Summer Arrives at Short Divide

Landon and I went out to Short Divide Wednesday for some airtime. The Spring rains finally stopped for a couple of days allowing for the warmest day of the year at about 90 degrees. On launch the wind was straight in, but cycling from about 8 mph up to 15. A bit light for a tandem launch, so we waited to see if it would build and fill in. At about 4 pm conditions were the same, but after watching a red-tailed hawk catch a ride and speck out, we decided to attempt to follow suit. We picked a good cycle, but still had to earn our launch with a few extra steps as we made our seamless transition into the sky. We safely skimmed over the juniper covered launch ridge, as Landon was happy to be "back in the harness" again. As we watched two deer running through the trees below us, we quickly found a number of moderately strong thermals which took us about 100' over launch. We were unable to replicate our feathered friend's gravity-defying feat as we gradually descended to the lower ridge, set up our final, and came in for a safe wheel-in landing.

Airtime: 15 minutes - YeeeHaaaaw!