Summit of Mt Cheam and Harrison Lake behind the ridge

Hedley, Oct 8-10

2011-10-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

Is it a sign of advancing age and increasing grumpiness that I joined the ranks of those complaining about the weather this year? But really, summer this year lasted barely five weeks, from August to early September. There have been proposals to rename the months before August to Mayary, Juneary and Juleary (in analogy to January and February).

We can’t complain too much as we were lucky with the weather on our Alsek trip earlier this year (where it usually rains and storms on most days and snow is a possibility even in mid summer) and we had the most gorgeous weather in Chamonix. But it doesn’t make it any easier to cope with the grey and rainy weather when we got back to the Wetcoast.

So with yet another rainy forecast looming, we decided to drive away from the rain and see what areas to the east had to offer for Thanksgiving weekend.

The destination was Hedley in the Similkameen valley, a small town surrounded by steep rock faces. One of the attractions are the old gold mines perched on the cliffs high above town.

In early summer we come here for paddling a friendly stretch of Similkameen River (or the more exciting Similkameen Canyon and Ashnola). We leave the summer flying in the narrow and hot valley for braver pilots and return with our wings in fall.

This year we flew from a different launch to cross directly over the small town and old mining buildings. Still, even fall flying can be pretty exciting, especially coming back down to earth in the strong valley winds. I got caught off guard when I launched with a different, smaller wing and didn’t adjust my take-off speed. Much more sink than with my paraglider and a ‘secondary’ touch-down and contact between the slope and my knee… ouch! (Should have know, so shortly after writing the advanced exam… lift equals area of wing, speed squared, air density etc). Despite the excitement, everyone was fine, happy with the flights, and enjoyed the camp fire at night (and the Russian folk songs I hadn’t heard, leave alone sung in 25 years).

Chamonix, Sept 4-16

2011-09-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

What amazing awe-inspiring scenery!

Like an all-imposing giant of rock and ice Mont Blanc dominates the views from almost everywhere. Although I have seen (and climbed) higher peaks, I have never been anywhere near such a massive mountain.

We lucked out with the weather, flew many different sites, tried new wings, did some short hikes and got even some via-ferrata climbing in. Didn't remember how much fun this was... have to do more of it next time we come to Europe – lots of exposure for excellent adrenalin jolts in a relatively save environment.

From Chamonix Sept

Since it’s posted already on our local flying forum, I will just recycle what I wrote there:

Fall flying in Chamonix is just like fall flying here. Mostly stable conditions make for scratch sessions and more or less extended sled rides. Valley winds can get strong in the afternoon. We even got a display of a solid Föhn-gust. Fortunately only a traction kite was up in the LZ and the kite-flyer got dragged all across it without damage.

But sled rides in Chamonix are of a different dimension. The views are gorgeous. Massive Mt Blanc and the needles of the many aiguilles dominate the scenery. Launching on a glacier, floating over crevasses seconds after getting airborne, searching rock cliffs for thermals, floating over the town with its many tourists and flower-decorated houses. Access to launches is fast and easy with gondolas and lifts (but some close in fall). Multi-day passes are well worth the money, especially in stable conditions. Pete did 6 flights in one day, probably half the costs of our 8-day pass. During our first week we stayed at the Flyers Lodge (http://www.flyers-lodge.com) in Domancy just outside the Chamonix valley, with Dennis and Gillian, who gave us lots of great tips on flying in the area.

We flew Planpraz (2000 m) across the valley from Mt Blanc on several days. On the final day Pete managed to climb to 2800 m and fly over the Brevent to Plaine Joux. From Plan de l'Aiguille (2200 m, mid station of the Aiguille du Midi gondola) we cruised over Bosson Glacier. To fly the Aiguille du Midi (3800m) you must cross an ice arête. It had a distinct knife-edge appearance and was topped by a stream of short-roped scramblers, posed perfectly to take everybody else out and down a 1000 meter slope should one slip. We gave it a pass. We flew from Les Grands Montets (3200 m) instead, where the launch is on a flat glacier a pleasant stroll from the gondola station (but watch for the crevasses), and where we got surprised by a massive rockfall from the Dru just around the corner (according to the news the mountain shed 12000 m3 of rock). Outside the Chamonix Valley we flew from Plaine Joux and Annecy (gorgeous limestone ridges and cliffs). Annecy Montmin launch is the most deluxe one I have ever set foot on with artificial lawn and terraced area for spectators (fortunately nothing too spectacular to see for them). And I have never seen so many people kite in the LZ as there (maybe 30?).

From Chamonix Sept

To mix things up we ventured on a couple of via ferratas. A via ferrata is a climbing route with cables, metal steps and ladders, making it possible to move through exposed and steep terrain at a fast pace (compared to belayed rock-climbing). Instead of ropes and assorted other climbing gear, only a climbing harness with a short rope and two carabineers (special via-ferrata set-up) is needed. I especially ‘liked’ the Nepalese bridge on La Curella which spans a 30 meter gap with just 3 cables, one to walk on and two higher ones to hold on to. Way more exciting than any paragliding I have done (and ever want to do).

From Chamonix Sept

Chamonix is definitely worth a visit (or several), but better in spring or early summer if one is looking for good flying conditions (and easy Aiguille du Midi access).

(Driving back to Germany on the Autobahn was definitely not a ‘Fahrvergnügen’)

Coquihalla - Guanaco Hike, Aug 13

2011-08-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

Time to go for a hike and do some more exploring in the Coquihalla ... On our scramble up Lama/Alpaca last year two granite spires just around the corner caught our interest: Vicuna and Guanaco. Especially since we watched three paragliders take off from the shoulder of Guanaco. Although we were not keen to carry our wings up for a short sled ride (in uncertain valley winds) it seemed like a neat place to check out.

Thar, Nak, Yak, Zopkios and Jim Kelly and Coquihalla in the back row

The trail was better then the one to Lama/Alpaca and the views did not disappoint. I'm always amazed about these spectacular places just a little off the beaten track. And always thinking: if this would be in Europe, it would be a major tourist attraction. Maybe better the way it is. Great destination for a medium length day trip from Vancouver. Due to the late start we only bagged Guanaco. Have to come back for Vicuna another time (with some climbing gear?).

Indian Paintbrush and Bog Orchids

Lots of snow still lingering in the niches and crannies for this time of year. Nice wildflowers and a black bear on the drive back to the highway. Exploring some more we drove up one of the logging roads close to Hope and ended up camping on a ridge way above the highway.

Pemberton XC, Aug 6/7

2011-08-10T22:07:00.000-07:00

Pemby flying was so good last weekend that we had to come back! I managed to do the run to Copper Mound for a second time, for another 40 km out and return XC flight.

This time I spent quite some time low at the end of Owl ridge to gain enough height for the hop over to the next ridge. While I was groveling around Pete joined me after an aborted attempt to get over the flat section. As we searched patiently for lift, another pilot arrived above us and soon hooked into a thermal. I noticed that his harness looked rather weird and on closer inspection realized that he was in a wheelchair! Whoever it was, thanks for showing us the thermal to get out of there!

As usually Pete moved on at a faster pace and carried on across Hurley Pass Road, while I turned around at Copper Mound. Guess I need to do this a few more times to figure out the next step (crossing the Hurley).

In the picture above, Pemberton Valley is on the right. Mackenzie launch is on the backside of the ridge in the middle (above the small lake in the centre), Owl Peak is just right of centre. The flat section (a bit more challenging to cross this time) is between Owl Peak and the foreground ridge (just below centre of picture). I'm on the return leg of my flight and Copper Mound behind me. Pemberton, hidden by Owl ridge, is about 20 km away and past the green meadows on the very right.

August Long Weekend

2011-08-09T07:54:00.000-07:00

It seems as if summer has finally arrived! What a sweet long weekend!

With the late snow melt and high water levels this year, the Clearwater trip was a last minute decision. Finally the river came down to manageable 450 cms (= 3.5). Plan B was the Wenatchee, still above 5000 cfs (the average for this time of the year is well below 2000 cfs). But in the end we decided to avoid possible border line-ups and the usual Hwy 2 traffic jams and headed north.

We haven’t paddled the Clearwater at this level for quite a while. Huge fun wave trains on the run above the Kettle, but most of the play spots on the lower run were washed out. Lots of VKC paddlers showed up despite the late call, and everybody had a good time (except those suffering from the mosquito attacks).

A nice addition to this year's Clearwater trip was meeting former neighbors from Germany. They moved to Canada several years ago and are now owners of a bakery/cafe (Flour Meadows Bakery). Back in Germany they lived one road over from my parents place and went to the same school as I. We even have common friends. A small world!

Sunday night we headed back towards Lillooett and camped in Edge Hills Provincial Park. It’s a recently established park off the map and undeveloped except for the rustic campsite which we had all to ourselves. The park is perched on the east rim of the Fraser Canyon. Looking down in the canyon revived fond memories of our explorations around Big Bar, Watson Bar, Jesmond and of the Chilko-Fraser river trip 4 years ago – hard to believe so few people visit this stunning area.

Our plan worked out with excellent flying weather in Pemberton on Monday. I flew twice as far as I had here before (+40km), made the crossing from Owl Peak to the next ridge and on to Copper Mound - almost to Hurley Pass Road! Pretty cool to thermal up next to the snowy slopes of the ridge, peek over to Tenquille Lake, and look down onto the top of Copper Mound where we stood a year ago after hiking up from the lake.

Back on the water: Chehalis, Mamquam

2011-07-29T12:44:00.000-07:00

Looks like the trip on the mighty Alsek rekindled the need to get on the water (combined with declining cross-country flying potential), so we met with some friends to paddle the Upper Mamquam. The lively rock gardens at the start were quite a change after the huge volume and whirlies on the Alsek, where, even if there were any rocks, one wouldn’t see them for the silt-loaded water. The rocks, good water level (55) and ‘fluffy’ rapids kept me on my toes. The last several times we paddled the run it was pretty rocky. Good fun and good start for more wet adventures!

Tudor's picture of lots of Green on the Chehalis

The Chehalis is my favorite river in the lower mainland and our weekend run reminded me why. This river always amazes with its overload of green. Everything is in some shade of it: the dark forest on the slopes, the bright maidenhair fern on the cliffs and the deep clear pools. Add in a good number of rapids at a great water level (9.55) and a good group of friends to share the fun – could there be anything better?

Well, yes ... an amazing day on the river AND a nice flight in the evening.

After paddling there was still time for a super smooth evening flight at Bridal – I don’t think I have ever flown so close to the trees. Kicking treetops, floating along the cliffs and watching a pair of falcons on the rocks – a super nice finish to an amazing day.

Flying Grouse Mt - July 5

2011-07-06T22:40:00.000-07:00

This week we got to explore a new launch site close to home, Grouse Mountain. And our first flights on Monday were so nice; we had to go back the next two days. Pretty amazing place to come and fly after work. After doing many Grouse Grinds (as the steep 800 meter elevation hike to the top of Grouse is called) it was nice to see the place from a different angle. Thanks to the healthy snow pack this year the launch is still covered making the take-off very easy. No bumps, rocks or brush to worry about.

Could there be anything better to do on a long July evening than to float over the trees, past the restaurant and gondola station, and gaze at the city stretching south far below? Along the horizon the line-up of Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands, Olympic Peninsula and Mt Baker. On the third evening we even got to see Mt Rainier in the very distance. Although I have been on the peaks of the Northshore Mountains many times, I have never before seen this mountain from Vancouver – a stunning 300 km away.

Alsek, June 15 -26

2011-06-30T22:06:00.000-07:00

For twelve days we floated on the Alsek River through the northern Coast Mountains and Yukon, BC and Alaska. The river carves its way through an amazing ice-age landscape past jagged snow-covered peaks, surging glaciers and grizzlies. In June its light almost 24 hours a day, giving us lots of time for exploring, taking pictures and hanging out with a great bunch of river rats. As always after such a trip, I find it very difficult to sift through my many pictures. So for now, here is a fantastic selection from Josh Miller, a pro-photographer and great guy to do a trip with (like all the other river rats).

Lumby Air Races, June 10-12

2011-06-13T18:10:00.000-07:00

This year I finally signed up to fly in a competition, the Lumby Air Races. So far I had a valid excuse: I couldn’t read my GPS without reading glasses (and don’t think I can manage to switch glasses while flying). But after some half-hearted experiments Pete found sun glasses with little reading inserts for me. In Leavenworth, WA of all places! With my excuse gone and the weather looking reasonable we went to Lumby.

The Air Races are more a party than a competition, and fun and friendly. There is good food, live music and lots of friends we don’t see that often. In the end there was only one day with weather good enough to fly a competition task, but we got some airtime on the other days as well. Pete came in 4th in the Open Class, flying with and winning over pilots on much hotter (and higher performance) wings and won the Standard Class. Looks like I have second place in the Standard Class (leading only by a couple of points). Maybe I should encourage Pete to step up a class, so I don’t have to compete with him ;-) ? Results here and here.

Not sure I’m too much into this competition thing. My flying skills may be good enough to diddle along and get some points, but my parawaiting skills are definitely lacking! During comps there can be long wait times for an elusive weather window and competitors who don’t hang around and leave to do more fun stuff (kayaking? climbing? mountain biking?) risk loosing points when they are not around to fly.

The reading sun glasses worked out OK, but the inserts were definitely in the way when looking down at the windsock!

June Skiing on the N-Shore

2011-06-06T23:27:00.000-07:00

With the super late snow melt this year, we got one last run in at Mt Seymour. For the first time for me skiing in June (June 3rd)! Pretty amazing that there was not a single bare spot on the run. And skiing was actually pretty nice for spring conditions - it didn't even freeze up on our 7 o'clock run.

Wenatchee, May 21 – 23

2011-05-30T22:56:00.000-07:00

How appropriate – the poor weather on the coast coincides with the VKC Wenatchee trip! Although the water levels were just a touch on the high side (9500-10000 cfs) this turned into an excellent trip. Great to get some paddling in, meet a new crop of keen kayakers and not feel as if we missed great flying! Weather wasn't quite up to usual standard. On our first Wenatchee weekend for the season a week earlier (the river didn't come up until May 15!!!) we even hit the day that broke several rain records ... see Cliff Mass' blog). But the sun came out nevertheless and we got to enjoy the spectacle of the beautiful yellow flowers of Arrow-leaved Balsamroot.

I didn’t take many pictures (way too busy surfing, spinning… and rolling), but here are a couple from last weekend and the May-long weekend: ... (coming soon)

Bridal Crosscountry: Elk - Butterfly and back, May 18

2011-05-25T08:14:00.000-07:00

After exploring the back and beyond of Woodside for the last couple of months, we are back at Bridal! The weather hasn’t been great lately with week-long forecasts of rain. Just like the carrot on a stick, “Wunderground” always dangles a forecast of nice weather at the end of their 7-day predictions. But as the promised nice days come closer, the good weather gets postponed and slides off into the future. This repetitive pattern and lack of good conditions on weekends necessitated desperate measures (like taking an afternoon off).

Desperate conditions call for desperate measures!

In the afternoon Woodside is often blown out, so we headed to Bridal. It took me two tries to get away from the launch area and by the time I got up to Upper Launch Pete was long gone. There was another pilot on his way west below me, installing confidence to go over to Gloria – where Pete zoomed by returning from his Elk run already. Found a good climb at Gloria. On Elk waves were exchanged with hikers plus some fumbling around looking for lift (which I found a little further east than expected). Wind was pushing into the gap between Elk and Gloria. At Gloria I thermaled shortly with Alex who was on triangle mission. Lift was pretty skookum at Gloria and I had to pull in a bit of wing to stay out off the fluffies. Got back to launch with nice altitude, then high along Mt Cheam, over to Laura’s Ridge (aka The Lakes). Here I met Pete again, now coming back from Butterfly. Still big lift in lots of places so I pushed further east to the flat spot and on to Butterfly. Pete came along for company.

Pete hit an elevator ride up near the rocky chute on Butterfly and I headed over to hop on it too. Not sure what exactly hit me, but I suddenly dropped and got a good look at my wing folded up like I had never seen it before, at least not while being suspended from it. A big fat frontal? The few frontals I have had usually had already popped out by the time I look up. But it also didn’t take long this time and within less than a second my wing opened with a reassuring popping sound. No surge, no other funny business. I like my Sport 4 (forget the Mentor 2!). Soon I found another more friendly thermal to top up for the flight back to Laura’s Lakes. The wind in the valley had gotten stronger so I skirted the gullies on Mt Cheam with extra safety distance. By the time I got back to Bridal Launch I was somewhat tired and didn’t follow Pete who sailed off on his second Elk lap. One last climb over Bridal Launch and then I flew out high over Rosedale to enjoy a few minutes of smooth air before landing. Nice cross-country flight (just a touch shy of 40 km) and my second Elk – Butterfly “Sammy”. The first one was a little less than a year ago – and my very first real cross-country flight.

Flight on Leonardo

On my way back from Butterfly. Mt Cheam in the clouds and Lady Peak to the left. On close inspection Pete's wing is visible as small white speck just a touch right and below the center of the picture (above the ridge of dark green trees).

Vancouver Kayak Club Festival - May 1st

2011-05-05T22:35:00.000-07:00

This was the 4th VKC Festival on the Chilliwack River. And its getting better every year. I have to confess due to the low water level and the promising flying weather... we didn’t even bring our kayaks.

Nevertheless we totally enjoyed the party, music by our friends from the band Switch, socializing with a bunch of paddling friends we hadn’t seen in a while and meeting a lot of new paddlers. The festival was a great success - excellent work by the organizers... looks like a new generation of kayakers has successfully taken over! (Good chances I can finally retire from being VKC pres at the next AGM;-).

Fraser Valley Flying, April 30/May 1

2011-05-04T20:39:00.000-07:00

I must have been getting too much airtime this spring, flying with eagles, in breathtaking scenery and exploring some new corners I haven't been to before (f.e. two Fraser Valley crossings), that even these spectacular flights blur into a big haze. The flight this Saturday was different. I wasn’t too excited about it at first, but looking back it certainly stands out. There were low clouds across the valley from Bridal to Woodside. Pete and two others launched earlier, but then the cycles had shut down and we were waiting.

When I finally launched it was as if I got on an elevator, and an industrial strength one! Over 100 meter straight up in +6 m/s lift…. Yehaa! After I got off the elevator and settled on my bucking bronco (ehmm.. into my harness I mean) I followed Pete, Tom and Tonya who were heading west. Quite a different flying experience, cruising just under the clouds which were hiding the top of the ridge and trying to identify the hidden peaks by the snowfields and gaps below. Occasionally the lift got so strong that we had to turn out to the valley and even resort to speed bar and big ears to stay out of the white room. When getting too close to the clouds previously, I usually made the mistake of getting too low and then had a difficult time reconnecting with lift. But this time, I managed to stay just at the right elevation.

There was so much consistent lift that I didn’t have to turn a single time all the way to Elk. But flying into the strong west wind was rather painful. It took me 40 minutes to get to Elk. On the bright side, when I turned around my GPS showed +60 km/h max speed and I was back at launch in 10 minutes. I will remember this flight for some time, cruising under clouds along the ridge with its peaks hidden. After we returned, Pete ventured further east, but couldn’t make it back in the strengthening wind, so he landed near Popkum Road coming straight down without forward movement. Meanwhile I flew out over the valley and then back to Bridal LZ were it was a lot less windy.

Turn-around point is marked by obvious change in flying speed at 14:58

Sunday looked quite promising, but it didn’t turn out to be as spectacular as it looked. Still, I pushed a bit beyond where I had been before, flying with Pete to Agassiz Mt, then across to Bear Mt. During the crossing on speedbar my glider took an interesting whack out of the blue (at least for me), sharply turned 90 degrees and dived maybe 45 degrees. That woke me up, but was very manageable and just what a 1/2 wing is supposed to do… made me appreciate my docile Sport4. I arrived a little below the top of Bear, scratched for a while but never got up and landed at Seabird Island. Pete arrived higher, scratched for another hour only to land on the other side of Green Hill. Next time I should land closer to the main road or call for a retrieve earlier. I decided to walk to the highway to make it easier for pick-up, but gave up after 30 minutes - it would have taken a mere 3 minutes to cover this distance by car. I called and lucked out as I managed to piggy-back on a retrieve that was in progress already. Guess I owe a few retrieves and drives up to launch with all these cross country adventures ...

Wetcoast Week (Part 4, April 22/23): Friday and Saturday Flying

2011-04-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny came with a present: two nice flying days with strong conditions (even Pete found it a bit rough at times – but maybe that’s his new wing, which is ENC and a step up from our Sport 4). On Friday, a big gaggle of pilots went west, but I wasn’t sure I could make the first big jump across to Sasquatch, so I decided to go east again. Flew over Agassiz Mt and since I was not sure where to go on Bear, I headed straight for Green Hill, where I was getting low and got ready to land.

But I wasn't going to land before I flew the entire length of Green Hill since it’s known as a reliable thermal trigger. And at its very south end, there it was: a sweet thermal that took me from below 400 meter up to over 1400 meter! What a great climb from such a little hill! From there I went on glide over the Fraser and its many sandbanks and got to the south side of the valley at 400 meters. I was pretty happy with my second valley crossing, didn’t put as much effort into trying to continue as I could have and landed at the highway exit. Later I found out that another pilot had climbed out from the same height about an hour earlier and the next day someone made an even lower safe from half that height (but both with lot more experience in xc flying and on higher performance wings). But, hey, that was only my second valley crossing and my first from the north – I’ll leave the climb-out for next time! Leonardo track here.

Climbing for over 1000 meter over Green Hill. Harrison Lake left, Fraser River right.

Wetcoast Week (part 3, April 19): Tuesday Skiing

2011-04-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

Finally several nice days in a row! The weather was getting a bit depressing. Apparently the coldest spring since the 1950s (as Cliff Mass writes on his blog http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2011/04/are-springs-getting-worse.html).

Local snow levels are phenomenal. Mt. Seymour has over 4 meters snow at the parking lot, 6.33 meter at the summit and a total seasonal snow fall of 11.27 meters. A good reason to check it out and start the customary after work ski.

Yup, lots of snow up there. And a great after-work work-out.

Over 4 meter snow at the Seymour parking lot.

