Short Divide Deja Vu (All Over Again?!)

In honor of all mothers, this posting (and Saturday's flight) is dedicated to MY Mom! Thanks for all you have done over my lifetime - and thank you (along with Dad) for allowing my hang gliding habit to start while I was still in high school :-) She even hang-drove for me on a number of occasions - how great is that?!

Saturday's forecast was not very promising - light NW winds, gradually turning westerly. I had resigned myself to a lazy Saturday of spring yardwork and home improvements, but the 2:00 observations said 8-9 mph due west in Ogden. I decided that a quick drive to "the Divide" might yield some airtime. Upon arrival it was cycling right into launch at 8 mph, building to 12 mph, about 60 degrees under mostly sunny skies. I took my time setting up and refining my camera boom-mount, hoping that conditions would strengthen and "fill-in". (After all, I have some catching up to do after such a long, snowy winter!)

By about 4:45 I decided that conditions were as good as they would get at about 12 mph, building up to 16 mph. After about 5 minutes timing the cycles, I had a strong, healthy launch - anticipating an extended sled ride. I immediately headed for the "house thermal" just south of launch over the rock outcropping, and was greeted with a nice skyward jolt prompting me to circle and core the lift! The thermals were big and strong enough, but they seemed to fall apart before I could get high enough to drift back to the face of Clarkston Peak. I spent over 15 minutes going up & down, honing my rusty thermalling skills. I worked an area just above a sidehill cut in the road where Cody said he has found some nice elevators. I worked the meager lift there for 5-10 minutes, until I finally managed to stay in one all the way to the face.

I then worked the zero sink and 100-200 fpm along the lower flanks of the mountain. With one wingtip seemingly feet from the scattered junipers, I had to work each little bump, spine and gully but I finally crested the summit ridge, and then everything turned on, with abundant lift everywhere! YeeeeeeeHaaaaaaaw!

I love a good no-brainer day like last Saturday, when you just climb out and easily bench up, but there is a lot of satisfaction, enjoyment and just plain fun that comes from a day like today - when you truly earn your wings climbing the mountain!

I boated around over the mountain, eventually crossing the valley and working my way over Gunsight Peak, providing views south toward Ogden and north into Idaho. By now the air had turned magical, with zero sink everywhere, in-between large, soft-edged thermals yielding from 400 to 1,000 fpm climbs! It was a bit late to head out XC with no chase vehicle, so I stayed local and just enjoyed all that Short Divide has to offer. To avoid breaking down in the dark, I headed over the back to begin my Clarkston descent. I left just enough room on my video memory card to film a respectable two-step landing. Life is Good!

Airtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes!