Roldanillo, Colombia - Jan 22 - Feb 5

We did what the (snow) birds do and flew south this winter. All the way to Colombia. Roldanillo in the Cauca Valley is a flying mecca that attracts pilots from all over the world with its reliable conditions and great mix of mountain and flatland flying. Nice XC flights (100+ km) can be had most days.

There are three launches at Roldanillo: Aguapanela (nice big launch but associated with small risk of bombing out behind the power lines in north wind, used during the comp and therefore closed to free-flyers), nearby El Pico (as the name says… smaller, but with less risk of sinking out) and Los Tanques (a somewhat longer drive from town, 3,000 COP fee = CAD 1.40). In addition there are several other flying sites nearby but all require re-locating.

We enjoyed flying in Roldanillo with XC flying, flatland thermals, and a good dose of adventure. Every day of our 14 day visit (Jan 22 - Feb 5) was flyable and we accumulated quite a few air miles and 3-4 h airtime daily. Compared to Valle de Bravo I found the flying more technical (and the après flying in Valle better … in Rolda not many pilots hang out at the LZ at 35oC ;-). Low cloud base and lots of crossings can end the flying day prematurely. There is seldom a second chance for an afternoon flight due to the Pacifico wind coming in and blowing over the back in the afternoon. This wind can also make landing in town very turbulent but conveniently there is a usually save ‘airstrip’ just a couple of kilometers east of town. Other challenges include the long glide out to suitable LZs when flying the back range, many small and tight LZs (often just a trail between fields) and last but not least several high voltage power lines along the mountains where one has to take care not to get boxed in between the lines and the slopes.

Shuttles and taxis to the launches leave every morning from the market square (8,000 -10,000 COP). As long as one lands close to a road getting back to town is easy and cheap as well with one of the many local buses or hitchhiking but landing away from roads may mean a long and hot walk through the fields.

The locals are super friendly and very helpful but not many speak English. Spanish translation apps are very useful.

Accommodation can be arranged with the flying outfit Cloudbase Colombia, at one of the hotels or by word of mouth by renting a room from local residents. Closest international airports are in Cali and Pereira with 1.5-2h bus connection to Roldanillo.

Last but not least aspiring Roldanillo pilots better like heat. We had temperatures between 30-35oC and it wasn’t cooling down much at night – not a big surprise as Roldanillo is just 4 degrees north of the equator!

But its a great spot for longer cross-country flying with an interesting mix of mountains and flat-land. I flew 5 of my 10 longest flights to date!

Dodging clouds along the mountains

Aguapanela launch from Pico

Roldanillo with launches and LZs

Sweet clouds over the flats between Zarzal and Victoria

My tracks from the second week

Blanket Pow 2017

It was so good, we signed up again! This was our 5th year at Blanket. A couple of new experiences: (1) so much snow on the first two days that it was difficult to ski anything but steep slopes (and staying away from obvious avalanche prone areas... as we had over 1 m fresh snow in 3 days). (2) Temperatures of -30oC on the last evening. Heated toilet seats came to mind during the morning visit to Contemplation Point!

After spending way too much time editing videos years ago I decided to focus on still images. But the great image quality of the new GoPros and a good deal on one were just too tempting. Here is a quick edit of the skiing:



Blanket 2016/17 from Wetcoast Views on Vimeo.

Early and Cold Winter 2016

While we were enjoying the Mexican sun in early December the South Coast got hit by a winter storm. The spouses of  our flying friends were stuck at home shoveling snow. First ski reports came in at the end of October, though we waited until late November until we got our skis out. Nothing new as this happens frequently. But usually several juicy pineapple expresses take care of the snow and December and January are relatively dry. Not so this year. 2016 brought an unusual cold spell of 6 weeks frost that lasted until mid January.

Valle de Bravo - December

We are just back from a great week of flying in Valle de Bravo. Our third time there and my favored visit. At times I took advantage of flying with a Norwegian group and their guide Ronny and especially of his efforts to help the stragglers in his group to keep up. He spirals down to the low pilots and leads them to the next thermal while the rest of the group waits up high. Very nice!

It was my first flight over Espina, Magey and Divise and all of this on my first long flight of the week. And I made it back to the lake and Valle de Bravo on 5 out of 7 days. So much fun!

Above El Penon launch

Cloud street on the mesa

Heading to Avandaro Lake (Valle de Bravo town is on the right shore)

My tracks of the week

Our accommodation was very cool too; bit of an uphill hike from the LZ but much quieter than the places we stayed at before and rather 'whimsical'.