Wetcoast Week (part 2, April 17): Sunday Flying... First Valley Crossing

2011-04-21T21:56:00.000-07:00

All sorts of weather today: hail, snowstorm and sunshine. The morning flight from Woodside was in good and honest winter conditions. Not ideal flying conditions, but totally launch- and flyable… and I was last on launch and no ride down. Getting hit in the face by snowflakes is not the most pleasant feeling, so we landed soon. Just early enough to get the wing packed away before a good downpour. The Bridal side of the valley looked sunny and much more inviting, but by the time we got up to launch it was snowing here too and wind was very cross (and gave a tandem pilot some problems resulting in a botched launch and some team work to extract his wing and passenger from the bushes below launch). But as soon as it stopped snowing and the sun came out thermals started to build.

It was better to wait just a bit longer, as Pete demonstrated when he launched first and after long scratching sunk out. I had a bit more luck, but still had to be very patient and work the weak thermals for over an hour. I was already getting bored flying around launch, but finally patience paid off. A strong thermal took me high enough to where I felt I could venture east.

Ever since I watched videos of flying over wintry mountains and snow-covered trees, I wanted to fly there too – and now I was doing it! White ridges, trees loaded with snow and the snow-filled avalanche gullies of Mt Cheam. What an amazing view. I turned around just below where the peak of Cheam was hiding in the clouds. Same game as on the two other flights a did along the ridge; first I thought, I would make it to the Cloverleaf LZ, then a thermal and Bridal LZ was within glide, and the next thermal got me on glide back above launch.

Next I flew west, peeked over the pass into Chipmunk Valley, glided with little sink to Gloria. Back at launch again, a thermal took me up to over 1200 meters. I didn’t feel like landing already and flew out towards the river to see how far I could glide. Arrived over the river at a comfortable 800 meters, pushed on, flew over the town of Agassiz and finally arrived at the gas station, where I had landed before coming from Mt Woodside. My second longest flight so far for both distance and time (27.7 km and 3 hrs), and my first valley crossing! Leonardo track here.

After snow and hail finally sun!

Lots of traffic at Bridal Launch

Flying east along Mt Cheam

Flying west to Gloria

Flying across the Fraser River

And Agassiz (landing where my feet point)

Wetcoast Week (part 1, April 16): Saturday Surfing

2011-04-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

Looked like it was going to blow out in the Fraser Valley (too windy for flying in lay terms). But friends were talking of going over to the Sunshine Coast to surf at Skookumchuck Narrows.

Although with the recent cold weather and fresh snow late season powder turns were also an option, kayaking seemed like better thing to do. When skiing and paddling are options, than its likely too warm/et for skiing and too cold for paddling. That’s what we thought when we drove off the ferry and a huge cumulus clouds burst showering us with hail and rain.

But up in Egmont the weather was very nice, albeit a bit nippy. Surfing the big roaring wave at Skooks was fun as usually, as was the tour on flat water before and after the surf session. It always amazes me how quiet it is as soon as one gets away from the wave, and how abundant (sea) life is in the ocean.

Woodside Flying, April 8

2011-04-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

Although we missed the real epic flights and valley crossings by one day, conditions were still pretty nice after the high cirrus clouds cleared.

A thermal took me straight up to 1650 meter above launch, climbing 900 meters in less than 12 minutes. I don’t think I have ever been that high over Woodside, pretty cool view! Pretty impressive too for elevation gain without engine power! This is almost two thirds of our average 1500 meters we hike up on a backcountry ski day. And about the same as the Grouse Grind, which takes most people around one hour.

Sharing the thermal with Nicole, Alex and Al, I squeezed in a few more turns while they turned back towards launch. Strong west winds were pushing the thermal over. When I topped out I was almost all the way “over the back”, but that wasn’t a problem that high up. Being on a slower wing than the others, I decided not to fight into the wind.

Instead I headed east, arriving well above Agassiz Mt. Great views north to Harrison Lake and the snow covered mountains surrounding it. The beach at Harrison Hotsprings looked well within reach, but today was not the day to go there with the strong west wind. I landed at the foot of Green Hill and popped out on the highway at the Harrison Hotsprings sign.

The lesson of the day was to remove the toe warmers before hiking – I ended up with good sized blisters which made the hike back to the Agassiz gas station rather unpleasant. Fortunately Pete picked me up there. Lesson #2: get my push-to-talk working again for easier communication so Pete and I can fly together for a change.

Fresh snow on Mt Cheam

Big crowds the day after the epic day

Woodside Cross-Country

2011-03-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

Almost mid-air with an eagle

Although the weekend weather forecast looked rather depressing all week, in the end both Saturday and Sunday were not only fly-able, but also provided good spring conditions. We arrived early on Saturday to strong wind over the back – but had planned to work on the launch carpet anyway. After almost everything was pinned down, the thermals started coming up. Paddy and I went for two sled rides, Pete drove the second time. I enjoyed the warm spring air at the Riverside LZ and wasn’t too keen on driving up for a third sleddie, but in the end we did go up and scored a sweet 1.5h ridge soaring flight to 1000 meters. I went all the way back over the North Towers and got a good look over the ridge up Harrison Lake. Lots of traffic in the air: eagles and human flyers, including Andrei, Ryan and Amin. To finish off the nice flight I followed Pete for a little cross country to Harvest Market.

Agassiz Mt (left), Harrison Lake, Bear Mt (centre), Fraser Valley (right) and Green Hill (bottom right)

Sunday’s flying conditions were even better. Pete took off to Sasquatch before I got high enough to join him. Good thing I wasn’t ready, because he sunk out, while I ventured east along the ridge to Agassiz Mt, following some other pilots. They were more comfortable getting up and close to the clouds – which meant I was below, behind and pretty much on my own. Being still pretty new to the cross country thing I focus a lot on possible landing zones, especially when I’m flying alone (well, I wasn’t not really alone, there were plenty of other pilots in radio-reach, just nobody nearby who's “line” I could follow). Things are somewhat complicated by the prison below the ridge between Woodside and Agassiz Mt; a no-fly and no-landing zone. But just like the first time when I flew here with Pete and Andrew last year, whenever I thought about turning out and heading for a nice green field to land in, my vario started beeping reassuringly. I found a couple of nice thermals up to ridge height (and one somewhat rougher thermal which I left alone after an uneventful frontal collapse). After some scratching I got just a bit above Aggasiz Mt, but not high enough to follow the others to Bear. I flew out to Green Hill, played in some mild thermals and landed at Green Hill’s southeast end after almost 14 km xc.

Dramatic (Dog) Rescue in Capilano Canyon

2011-03-15T22:57:00.000-07:00

Here is the tongue-in-cheek report our paddling buddy posted on the VKC forum. Even though it wasn’t all that dramatic, we got to put our rescue skills to good use and had a little feel-good moment.

March 13, 2011
Heroic kayakers to the rescue
Posted by Erik F

A group of kayakers today rescued Serena Brown after she had become trapped in Vancouver's Capilano canyon for four days. The group had just finished Dogleg, a turbulent rapid early in the run, and was remarking on the high water. They noticed motion low down on one of the canyon walls, and landed to investigate. Serena was found, curled in the fetal position in a little cave under a rock in an area only accessible from the water. "She was shivering and burrowing her head under the rock", said kayaker Peter Spear, "so I scooped her up with difficulty, and we managed to get her into the cockpit of Erik's (actually VOC member Piotr Forysinski's--EF) boat, because it was the biggest." The group towed Serena, a greyhound/husky cross, across the roaring river to a steep trail that allowed exit from the canyon, and walked her to safety. Fortunately her telephone number was on a neck tag and her worried owners were able to collect her 20 minutes later. They said she disappeared last Wednesday while playing along the canyon rim, and despite calling and extensive searching they had had no luck and had nearly given up.

First spring thermals, March 6

2011-03-11T22:08:00.000-08:00

Yeah! Spring is here! 1.5 hours airtime in nice thermals.

Launched after Pete and had to work a while along the South Knoll to get up. It took over 30 minutes of surfing the trees and I was already thinking of heading to the LZ because I got bored of it. But luckily the hard work finally paid off. Once above the knoll it was easy to stay up and get to cloudbase. Nice to play in the thermals with friends and many eagles (several - gaggles - of 4 or 5 of them). Looked like the eagle had at least as much fun as we, playing with each other. One did a big dive, tugging in his/her wings. But they didn't like going to cloudbase and preferred to stay lower. The hand warmers worked well on hands and feet, in the end I had only two cold finger tips.

The only bad thing about such a long flight is that it takes way too long to edit the video!

Skiing and Flying, February 2011

2011-03-01T22:45:00.000-08:00

More airtime (still no snow on the logging road to Woodside launch) with sled rides but also longer flights (up to 1h) and skiing at the Duffy Lake Road.

Very snowy day at Duffy Lake - conditions were good for one run only. Had to point 'em straight down to keep moving. Don't think I have ever been that wet before when skiing.

A week later - sunny, cold and lots of fresh snow.

A day at Mt. Woodside on Vimeo

Woodside February 2011 from Wetcoast Views on Vimeo.

Sol Mountain Skiing, Jan 31 – Feb 6

2011-02-08T22:09:00.000-08:00

Finally winter! Back from a week of skiing at Sol Mountain Touring in the Monashees with bluebird-powder for the first 4 days. It was cold with overnight lows of -25C but so long as you stayed on the sunny south facing slopes the daytime temps were fine. The snow was good with boot top pow. On Thursday we got 24cm of new snow. A big powder day just like on our first trip in 2006 when 1.70 meter of snow fell during our week at Sol. But on Friday it warmed up to near freezing and blew hard. Up high the snow was wind hammered and down low it developed a melt freeze crust. Somewhere in the middle was good skiing but we didn't do so well at finding it. On Saturday the weather was nice again so we had a longer tour into the alpine. In the end we didn't quite make the target of 10km vertical over the week but were close. Instead we got to explore some of the alpine scenery we didn’t even see during our first trip when it was snowing almost constantly.

This was a last minute trip and none of our ski friends could come along so we were in there with a 4 other small groups. A photographer/athlete team (crazy skier dudes, I would call them), a group of four from Reno, a guided group of three older guys from the Shushwap and some friends of the hut keeper from Clearwater.

It is a small world. One of the guys coming out from a trip before us was an old paddling buddy of several week-long trips. We also knew one of the Clearwater boys - again a kayaker. (text Peter/Claudia)

More pictures here.

Still no skiing, more flying, Jan 22

2011-01-23T22:52:00.000-08:00

I’m not certain but I think lack of snow and warm weather and not paragliding-addiction is the cause that this weekend turned into a paragliding weekend again. While snow usually stops us at this time of the year the Woodside logging road was drive-able all the way to launch. Thanks to my much more optimistic and determined flying buddies, and after over 2 hours of prime-parawaiting, the fog lifted and we got to surf the front of the clouds and play in wispies in the smooth air for over an hour. Even the sun came out and I finally succeeded in snapping pictures of the ‘Brockengespenst’, also called brocken spectre or glory (hard to believe, a non-German-speaking friend knew this German word I didn’t!). The glory is (usually) ones own shadow projected onto and in a cloud or fog. Pretty cool!

PS: Almost forgot, we already had one ski day this year! But more to come soon, at Sol Mountain Touring!

Clouds streaming up the mountain

Launch is visible just below the paraglider

Paragliding glory

First Flights 2011 - Jan 9

2011-01-19T20:16:00.000-08:00

We did our first flight of 2011 on the warm and sunny Big Island! Third time lucky (after two sled ride days in 2009 and 2010) both Pete and I got well above launch (400 meter) and had nice thermic flights. Good to crank a few turns. But despite the thermals I left it a bit too late, didn’t make it to the nice grassy church LZ and put down at the beehives instead (no bee to be seen though!)

For the second flight of the year and first flight back in Canada we had to wait for a break in the clouds. When I was in the air it started snowing lightly – how appropriate for a Canadian winter flight! Not much airtime but a great hike&fly adventure in the snowy Coastmountains.

The picture below is from our third flight from snow-free Woodside. Pete and I lucked out and got to soar for about one hour in pleasant temperatures (no frozen fingers or toes). Pretty good airtime for January so far. Now we just have to catch up on the skiing!

Tiger - Rabbit

2011-01-12T20:32:00.000-08:00

Although I don’t believe in Zodiacs and other things astrological, it always irritated me a bit that I missed being a Chinese ‘Tiger’ just by a couple of weeks. Instead I’m born in the year of the ‘Rabbit’. But I guess some of the Tiger-traits must have rubbed off ;-)

Tiger - Unpredictable, rebellious, colorful, powerful, passionate, daring, impulsive, vigorous, stimulating, sincere, affectionate, humanitarian, generous; Rabbit - Gracious, good friend, kind, sensitive, soft-spoken, amiable, elegant, reserved, cautious, artistic, thorough, tender, self-assured, shy, astute, compassionate, lucky, flexible (according to Wiki).

Guess its pick and choose... something for everyone!

Big Island Hawaii, Dec 28 - Jan 5

2011-01-08T22:39:00.000-08:00

Hawaii rocks! After our first visit 2009 I wasn’t sure that it could get any better. And I would have been completely happy with a simple repetition of all the adventures from last year. But wait, there was more fun to be had!

We went back snorkeling at City of Refuge (Honaunau Bay) and Captain Cook (Kealakekua Bay), and also explored a new spot, Kahaluu Beach. The latter is right at the tourist strip Kailua/Kona, and accordingly crowded. Turned out this wasn’t all that bad since most people stayed close to the beach, so one could get to un-crowded waters easily. The fish were used to humans and didn’t dart away when you took a closer look. I also got to watch a turtle feeding for a long time and had it almost swim into me when it came up for air.

With our friends we celebrated New Year on Polulu Beach, a hike-in camping site. Although we joked about hitting the sleeping bags after Westcoast New Year, we all stayed up until Hawaiian New Year arrived – at one of the last places on Earth (2 hours from the date line) and got up early in the morning for a nice New Years swim. We also camped at Hookena another nice beach, but this was very popular over the holidays. If you are into exploring history, check out the Manago - cheap and Spartan old-style Japanese accommodation and yummy food.

One of the highlights was snorkeling with manta rays. Last year we went on a guided manta night dive but didn’t see any mantas. This time we had more luck. We had heard that mantas show up at the Sheraton attracted by the lights. After it got dark we paddled out with a sit-on-top kayak and soon we saw two big black shadows under us. We put on the snorkeling gear and watched two mantas calmly gliding in and out of the beams of our dive lights. Later a third even bigger one joined. At times they would come straight at me and I could see the gills from the inside in their huge open mouths. These mouths were large enough to fit around my head and shoulders. I had to tell myself that mantas are gentle plankton eaters and just trust the creatures – what a feeling! At the last moment, the manta would change course and dive under, often only inches away (tuck in that Christmas belly!) and occasionally brushing me with its wingtip. We watched this spectacle for an hour, until we got too cold to stay any longer.

Here is what the mantas look like with professional lighting (video of trip with Jack's Dive Locker).

Here is my not-so pro footage.

The other highlight was watching flowing lava. Since last year, fresh lava flows have covered a few kilometers of the road we drove then to see lava pour into the ocean (from a distance). Now the lava was flowing right in front of us over the road, encasing and scorching some traffic signs, and we even scooped some of the red hot stuff up with a stick to let it cool. This is what it looks like when our earth grows!

Other cool spots we explored were the Volcano National Park (well worth a full day or two visiting with nice hiking, lava tubes and a steaming and glowing crater at night), Waipio Valley, Laupahoehoe Point and Akaka Falls.

As last year, we had brought our wings along and got a more satisfying flight (almost an hour), but vog (volcanic fog) prevented us from getting very high. Not sure it was necessary to bring the wings along with so many other cool things to do on Hawaii, but it was sure nice to crank some turns in a thermal!

Pictures here (will add some to blog asap).

Duffy Powder Day, Dec 26

2010-12-26T22:29:00.000-08:00

Best snow we ever had on the Duffy Lake Road!

Knee-deep freshies made trail breaking hard work, but the runs were sweet with face shots and snow flying over the head.

Who would have thought? Now that we finally get some nice weather, we are off to Hawaii - but I'm sure we will have some excellent adventures there too!

Rain, rain and more rain

2010-12-25T22:26:00.000-08:00

The weather forecast is becoming a bit repetitive (Environment Canada source). For a couple of weeks now we have seen nothing but rain. Green Christmas in Vancouver.

Since no good skiing trip came up, we booked flights for a week long trip to Hawaii!

Coquihalla Skiing, Dec 19

2010-12-23T23:29:00.000-08:00

We have been up the Coquihalla a few times now but snow coverage is still a bit on the thin side, much less than we had last year around this time. What's going on with La Nina?

But good fun to get out anyway. And the not quite epic conditions give me a chance to get my skiing legs back at a leisurely pace.

Light was wonderful, almost eerie. So as usual, I had a hard time putting my camera back in its case.

Harrison River Eagle, Dec 18

2010-12-23T23:22:00.000-08:00

Eagles are out in full force at Harrison River, over 5000 last weekend. According to the Fraser River Bald Eagle Festival website that’s more than the chief 'eagle biologist' has seen in his life-time.

We paddled down the river on Saturday and saw between 150 to 200, in the trees, on shore, in the water, in the air. 40 or 50 were soaring in the strong outflow over a northwest ridge of Mt Woodside. At least someone is getting airtime!

Pretty neat and fitting that after watching the record Sockeye run on the Adams River we now get to see this record eagle congregation!

First pow of the season, Nov 21

2010-12-05T21:52:00.000-08:00

A week later than last year and with less coverage, but a good way to spend half a day in Vancouver, we did the first turns of the season at Mt Seymour and joined quite the crowd of people enjoying the sunshine and the snow.

Looking across Indian Arm from the first pump

Woodside, last day of October

2010-11-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

October 31st seems to be a good day for flying! Last year I had an excellent flight at Blanchard. This year, we got to play in ridge lift with the eagles, I bagged unexpected airtime of over an hour and, although it wasn't exactly a spot landing, touched down smoothly for my first top landing at Mount Woodside!

It was too windy at first but when we came back from a short hike things looked much better. After a fast sled-ride for me lift turned on and Pete made good use it, playing around with the eagles and then top-landing. Then it was my turn for a +1h flight to 150 m above launch with a small gaggle of eagles and fellow human flyers. It took me a couple of tries (and a low save) but I managed a smooth top landing so Pete could take off for a second flight too.

Mt Cheam across the valley looked distinctly wintery!

Wind was too strong east on Saturday (too strong for flying, that is) so we used the break from the rain for a hike up Stawamus Chief - haven't been up there for a while. A couple of years a friend discovered this exciting photo op (so we have to came here and take a picture every time we hike the Chief):

First Snow on Northshore, Oct 27

2010-10-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

First substantial dusting of snow yesterday morning on the Northshore Mountains. And a beautiful fall day.

Evolution in Action - Adams River Sockeye, Oct. 23/24

2010-10-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

What an incredible spectacle! Amazing colors. The river red with salmon, working their way upstream, resting in the eddies or already dead on shore (where the red fades away).

This year’s Sockeye run is a dominant run occurring every 4 years. But it’s also the largest run in almost 100 years (since 1913 when a man-made rock slide at Hells Gate put a temporary stop to the migration of fish on the Fraser). 9 million fish are expected to return to the Adams River this year.

We checked out the viewing points at Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park, watched the fish mill around in the spawning channels and walked down to Shuswap Lake, where the shore was covered with rows of dead fish (and some divers were getting ready to push their way through floating carcasses for a dive with the living fish).

The piles of carcasses are less disturbing when one considers that this is evolution in action: the salmon's strategy of survival to produce an enormous amount of biomass for a short period of time - more than predators could possibly consume.

Before we left, we paddled our kayaks down a section of the Adams a ways above the viewing area. We found an never-ending stream of fish, fish darting away as we floated down the drops and the eddies were red with them. It occurred to me then that our salmon runs really are one of nature’s big spectacles, comparable to the big animal herds of the Serengeti and the arctic caribou.

Surf-Lions at Skookumchuck, Oct. 15

2010-10-19T22:12:00.001-07:00

What a beautiful October weekend! Sunshine and blue sky for our Skookumchuk trip. But it wasn't only us who had the idea to come for some surfing. Quite a few other paddlers showed up. And a couple of sea-lions, but they waited with their surf session until we kayakers got off the water.

Dolomiti Moments

2010-10-18T21:03:00.000-07:00

Two magic moments of the Dolomites trip: The last flight from Pordoi Pass when the rest of the gang had already flown out to land but Pete and I stayed and played some more in the smooth ridge lift. Cloud level was just above us and the rising air was condensing at our altitude. Wisps of cloud streamed by as we were flying in and out of them.

The last day of our trip did not look promising for flying. Low clouds were hanging just above Pordoi Pass. For lack of better things to do (and since our pass was still good for one more day - compared to BC lift prices are an amazing deal: 35 euros for 3 days), we took the gondola up to Sass Pordoi into the coulds and fog. Magically, we popped out into blue sky and bright sunshine about 200 meters below the top station. What a sight! Like islands from the ocean, Dolomiti Kofels and Spitzen peaked out of the thick layer of clouds. Marmnolada, Langkofel, Rosgarten and in the distance even see the summits of the Ortler Alps and the Grossglockner.

Dolomiti, Italy - Oct 4 - 9

2010-10-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

October 4 to 9 we flew in the Dolomite Mountains (Italian Alps). We went with Blue Sky Flugschule from Sillian, Austria. IMO money well spent, since lodging, food (lots of it, including delicious 5 course Tyrolean dinners), shuttles and site briefings were all taken care of.

In summer the Dolomites are a bit too full on but this time of year the flying is still good and the weather usually better than elsewhere in the Alps. The Dolomites are renowned for the dramatic limestone mountains, spires and walls. There are paved roads up to 2200m and lots of ski lifts, some going to over 3000m. The valley bottoms are around 1400m with lots of large fields available to land in. We flew from several launches, including Col Rodella and Belvedere in the Fassa Valley, with the impressive backdrop of the Sella Group, Marmolada and Langkofel.

The weather only let us fly four of the six days but we still managed to do 10 flights. I had 7 hours airtime, Pete had 11 hrs. He spent lots of time flying around the Langkofel with its dramatic 400m high vertical walls and spires. Unfortunately the cloud base was right around the top of the cliffs which made it hard to go any further (Pete's best flight). Interesting note - during our first day at Col Rodella there were 2 reserve tosses and during the second day 3 paraglider crashes, 2 of them lead to severe injuries requiring heli rescues (one rotored in and the other did a 360 that intersected the cliff). Although the air wasn’t particularly rough where we flew, care must be taken not to blunder into rotor from strong valley winds or convergence points of valleys (this can be a problem at Col Rodella launch – see picture of a dusty having its way with 4 wings on the SE launch).

