New Mushrooms

Each fall I turn into a cautious mushroom-hunter. 'Hunting' sounds much more exciting than the German 'Sammeln' which means 'collecting'. Not much interested in experimenting with questionable foods I collect only half a dozen species I know well.

This year I added a new one to my list of collectibles: pine mushrooms. Apparently Pines are valued much by Japanese and exported in great quantities. Most distinguishing feature of these mushrooms is their smell described as cinnamony/spicy/fruity). But beware there are (somewhat) similar shrooms out there that are extremely poisonous.

Everybody agreed: 2013 was a stellar year for mushrooms.

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Dolomiti - Climb and Fly Trip

We went back to the Dolomites (our second time there after a guided tour with BlueSky in 2010, http://bcwetcoast.blogspot.ca/2010/10/dolomiti-italy-oct-4-9.html). A stunning area to fly with its tall limestone towers and snow covered peaks. But due to the huge crowds and strong conditions its also a risky area. Anybody who wants to fly there should be on their game and do some homework before the trip. There are amazing videos and pictures of flying in the Dolomites on the internet, but it takes special conditions for a flight like this and they are as rare as a powder day on the ski slopes.

It took us two trips to hit one of the stellar days. Too much north wind the day we arrived. We did a couple of short flights from Belvedere at Pordoi Pass (last day for the lift there to be open). Stronger north wind was forecast for the next day so we headed to Bassano for more relaxed flying (2h drive on narrow windy/winding roads over passes and through spectacular limestone gorges). Third day was one of the ‘powder days’. Pete launched from Belvedere, worked hard to get up and scored a sweet flight over Marmolada, Langkofel and Sella http://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/830365. Due to driving logistics, I launched later from Col Rodella, where the air was crowded as usual. I also ran into another Canadian (he was wearing a 2012 Pembi Nationals T).

The next day the conditions changed again. Southwest wind this time. The inversion took a long time to resolve. We managed to launch earlier than most from the afternoon (south) take-off at Col Rodella, but were soon thermalling with about 200 of our ‘best friends’. Wind on launch increased and got gustier. Clouds were forming and lowering below the peaks of the Langkofel Group. After an hour in the air and seeing one pilot take a big frontal in the lee of Col Rodella and rapidly disappear behind it and another wing spread over the rocks at the bottom of the Langkofel I had enough and landed in strong valley wind. Pete soon followed. After we had packed up and walked out, another pilot crashed in town, behind a house just meters from where we walked. Thankfully ambulance and advanced medical services arrived quick and in full force. In total there were 5 or 6 serious accidents on this one day (more about this day on Paragliding Forum http://www.paraglidingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=59504).

Strong north wind the next couple of days, so we left our wings in the bags and explored some of the hiking trails and via ferratas. The latter are climbing routes equipped with cables, ladders and metal rungs originally built during WW1 for soldiers to move safely in steep terrain. They have become very popular all over the Alps and allow access to spectacular and exposed terrain (with some minimal climbing skills, a climbing harness and a couple of special slings). Despite the strong wind there were still several pilots in the air and we watched more close calls in the LZ where a strong wind gradient set up in the afternoon (one 70% collapse 50 meters above ground, one very bad tandem landing, and other less spectacular mishaps). Just 15 minutes later the wind died and another group of pilots landed in smooth conditions not knowing what they missed while the guy with the collapse was still pale (and hadn’t even had time to change his underwear).

End of the trip report, but since it’s been raining ever since we got back I had some time for more musings & ramblings. Hopefully more info about the conditions will reduce the strain on local ambulance and rescue teams… and on the local flying community … just imagine our sites would be invaded by 300-400 pilots for a couple of weeks each year!

Prerequisites for flying the Dolomites:

- Being comfortable in strong thermal conditions (think Pembi or even Golden).
- Good crowds flying skills (talking about >100 pilots in the house thermal) and solid nerves to fly with others who are in over their head and react unpredictably. IMO crowding is the biggest safety concern.
- Ability to identify wind directions in complex valley system and avoid associated lee/rotor areas.
- Healthy resistance to lemming effect. Others launching and flying does not mean it is ‘fly-able’. Bring along several plan Bs: there are tons of spectacular hiking trails, via ferratas of various difficulty, mountain biking. Most days flying is possible in Bassano. Lots of cultural activities too; museums, old houses, delicious grappa and cheeses to sample.

Observations/condition at Col Rodella (disclaimer: this is from a two-time visitor, no warranties on completeness or accuracy):

- Generally two competing wind systems, one over the Sella Pass from northern Val Gardena/Grödner Tal (north wind at Col Rodella) and the Val di Fassa/Fassa Tal wind (generally builds after noon, south/west wind at Col Rodella launch). Depending on general wind conditions these winds may compete during the day and can lead to variable and unpredictable conditions.
- Use the east launch in the morning then move over to the south launch in the afternoon as the Fassa Valley (southwest) wind takes over and the bowl in front of the east launch is in rotor. Famous videos of dust devils twisting up wings are from the east launch in lee conditions.
- North wind is bad (anything more than light wind) and creates big lee/rotor zones or problems lower down, even if the south launch is not affected. On the evening of one of our plan B days there was a strong shear layer 50-100 meters above the main LZ with strong N-N/W above and strong S below (our hypothesis was that it was generated by the north wind dropping down over Sella Pass, hitting the high ridge south of the LZ and being redirected just above ground level).
- West/Southwest wind can also be dangerous as it increases the already strong afternoon Fassa valley wind. This wind funnels up into the side valley west of Col Rodella and makes for bad rotor in the lee (behind lower canyon ridges, the Col Rodella cliffs, etc). This can also produce strong and gusty wind in the main LZ which thankfully is very large. These were the conditions on the ‘carnage’ day.
- Although the meadows near launch look inviting, top landings can be hard and cause severe injuries due to lee/rotor areas (a couple of days after our first visit a German champion pilot top-landed behind the south launch and broke his back).
- Worst days are the ones with some lift but strong inversions when nobody gets away and most bumble around at the top of lift. It may be possible to fly in relative solitude by staying below the crowds.
- Last but not least, this should be a no-brainer, get out of the way of rescue helicopters, even if other pilots don’t.

More from PG forum
http://www.paraglidingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=42284
Info from the local club (in German)
http://www.parapendio-gardena.com/colrodella.html

Kyuquot – August 2013

Finally got around to do a sea kayaking trip again, this time to Kyuqout Sound. It’s a great area to explore and of course we didn’t have enough time to see all the interesting spots – a good reason for putting it on the list to go back to for more exploring.

We started in Fair Harbor, which isn't much more than a camp ground and a dock, and paddled out Kyuqout Sound to the Mission group. This is best done early in the morning or late afternoon as strong inflow winds are common on sunny days. We encountered said winds and stopped for a longish lunch break. Even though it was already late afternoon when we went over to the Mission group, there still was a dense fog bank and we made the crossing by compass bearing. Less than 2 km, but the many power boats made me feel rather uneasy.

Our new favored island is Spring Island in the Mission group. It has many sea arches, sea stacks and tide pools to explore and a rugged trail leads to huge old growth Sitka and Red-cedar inside the island. From the Mission group we made a downwind dash via Thomas Island to the Bunsby’s. Thomas Island apparently has the largest sea arch on the west coast, which we checked out on our lunch stop.

At the Bunsby’s we camped on ‘Cautious Point’ island where a small black bear patrolled the beach but ignored our (and other) tents. Good on everyone for practicing bear-safe camping. Interesting wave clouds were rolling in from Brooks peninsula. On the next morning we packed up despite fog and explored some around the Bunsby islands until it lifted. On the way back to the Mission group we took a route further out and made a cool 13 km crossing up to 4 km off shore. Despite being so far out, swell is kept to reasonable size by offshore reefs. A puffin cruised by and we saw numerous dolphins. Near kelp patches and reefs there were lots of sea otters including some curious ones swimming up to us near Kyuqout (maybe used to handouts from fishermen?).

We were lucky with the weather, with lots of sunshine throughout the week after the morning fog dissolved. But the sunny weather made for strong winds and a short window for long distance paddling between the foggy and the windy time of the day. On all islands debris with Japanese lettering, including a fridge, building lumber and crates, was a somber reminder of the tsunami two years ago.

Have to put Rugged Point, Acous peninsula and south Brooks on the list for our next visit in the area, hopefully for a bit longer than this time.

Leaving Fair Harbor

Spring Island sea stacks

Big Red Cedar

Campsite on Spring Island

Sunset over Brooks peninsula

Foggy morning

Surprise!

Yoho and Golden: July/August

In August we went for a week to the Canadian Rockies. There are so many mountain ranges to explore closer to Vancouver that we haven’t made the long trip to the Rockies for over 10 years. 

But the Canada Parks pass I have won in a photo competition two years in a row begged to be used. There are only very few National Parks on the Westcoast, so we had to venture further east. And the spectacular flying in Golden was tempting too. Pete competed in the Willi Mueller XC Challenge and I joined for flying along. We had some fantastic flights over the long jagged ridge of mountains, but also plenty of parawaiting. 

The last weekend of the competition looked un-flyable so we left with Pete in 2^nd place. After checking out stunning Blaeberry Valley north of Golden, we drove on to join friends from the Vancouver Kayak Club for a couple of runs on the Clearwater under spectacularly overdeveloped Cumulonimbus clouds and car-denting cherry-sized hail. Good we were wearing helmets on the river! 

Turns out that in Golden despite thunderstorms everywhere else some pilots managed to get another flight in between big dark clouds, leaving Pete behind in place 5. Shows again that it can be rather challenging to maintain ones safety standards during competitions.