We had hoped to get to fly over the Marmolada (one of the turn point in the X-Alps). It turned out that Max Fanderl (of X-alp fame) and 4 other pilots from Calgary had gone with Blue Sky the previous week. Max had had to climb the Marmolada on foot during the X-alps but managed to fly over this time.

There were lots of pilots flying here. Most of the time the lift was good enough to stay up but not good enough to get away easily. This made for some very busy air space complicated by the fact that a few pilots seemed to have forgotten the air rules. When it got to be too much we headed to some alternate launches to escape the crowds. One in particular stood out – Belvedere, right across from the Marmolada. The launch was a grassy knoll that rolled off into a steep cliff. A frontal would likely have been fatal. Quite focusing!

This was our first flying trip in Europe. It was interesting to see that the majority of pilots were flying DHV1-2 even with 10+ years of experience. The most popular gliders were the Swing Mistral, the Nova Mentor and the Sky Atis.

Pictures here (will add some to blog soon)

Europe bound

2010-10-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

Off to Europe tomorrow, family visit and hopefully some flying in the Dolomites. Will have to see what the weather brings, but maybe we get lucky and get some flights like these guys had just 2 weeks ago?

Baldy, WA - Sept 25/26

2010-09-30T12:24:00.000-07:00

Baldy Butte and Mt Adams and Rainier on the horizon

One of the great things about Vancouver is that if it’s wet on this site of the mountains, you just have to drive a couple of hours east to find sunshine and warmer temperatures. Works most of the time and did work last weekend.

Setting up a wing with the LZ below in Yakima River Canyon

It was the weekend of the Baldy Fly-in in central Washington and it was like turning back time to summer. Temps to 27oC, sunny, blue skies. Not the greatest conditions for long cross country flights, but we made up with quantity. Both Pete and I did 6 more or less extended sled rides over sagebrush country and the scenic Yakima River canyon. About 60 pilots showed, among them 15 canucks. Great work by the people who put on the fly-in, tasty food at the pot-luck and excellent entertainment (drumming around the fire, a preacher flying in his wedding suit and a very long rattlesnake crawling out from underneath a wing on launch – thankfully not mine) made for an excellent weekend. I even landed right on the spot-landing cone (although not in best style – almost face-planted).

It got windier on Sunday but I squeezed in a morning flight. Pete flew a second time in much stronger conditions. So did another pilot who wasn't quite up to it. After getting dragged off the ridge and after a couple of collapses he flew out fine. Here is a video of a similar incident last year, thankfully our friend had not that many collapses (the wind in the vid is from the NE, while we had SW all weekend).

Publications - but no Science Stuff

2010-09-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

A skiing friend (from Florida of all places!) just sent an email congratulating me to my article published in the latest issue of the American Whitewater Journal. I had sent in the article for the Wilderness Issue a while ago, about our Tuya trip (one of the first multi-day trips for me back in 2001 or 2002, and more adventurous than most of the following trips since it is very rarely navigated) but hadn’t heard anything back. In the same issue appeared an article of a Vancouver friend and of three other people I know. Small world!

Looking through the list of contents makes me appreciate our home stomping grounds: 4 of the 10 stories are set in British Columbia (AW is based south of the border in the US)! Two of the trips are within (relatively) easy reach from Vancouver (Clendenning and Taseko-Chilcotin-Fraser). The latter does not require a plane shuttle and is of moderate difficulty (I highly recommend the upper part of the trip taking out just above Lillooeet or Gang Ranch – trip report here ).

More Mt. Woodside, Sept 11

2010-09-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

Despite the bad forecast for the weekend, Saturday brought nice flying weather with 3 hours airtime for me and 4 hours for Pete. My best flight was the third with good lift just after launch to cloudbase (which was low at around 1200 meter) and later smooth ridge soaring at the knoll. For a change I flew over the back to land a bit beyond Harvest Market. It was nice finish of the day to venture away from the hill after the soaring fest. Pete who had top landed earlier picked me up on the way back.

Bear(s) Watching, Sept 6

2010-09-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

On the way back from Lillooet Lake we stopped for food in Pemberton and got a gratis bear watching session in the middle of town. A mum and her two cubs were enjoying ripe plumbs until too many bear watchers scared them away.

Over Lillooet Lake - Sept 6

2010-09-07T22:30:00.000-07:00

I had given up hope of airtime on the long weekend, but after hiking to Tenquille Lake we dropped by Ted’s towing camp at Lillooet Lake. Although I had tow-launched before, it’s a very strange feeling being pulled up by the harness while the wing hangs back. But pretty cool to climb higher and higher, above the sub peaks and the lowest cloud layers near them. The angle of the tow line increased so much that at the downwind leg I was looking down at a very small tow boat almost directly below me. My tow to about 1000 m AGL was apparently the highest of the day.

No, that's not us, its one of the Pemby acro guys

I made good use of the altitude with SIV maneuvers I had been too chicken to try over land, including accelerated collapses, 180 degree spins, B-line stalls and a long, deep spiral. My spiral gave Pete a bit of a scare since I didn’t pull out when prompted over the radio. I had a good time cranking it and just didn’t hear it – hope it was due to the wind noise and not to a G-force induced slowed reaction. New things learned: it’s best to induce spins with a fast, hard pull (instead of slow and gradual) and to constantly monitor altitude even when having lots of fun.

Tenquille Lake, Sept 4/5

2010-09-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

The forecast wasn’t looking great for the long weekend (and hasn’t looked good for weekends lately), so we bailed on the Interior flying trip and went to Pemberton in hope of some towing with Ted. We arrived at Lillooet Lake to strong gusts. Since even after chilling and chatting for a while things didn’t improve, plan B was enacted. Hiking! I always wanted to check out Tenquille Lake but I only discovered on the drive up that there was a short way in, along the Birkenhead River. Matt’s trusty guidebook revealed the hike-in was only 1.5 hrs, so Pete thought it would be neat to camp at the lake. We had brought just the day-packs, but Pete shouldered one of the huge paraglider bags filled to the brim with our car camping stuff (thick thermarests, heavy tent, but only the thin sleeping bag?). Oh well, next time we’ll prepare better! We met a couple of people on the trail, but amazingly, we had Tenquille Lake all to ourselves for the next two days.

We had a late start for the hike-in, but there was still enough daylight left for a short stint up the slope above our camp site … and the slope above that … and then the last short climb up to a pass. Excellent views down into Pemberton Valley on the other side of the pass, of Owl Ridge and the Microwave Tower (where we had our aerial adventures), but also of ominous looking dark clouds approaching from the north. Of course we hadn’t brought anything for the short stint and now it was hailing and I was in shorts. Behind a big boulder we waited out the worst of the wind and then made our way back to lake and tent through a wintery landscape.

The night was cold (summer is definitely over), but after some hot water (we left the coffee in the car) we were ready to bag Copper Mound, an easy scramble 1.5 hr from the Lake. Nice route to the peak, zigzagging up the east and north face, than we were on top, marveling at the views of the peaks around, up to the recent slide at Capricorn/Meager Creeks, and down into the Pemberton Valley. Back at the car we made several stops to gorge on the many huge blueberries. Mosquitoes were plenty too, but it took them a while to congregate on us, so we had about 10 minutes to collect berries, before we had to retreat to the car and drive to the next good spot.

Woodside Flying, August 28/29

2010-08-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

An excellent Woodside weekend! Nice flying but no pictures – must remember to get the camera out again. Saturday we had nice lift at Woodside launch, some cloud surfing, followed by my first Woodside cross country with Pete and Andrew. Got enough height over launch but on the way east along the ridge between Mt Woodside and Agassiz Mt nothing but sink, and I was sinking a lot more than Pete cause I was hesitant to step on the bar (when on glide the speedbar is your friend!). I couldn’t remember how high the sealing was above Kent Prison (no landing there!) and almost turned back, but with Pete’s encouragement I made it to Agassiz Mt and climbed up to the level of the sub peak and almost to where Pete was. Unfortunately the north wind blew apart all thermals above peak elevation and we couldn’t climb any higher. Didn’t want to fight the wind coming out of the Harrison gap and went southeast where it had space to fan out and mellow out, landing in a nice big field in Agassiz. When we packed up a fellow from across the street came over and asked many questions – he had often seen wings in the air at Woodside and now took advantage to find out more about flying them.

Sunday saw us back at Woodside, with the first flight ridge soaring just above launch. The second flight was even better. Winds were stronger (not student-friendly anymore), but nice launches for all of us. After half an hour soaring north of launch with Gab on tandem and Pete we went over to the south knoll. We saw an eagle sky-rocket up in a thermal and in seconds later 4 fabric wings congregated below the eagle and got on his elevator in the sky. Never had that much lift over the knoll before! Lots more thermaling before we landed at Harvest Market.

Taku, July 28 - Aug 13

2010-08-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

The red line is the Taku and our route from the Nahlin/Sheslay confluence down the Inklin and Taku to Taku Inlet. The blue line is the Tuya River north of Dease Lake. We paddled it in 2003, our first self-supported multi-day into the 'unknown'.

Thormanby Islands, Aug 14-15

2010-08-17T19:17:00.000-07:00

The weekend forecast was for crazy hot temperatures. We decided this would only be tolerable close to the water, so we loaded the sea kayaks on the car and set off for the Sunshine Coast. The objective was the Thormanby Islands. We launched at a small Marina in Secret Cove. With many stops to cool down in the ocean we found a camp spot in our own private cove on the south side of South Thormanby (a provincial park). On Sunday we completed our circumnavigation of both South and North Thormanby (somewhat unavoidable as the two islands are actually connected by a sandbar in all but the highest flood).

After 2 weeks on the silty Taku I was thoroughly impressed by the crystal clear ocean water. Along the southern half of our route we encountered many seals (most of them moms with babies) and only few humans. This changed as soon as we passed Buccaneer Bay, a place Pete remembered from his childhood sailboat trips. Lots of sailboats anchored and people enjoying the beach when we came by.

It was hot even on the water, but whenever we got to a nice cove or sandy beach we stopped for dips in the ocean to cool down. Great to get out in the sea kayaks and escape the heat.

Back to Pemby - July 17

2010-07-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

Another nice flight in Pemberton. I pushed on a bit further than last week and went all the way to Owl Mt. Along the way I watched another pilot hit some exciting air causing him to spin/spiral low above the ridge (but he got away with a scare) so I opted to fly out into the smooth air over the valley. I had already picked an LZ when my vario started chirping. Sweet 500 meter climb in one thermal in the middle of the valley!

In the evening there was talk of glass-off flights and we went up to Lower Launch. It was pretty windy, but launch went very smooth. The first half of the flight was nice, but later the air turned a bit rowdy. I used the lift to get up to microwave tower height, but should have stayed with the rest of the local gang who hang out near lower launch (as I heard later the valley can go off with a big boom on evenings like this - better to stay low). We landed east and away from the venturi and rough air and turbulence at the school LZ. Barely a stir in the air where we landed, but myriads of mosquitoes (but hey, I'll take the bugs over a turbulent landing anytime).

Pemberton, July 10

2010-07-14T22:31:00.000-07:00

During last week conditions were great in Pemberton and people reported big XC flights (including a repetition of Denis’ Pembi to Harrison Lake flight). We were lucky that the nice weather did hold for Saturday when we finally made it up there. As an added bonus, we also got to launch for the first time from Mackenzie upper launch since there was a wedding on the lower launch.

Pete had already left before I got up high, so I spent some time taking in the view and cruising around over Mt. Mackenzie. Amazing views of the snow-covered peaks and snowfields all around. After climbing to over 2600 meter I thought that despite being alone (well, not really alone, there were lots of other pilots around) I should make use of the altitude and set out along the ridge towards Owl Mt. I always thought it would be very cool to fly high along a chain of mountains, and it was (see picture). Didn’t want to push it too much, so I turned around when I got low at the end of the ridge. The big bowl on the way back was a bit of a concern, but I never dropped below launch height, so it wasn’t really a problem.

Looking up valley towards Meager Creek, Pemberton is outside the frame in the lower left corner, Owl Lakes on the right, Owl Peak just left of centre (from 2600 meters ASL, above Upper Mackenzie Launch)

Near launch there was lots of lift again and I flew out over the valley towards the airport. But man, was it hot! It had been nice and cool at 2600 m, but lower down temps was definitely summery. After a couple of tries I found the tube of my water container and in the excitement drank too much to stay much longer in the air. Nevertheless, another nice XC flight (my second) of 24 km and 2.5 hrs.

Bridal – Elk – Butterfly and back, June 30

2010-07-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

Distance between the end points of the GPS track is about 20 km. Bridal Launch is above the landing spot (where the blue line ends), Elk is on the right and Butterfly on the left. Mt Cheam is in the middle of the image and has snowy patches on its flanks.

The first real XC flight! My goal for the day was to do a XC flight, but I really hadn’t set my hopes that high. But why not go big when the opportunity arises? Go big or go home (not really my motto, Carpe Diem is better...).

So after Pete had guided me on my first Elk flight (I was in front a couple of times too and showed Pete some thermals) where we looked down on the hiking trail we had been on just a couple of weeks ago, I would have been quite happy to bob around launch a bit longer and then call it a day and land. But there was Pete on the radio “Don’t fly out yet”. Since I didn’t feel too tired, but instead rather excited about how well things went so far, curiosity kicked in (wonder what’s around that next ridge?) and I followed. We found some lift along Mt. Cheam, then at Laura’s ridge (a reliable performer, as Pete pointed out), and finally at another bump before gliding over to Butterfly. Cool how after every ridge a new view opened up; the main gulley that leads up to the summit of Mt Cheam – last year a young lad climbed this chute full of snow, rubble and debris; three dark, small lakes behind Laura’s ridge and finally Jones Lake behind Butterfly. I flew a bit past Butterfly, but then turned around – LZs are scarce at this end of the ridge. Pete went on the Ludwig for another kilometer or so.

Interesting how well things worked out on the way back – at first I thought I’d barely make it to the Cloverleaf LZ. Then there was some lift and Bridal LZ was within glide. The next patch of lift got me up and within reach of Bridal Launch. Finally back at Bridal Launch, I wondered if I could make it to Upper Launch again and found nice thermals at Allan’s ridge. I watched Pete ‘riding’ the ridge between Upper Launch and Gloria for a second Elk lap, but I started to feel tired and was just happy to fly out into the buoyant and smooth air – what a difference to the bumpy thermal ride, it felt almost as if I was dreaming… (For the paddlers: just like paddling back on the quiet water after the roar at Skooks). I had to kick my legs a few times to get back to reality and to get the landing gear ready.

What an amazing flight! And personal best of 46 km xc and over 3 hours in the air. Wouldn’t have done it without Pete in front and his encouragement - figuring this out on my own would have taken me many more flights!

http://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/ 347476

PS: Just realized that it's almost exactly two years since my first high flight (June 28, 2008) and also very close to flight # 200. How is this for a celebration!

Victoria, June 26/27

2010-06-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

But wait, it’s not quite summer yet. Weather forecast wasn’t good for flying so Pete suggested a long due visit in Victoria. And despite the not so great forecast we got to fly Mt. Prevost, even spending most of an hour well above it (I was on top of the stack and flying longer than Pete – a rare event up to now).

I also got my hands on the rudder of Tsonoqua, the trimaran, steered a few tacks and getting up to 11 knots (that's pretty fast for a pleasure sailboat). Yet another form of locomotion powered by nature, just like floating down a river, skiing a slope or flying in thermals.

But most importantly (and the priority of the visit), we got to spend time with the family, catch up with news and play with the kids (and dogs and chickens and horses) – a very nice weekend.

Start of summer - June 23

2010-06-24T22:57:00.000-07:00

Finally summer! I do like cooler temperatures, but this May and June were a touch too cold.

Apparently a record – this year is the latest ever to reach 75oF (sorry about the old-style temperature units but the data are from Seattle according to Cliff Mass’ very interesting weather blog). Runner up was June 9th (still have to find out which year that was)!

Wenatchee Paddling, June 19/20

2010-06-24T22:51:00.000-07:00

Sun, warm weather (at least for our current wetcoast pattern) and lots of wave time at 6,500 and 7,500 cfs on the Wenatchee this weekend! Good conditions for Trestle/Rodeo/Turkey Shoot/Snowblind/Suffocator on one or both days. Grannies is different - much more of a hole. With the strange weather this year the river is still running at a good level and may keep going for another couple of weeks.

Strange also that there were only few other paddlers, but plenty of rafts. In the end we met all the usual WA paddlers and friends and a few new ones – nice meeting everybody again!

Getting back on the water is a nice change after too much weather 'guestimates' and 'parawaiting'. Although my 'parawaiting' percentage has significantly decreased this year, there are still too many days when the conditions are just OK and not stellar and too many of those 'you should have been here yesterday' days. But that will probably never change. It's the nature of paragliding - it's very weather-dependent and weather is just not that predictable. If you want to be there on the stellar days you just have to put the time in.

Lumby Air Races - June 12/13

2010-06-24T22:42:00.000-07:00

Too many to count!

One flying day, one day blown-out and one day of sled rides (but I didn't take an extra day off for this) ... well, this is paragliding (if I wanted guarantees I would check river levels and go paddling… right?).

Thermals were not quite as nice as for our Lumby visit two weeks ago, despite this I managed to fly over to Lumby Ridge for a micro cross country flight (an improvement from last visit). Later in the evening I got an extended sled ride from Saddle right across from Coopers launch. The guys were gentlemen and waited to help me launch, and got in the air after I had used up the last of the thermals…

Launching my Sport 4 at Coopers

Selway Hummingbirds

2010-06-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

Don't seem to get around to editing videos these days (it's summer after all!), so here are a couple of frame grabs.

It's well known that hummingbirds like all things red (or is it the beer he is after?).

But what about Pete's ears? Is it the red color or the flower shape that makes them so attractive?

Approach

Insert

Retract

Pemberton Air - June 5

2010-06-10T12:26:00.000-07:00

Saturday brought finally a break in the not very May/June-like weather and a good flying day in Pemberton. After a couple of short flights I had a nice one with good climbs but stayed near the launch (see track log), while Pete flew XC towards Hurley Pass Road (twice), on route experiencing his biggest frontal - ever.

Pretty sweet to climb high enough to see Lillooett Lake and the snowcovered peaks to the east, maybe some of them on the Duffy Lake Road? Focus on thermalling didn't leave me time to ID any of them.

Idaho Rivers: Selway May 10 -- 14

2010-05-27T21:52:00.000-07:00

Paradise Put-in

This year a last minute opportunity for a pre-season trip on the Selway worked out. The Selway is one of the great multi-day trips in Idaho. A permit is difficult to get, so river runners try to get a run in before May 15th, when the permit season starts. Pre-season trips can pose a few problems: snow on Nez Perc pass may require an expensive shuttle with balloon-tired vehicles and river levels could be too low or too high (trips in early permit season have the same problems). Luckily, we didn’t encounter any of them. The pass was plowed a couple of days before our trip and water levels were fine for us kayakers – albeit a bit bony for the raft on the first day.

"You are here"

Typical River Scene

It was the first time I put on for a multi-day trip when there were no leaves on bushes and trees. As we moved downriver spring arrived at time-lapse speed. Hummingbirds checked out our camping equipment every time we set up camp (and Pete’s ears!) Seems the little birds are starved for the color red in the green forest of Idaho. Not sure Pete’s ears look like flowers? Maybe we should take a feeder next time? Whitetail deer wandered through our camp. When startled they disappeared flicking their tails. Most impressive wild encounter was a big sand-colored wolf on shore. As we floated by, she/he watched closely, put her ears back, then grabbed the fish she was eating and moved into some bushes. Just to drop the fish and roll in it.

Despite the low water level (1.7 – 2 at the paradise gauge) I would have preferred my bigger boat on day 4, when we hit the more interesting rapids. After a prime session of side-surfing in Double Drop (I was sure I was on line… until I saw the hole), I had some problems keeping tops up and bottoms down. The positive outcome of this little rodeo session was easy decision at Ladle - the high and dry line. After all the excitement I didn’t think my shoulder was up for paddling on the last day, so I hopped on the raft and got some excellent rafting instructions for John on the easier drops.

Double Drop. The green tongue and the hole.

Start of Ladle

The take-out weather was Idaho style: sunny and hot enough to change into shorts and Ts. After we de-rigged and packed all our gear in my trusty Patriot Pete and Ben run the Lochsa above Pipeline. This looked a lot more exciting than when we did it in 1999 (checking the records, we had half the water). Karen and I opted for being on the photo and beta crew. In the evening we started the long drive back for a nice run close to home on the Wenatchee the next day.

Bridal Falls - May 8

2010-05-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

Everything was packed for our Selway trip so we decided to take a detour through the Fraser Valley for a flying day. An excellent choice!

Seems that getting an ENB (1/2) wing has made a big change in my flying (or maybe I was just ready for it after all the floating and bobbing around). I got the Sport 4 in April and the second flight on it lasted 2 hours, with quite a bit of thermalling on a ridge of Cheam to gain enough altitude to make it back to launch.

On the flight today, I explored Upper Launch and Archibald, getting to over 1800 meters (see my google earth track above). Lift was still excellent but Pete was waiting and anxious to start the long drive to Idaho/Montana - so I had to actually work and do some spirals to get down.

While I did two flights (one at Woodside and one at Bridal, see above) Pete did his first Woodside to Bridal (and Elk) flight and second Fraser crossing.

Fairy Meadows Spell

2010-04-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

Got these pictures from Gunnar - I think they deserve a separate post. They are taken on our last evening at Fairy Meadows. What a wonderful night! Full moon and powder. Seeing the pictures now I almost regret that I didn't take any photos myself. But than I would not have been skiing under the full moon. Guess sometimes you just can't have it all - and I'm happy with what I got. (All pictures by Gunnar O.)

Skiers on top of the Practice Slopes just right of Gunar's shoulder

Pete is starting down

First skier down, one more to go

That's me skiing in the moonlight

Cabin light and ski tracks

Snopril - April 10/11

2010-04-12T09:52:00.001-07:00

Work is somewhere down there

First Snovember, now Snopril! Cypress reports 127 cm fresh in the last 7 days. And what a weekend: Saturday beautiful pow (waist-deep on foot, over knee-deep on ski) at Needle Peak, even with the sun out it stayed cold and fluffy all day. Sunday, for a total change we went climbing. The moves feels still OK on 5.7s, even after climbing only once a year for the last three.

Just can't stop taking pictures

Pow at Needle Peak

Powder Easter Bunnies, April 2-4

2010-04-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

Decisions, decisions! What to do for the first long weekend of the year?

Options are the traditional paddle trip to Oregon, flying in the Interior or slip back into winter mode and ski. Cold temperatures, fresh snow and a seat sale for the last weekend of operation at Monashee Powder Cats make the final decision easy – we are off for 3 days cat skiing.

We get excellent snow, meet great people to ski with (including a now 74 year old Floridian we met 2 years ago) and the same great service, delicious food and a hot tub in the snowstorm. The Easter Bunny wakes us with coffee and chocolate eggs on Sunday.

The guides are still a bit edgy about avalanche conditions. Just a couple of days ago a cornice triggered a major slide. We also hear many interesting stories about the sketchy conditions earlier this year, airbag deployments, ski cuts etc. Shows again how lucky we were with our Fairy Meadow trip.

Bridal Falls, March 6/7

2010-03-11T13:43:00.001-08:00

How is this for a rational: rivers too low for paddling, no fresh snow for skiing in the last couple of months and a crappy weather forecast – so lets do the most weather sensitive activity and go flying?!

Guess after the reports of excellent conditions during the week the need for airtime for us weekend warriors was too great, and we did a couple of sled rides before and after rain showers. And I finally succeeded in capturing some more footage with my wing-cam (both the Mino and Vado have intermittent problems with freezing and not recording when left to themselves for longer periods of time).

Fairy Meadows, February 20 - 28

2010-03-09T21:06:00.000-08:00

Lunch on Granite Glacier - Fairy Meadows Cabin is on the small forested bench (moraine) above Greg's head and the icefall

We spent an excellent week at Fairy Meadows cabin (north of Revelstoke and Golden, BC); lots of luck with weather and avalanche conditions! Bluebird skies for the first three days provided ample opportunity to explore the high country (Granite, Nobility, Echo, Gothics Glaciers) and cols and passes (Friendship, Pioneer) including an ascent of Sir Williams and to get some nice runs in. Visibility went downhill when new snow started falling midweek - time to look for pow in Swan Creek and Outpost trees.

Before the trip we were somewhat nervous about reports of touchy and unusual avalanche conditions all over the place. Remote slides set off by helicopters, snow cats and skiers running on slopes as low as 20 degrees angle, skiers triggering slopes that had already slid. But the group ahead of us skied aggressively and had seen little activity. We took it easy at first and later skied intermediate terrain without major incidents. But of course there are always exceptions. Among our 19 cabin-mates was a group of four young and keen couloir-droppers who managed to ski-cut what was maybe a 2.5 after skinning/boot-packing up a line. The slide wiped out their entire uptrack. Fortunately the ski-cut went well, but the kids stopped dropping couloirs for the rest of the week.

In summary, a great week of skiing with excellent alpine tours and somewhat limited tree skiing. But Fairy Meadows is not the place where you want to be stuck in poor visibility and/or bad avalanche conditions, so spring trips are probably a better bet.

More photos here

Fairy Meadows cabin (lower right) with Granite and Nobility Glaciers in the background

Friendship Col

Looking north from Sentinel Shoulder to Granite Glacier

Pete disappearing in pow of Swan Creek Trees

"Spring" Olympics in Vancouver, February 12-28

2010-02-20T21:05:00.000-08:00

Cherries in blossoms, spring-like temperatures and snow from Manning Park - that was Vancouver in February 2010. Not very wintery, but we enjoyed the Olympics in Vancouver more than expected. Since we didn’t have to travel downtown and everybody else seemed to be on vacation or work from home, traffic was much lighter than usual. We ventured downtown a couple of times and immersed ourselves into the Olympic crowds, went to a women’s hockey game (very exciting as it was tied 2:2 until the last few minutes) and I even got close and personal to an olympic torch (no longer lit).

Wet stuff - Jan 9 and 16

2010-01-09T22:30:00.000-08:00

Leave-less trees and sunshine on the Coquitlam

Too wet and windy for flying? Too warm for skiing? Load up the kayaks and go for an afternoon paddle on Capilano and Coquitlam River. Good levels, good fun. Pete got lots of playing in on the Cap. Even though the air was relatively warm, the water was a little too chilly for my taste and I decided not to do anything that would get my head wet. Gotta love Vancouver - something to do in every kind of weather!

The Coquitlam starts with a bang.

Backcountry at the Gorge and Revelstoke – December 27 to January 2

2010-01-09T22:22:00.000-08:00

After getting into skiing mode at Mustang we spend 3 days skiing at the Gorge near Sicamous. Last year the road wasn’t plowed and access by car was not possible. This year we could drive all the way up to 1500 meters, so our plan was to make the best of it before it got snowed in. We explored a couple of new areas and skied lots of trees with more or less mellow slopes and a big open bowl further along the road. The snow conditions were nice.

Boot top pow on the north slopes, while the south exposed areas were getting cooked by the sun. Great weather, sweet snow – not much else one could wish for! After 3 days at the Gorge we met up with friends in Revelstoke and skied the NRC gullies. It was snowing pretty hard, and the slopes did not disappoint. The second day in Revy was even better. Our local friends led us to a stash well worth the 1200 meter climb to it.

Best pow ever! Light, 'crotch' deep, with a nice (hero) base. Every turn sent snow flying over our heads, in our mouth and face. It took me a couple of turns to get the timing right: breathe in when rising; breathe out when weighing the skis. Too bad the days are still short and there was only time for two runs.
More snow fell the next day so we chickened out and left the intimidating avalanche slopes of Rogers Pass for the trees at the Gorge. Nice skiing, but the snow was getting a little heavier each day. On the last day shooting cracks all around us in the low clear cuts. A sign that the buried hoar was very active and a warning to stay in low angle treed terrain. A great week (9 days) of skiing, with a total of 19750 meters elevation gain (includes 9450 m cat-skiing, as warm-up to get our skiing muscles in shape ;-)

Mustang Pow – December 25/26

2010-01-05T22:20:00.000-08:00

Yeah – powder time! After checking the snow conditions and forecast I started looking for some last minute cat skiing spots and found an opening at Mustang Powder in the Monashee mountains.

Why cat skiing? Well, I always complain about limited vacation time, so we have to put our days off to good use! Cat skiing gets you way more vertical than muscle power. With a good guide it also gets you the best pow without having to deal with crappy snow. Last but not least, I was skiing runs that I would find rather intimidating without local knowledge.

Our guide Matt and the tail gunners JP and Heidi definitely delivered the goods! Excellent service at the lodge where everybody made us feel at home. Amazing dinner after the days of hard skiing. Relaxing hot tub in the snow.

But be prepared to get up early – to make the most of the short days, we switched our watches to Mountain Time, got up in the dark, had a good breakfast and climbed in the cats just before sunrise. But the pow was well worth the alpine start.

Getting up at the crack of dawn

Guide Matt points out our next line

Boarder Bliss

Steep pitch

Pete enjoying another run

Racing down to the cat

Pete made new friends

Hawaii Big Island, December 12 - 19

2009-12-23T22:18:00.000-08:00

In December we visited friends who had moved to the Big Island. What a treat to escape the wet and cold Vancouver for a few days! We kept ourselves busy with something different every day and there was a lot more to - we could have easily spent another week. Here is what we did:

Snorkeling/diving: definitely my favored activity. Cool corals, countless colorful fish, clear water. In many places the reefs are close to the surface and unless you are Pete and want to see how deep you can dive, you can just float and watch. Big sea turtles gliding by. Moray eels poking their heads out of holes. Went to Richardson and Kukio (?) on the Hilo side. This is the wet (east) side of the Big Island. Fresh water from creeks mixes with the salty ocean water in bands of limited visibility. Once past (or below) these bands the water was clear and warm. We saw quite a few sea turtles. I almost didn’t notice one of these fellows on collision course while I was scanning the bottom for interesting sea live. Quite the surprise when I looked up and saw the turtle just a couple of meters in front of me. On the Kona side we explored Captain Cook (Kealakekua Bay) and the Place of Refuge. Amazing. We also went on a guided manta ray night dive near Kona. The dive was spectacular as well, but the rays didn’t show. An excellent excuse to come back next year.

Hiking, high altitude hiking, scrambling: A few hikes, including one that left us rather breathless on top of Mauna Kea (4200 meter). Even the little car had some problems getting up that high (the road goes almost to the top). Another hike lead us close to the active volcano, pu’u oo and involved some interesting scrambling over hollow lava (aa and pahoehoe).

Caving: we explored the long Kaumana lava tubes near Hilo

Other activities included riding mountain bikes (great that our friends have such a good selection of gear!) to Green Sands Beach at the very south tip of the island, body surfing, swimming, kite-flying, sailing at Hilo Bay, and paddling. We even managed the make use of our wings at Captain Cook. Local pilots were very helpful to get us in the air. Unfortunately a combination of smoke from a local wild fire and ‘vog’ (volcanic smog) prevented the formation of good thermals and we had to content ourselves with a couple of sled rides (short flights without altitude gain).

What else? It was great to spent the days with our friends and have them as tour-guides and to stay at their place. Nice to soak up some sun and heat before returning to the cold Canadian winter. Excellent views of stars at night (street lights are dimmed to reduce light pollution for the observatories on Maua Kea). Delicious food (for example at the traditional Manago Hotel in Captain Cook). A pre-Christmas trip to some place warm needs to be permanently added to our yearly schedule!

SNOvember 2009

2009-12-07T10:36:00.000-08:00

Another November trip up the Coquihalla for turns on Needle Peak on November 22nd. A bit more filled in, but snow was not quite as nice as last weekend. Good fun anyway!

This month has been called 'SNO-vember' with its record-braking snowfall. Mt Baker opened November 12 with the deepest opening base in their history (64 inch or 163 cm). Whistler recorded 418 cm from November 1 - 19 and opened November 14.

Another PG video

2009-11-21T19:58:00.000-08:00

Edited the headcam footage from October 24. Airtime with eagles. Sunny, warm, and very fly-able. Hard to believe that this was only 4 weeks ago. It has been pouring rain for many days. November! Time to edit videos.

First Turns of the Season, November 14

2009-11-16T22:06:00.000-08:00

There has been enough snow to ski for a week now and we got out just in time before the Pineapple Express hit. Sweet turns on the Coquihalla. Last time I was on skis was May 28 - less than 6 months ago. Last time we skied the Coquihalla was 7 months ago.

Some of the little Christmas trees are still sticking out - bit more coverage will improve things. But, yeah, the pow is back!

Sunday was Paddle-Day. How 'Westcoast' is this... ski one day, kayak the next? For the first time in two years I managed to get a run in on the Chilliwack Canyon (a dislocated shoulder in November 07 put me off paddling for a while). Was surprised how smooth it went. But the water level was pretty low.

Garden Adventures, Nov 7

2009-11-08T10:01:00.000-08:00

Just had to post this picture of what we found in our own garden:
'Slippery Jack' relatives (Suillus caerulescens). With onion, salt and pepper - delicious.

From Garden

Blanchard Flying - October 31

2009-11-03T22:12:00.000-08:00

There I thought flying was over for the year, getting ready for the pow season and looking longingly at first dustings of snow on the local mountains.

But no, we keep getting nice flights! Last Saturday at Blanchard was another one of these unexpected nice days (Whidbey not too far away was blown out and raining).

All of us had a couple of sled rides at first. But my last flight was awesome. Wind had picked up and provided good lift. Strong enough that I started playing with big ears, speedbar and small wingovers. Lots of fun on my big swing-set in the sky.

Finally also got the top-view camera set up and it worked like a charm. Editing the HD video was another story – very tedious. Producers of the little HD cameras seem to use their own codecs and while the quality can be amazing, using older software to edit is a pain.

Here is another video of an eagle getting up and close to a hangglider (in a friendly way). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaxFMlkqsEs

Hedley Fly-In, October 10-12

2009-10-20T11:59:00.001-07:00

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!

Rain - October 17/18

2009-10-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

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.

Victoria Visit – October 3

2009-10-08T22:57:00.000-07:00

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!

Baldy Fly-in without Baldy flight, September 26/27

2009-10-02T18:26:00.000-07:00

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!

Fly, bike and hike in the Chilcotins, September 19/20

2009-09-23T22:11:00.000-07:00

This was another trip I always wanted to do – fly up to one of the lakes near Goldbridge and ride down. Fly with a plane and ride mountain bikes for a change. It felt weird flying so close to the ground without feeling wind in the face. The pilot recommended Spruce Lake over our first choice Warner Lake, as he thought it would be to windy to get into Warner. The plane, a Beaver, took off very smoothly from Tyax Lake and Resort (where I spent a couple of nights with my parents last year), went along Gun Creek, and much too fast landed on Spruce Lake. The consensus was to take the more interesting route over Windy Pass through Eldorado Basin back to Tyax Lodge. I had forgotten how much work it was to push a bike uphill, and we had to do it for two climbs for a total of about 1000 meter elevation gain. Doesn’t seem much for hiking, but pushing a bike is a different story. But the downhills were sure nice – not too challenging for someone who mt bikes only once or twice a year. The weather wasn’t as stellar as we hoped, but not too bad either. A couple of rain and snow showers. Is winter coming?

Over Tyaughton Lake looking west to Gun Lake and Carpenter Lake

At Windy Pass

Sweet single track down

The boys after scree ride

On Sunday we explored the northern part of the South Chilcotins on foot (since body parts abused the day before needed some rest). Tepee Mt looked like a nice easy objective for the day. Took Tyaughton Creek FSR - Mud Ck-Paradise Ck FSR to the trail head just below 1800 m (from Carpenter Lake 1.5 h / 36 km, easy 4WD). The trail fades in and out through the forest, but flagged. It leads to open meadows and the pass east of Tepee Mt. We opted for a route up the grassy slopes on the north side (aesthetically more pleasing than the steep scree slope from the east). Except for the last 50 meters the route is an easy hike. Tepee Mt is capped by a layer of basalt which makes the last bit to the top a scramble. It’s not technically difficult, but somewhat alarming because one has to climb over a steep jumble of broken basalt columns. Summit at 2500 meters, 3 h up, 1.5 h down at a moderate speed. Amazing views all along. Wildfires up the Yalakom are still burning. Saw first snow on Mt Currie on the way back.

Coquihalla Granite Towers - September 13

2009-09-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

Another trip ticked off on my list ... and several more added.

Whenever we hiked or skied Needle Peak I thought we should go and explore the granite spires one sees in the distance between Fraser Canyon and Coquihalla Highway - the peaks behind Yak, Nak and Thor. Recently there was a new report on Clubtread about a trip up Llama-Alpaca Ridge with good info on logging roads and trail. So off we went. With the description we found the trail head and trail easily (although it was more of a ‘route’, not your weekend warrior hiking trail). Along a seriously de-activated logging road, up through steep forest, onto granite slaps up to a pleasant walk along the broad ridge between Alpaca and Llama peak. Not another human being in sight – but wait! Pete spotted a wing in the air! What a coincidence – we watched three paraglider launch from Guanaco and land close to our parked car. On the way down we sampled many delicious blueberries and picked up a couple of King Boletes. Since I found the granite slabs in a couple of places a bit too exciting, so we took a detour through very steep forest. At least something to hold on to…

Great views of the Anderson Group (Chamois, Ibex, Gemse).

What an amazing place to visit. This is another of these spots that would be a great tourist attraction, would it be anywhere in Europe. But just like Jones Lake or the Sumallo Valley few people come to enjoy the spectacular vistas.

Just saw a trip report on scrambling up Vicuna…

Vicuna

Ridgewalk

Fallcolors

Red Blueberries

Kings

Saddle Rock, September 5-7

2009-09-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

The rainy season has begun just in time for the last long weekend of summer – Labour Day. We decided to run away from the rain and spend the weekend east of the Cascades. Conditions were not promising for flying but at least it would be mostly dry. In the end, 3 days of parawaiting yielded 4 hrs of ridge soaring in rather strong winds at Saddle/Silos in central WA. While parawaiting we kept ourselves busy with climbing at Frenchmen Coulee. But it was time for only 2 climbs before we got rained off. Very windy so tents were getting blown around in the gusts.

Other weekend adventures: most amazing views of clouds, rainbows, overwhelming scent of sage brush after the rain, waking up on top of Saddle Mt when tents almost blew over, watching pelicans soar in +50 km/h winds and being buzzed by an owl interested in our lonely tent (after it finally calmed down). Despite low air time - a great weekend in the empty WA desert.

From Saddle Mt, WA

Surf and Fly, August 29/30

2009-09-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

Sweet weekend!

Saturday was one of the 'you should have been here days' at Skooks. No kayakers on the ferry and nobody at the dock got me wondering if I had misread the tide table. In Egmont we met a Montana paddler looking for company on his first visit to Skooks. In the end we were 5 boaters - it was a tough job to entertain the endless stream of tourists (several thanked us for the show). Among the 'tourists' was a PG pilot friend. Small world!

Alpine start on Sunday for another hike&fly from Mt Cheam. Lots of tasty blueberries slowed us down. At launch we waited for an hour for the thermals to build and overpower the light easterly crosswind. All got off without a hitch to a nice smooth flight down to Bridal Falls LZ. Although there were no thermals for soaring like for my first flight from Cheam it was just amazing to glide high above the ridge and out over the Fraser Valley way below.

Alpine start

Landing zone is 2000 meters below - just east (below) the highway exit.

Pete fluffing his wing

Black Mt Fly-In, WA, August 15/16

2009-09-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

Black Mt is the first big ridge on the right driving east into the Fraser Valley. Must be a pretty amazing site if its on, but it wasn't to be. Saturday we did a sleddy from a lower launch just below cloudbase. It didn't clear and we gave up waiting and drove over to Blanchard. Best launch conditions ever - smooth west wind - nice, slow inflation - lift off; but it was too late and only Andrew managed to stay up. Sunday we tried Black Mt upper launch, but wind was blowing over the back. Watched some interesting launches before driving back down and on to Bridal Falls. After all the driving and waiting I had almost an hour air time - shows again how nice and dependable our 'house berg' is.

Check back for pictures soon.

BC Day in and on the Clearwater (August 1-3)

2009-08-07T00:53:00.000-07:00

Being on the water is the only way for me to doing something active in this heat. And being on the Clearwater with its nice big water drops and endless surf waves is a lot of fun too. Added bonus – the alpine flower tour at Trophy Meadows. It was a pleasant surprise that the bloom was at its peak – even after the recent heat wave.

July 29, 30: Vancouver’s Hottest Day on Record

2009-07-30T12:19:00.001-07:00

Environment Canada recorded 33.8oC at the Vancouver airport (which is next to Georgia Strait and cooler than most of the city). The last record was set in 1960, with 33.3oC. Victoria hit 35oC, Bella Coola, up the coast, 41oC. Temperatures were 38oC outside our place at 6 PM, 28oC inside but luckily only 25oC downstairs – just cool enough to sleep. The heat has been building for the last 10 days, but it will cool down somewhat over the weekend.

Update: Record broken one day later, July 30 with 34.4oC.

Pemberton - Nahatlach Weekend, July 25/26

2009-07-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

As the title says - we checked out Mackenzie Launch in Pemby and then made our way across the Duffy Lake Road to Boston Bar. Just before Lillooet we watched a wildfire starting across the valley. The recent heat has parched the landscape and all that is needed to set a hillside on flames is a spark or a lightening strike. While driving on into a black wall of a thunderstorm between Lillooet und Lytton the wisdom of driving into the Nahatlach Valley in such dry conditions seemed rather questionable. But the storm brought with it a good quantity of rain – literally ‘extinguishing’ our concerns.

BFAR: July 11 and 12

2009-07-20T12:13:00.000-07:00

Lots of pilots came out for the Bridal Falls Air Races put on by the Westcoast Soaring Club. Over 40 gliders were in the air on Saturday. Best flight for me was the first one from Mt Cheam on Saturday morning. The flight around the ridge and out over the Fraser Valley was well worth the 1:45 h hike up the back side. Friends came out on Sunday and enjoyed their tandem flight (including spiral) immensely.

High traffic volume at Bridal Launch.

Flying from Mt Cheam. Mt Baker in the background.

Okanagan Flying: July 3 – 5

2009-07-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

Over the long weekend we checked out some Okanagan flying spots around Vernon and Lumby: Coopers, Baldy (King Eddy) and Vernon Mountain. Pete went for some interesting x-country flights, while I checked out the local thermals and a clearing in the woods.

Solstice Magic – June 27/28

2009-06-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

OK – not quite solstice, but Solstice week ... close enough.

Let’s start at the end of the day: I watched the sun set from the air on a sweet evening flight at Bridal Falls. It had almost turned katabatic, but a forward launch got me in some unexpected lift. I bobbed around for half an hour at 100 meter above launch (850 meters above the Fraser Valley), watching the sun and the moon and some spectators watching me until the sun was close to the horizon and it got cold.

Only a few hours earlier we had drifted in our kayaks through the clear green pools of the Similkameen River with its canyons rarely visited by humans. There was a deer and some raven to keep us company. And to keep things interesting there were some rapid to run and some holes to punch (but none seemed really big after the Grand Canyon).

What a great summer day! What a delight to visit such magic places!

Similkameen Canyon

Some whitewater

Lots of clear green water

Grand Canyon - June 3 to 18

2009-06-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

So far it's a photo blog. Will write more when it starts raining seriously.

This is were all Grand Canyon trips start. Lees Ferry.

Mike done with rigging.

Somewhere in the Roaring Twenties

Kath on the oars

Side canyon exploration

Nankoweap

Below Nankoweap

Random Campsite

Redwall Cavern

Sunset at another campsite

Another camp - Cardenas, just above Unkar

Sacret Datura

Below Marble Canyon

Elves Chasm

Sockdolager

Camp in the Inner Granite Gorge

Ducky in action (The Terminator)

Floating

Crossing of Havasupai Creek

Cooling down in Havasupai Creek

Mixing of the waters (Havasupai/Colorado confluence)

Deer Creek Falls

Lava boulder

Yup - it was hot

Pete cooling down

Running Lava

It actually rained for one day!

Exploring one more slot canyon.