Short Divide Doth Provide!

AIRTIME, that is! The forecast for today was a bit "iffy", but Cody & I decided to make a quick trip to Short Divide and maybe catch a good thermal or at least a nice sled ride. Upon arrival conditions looked much better than forecast, and we quickly, but carefully set up! Cody helped me launch first, and I soon found the elevator which allowed me to drift back and climb over Clarkston and Gunsight peaks! I watched Cody launch as I was climbing the mountains, and he wasted little time benching up himself. Within ten minutes we were both cruising around at over 9,000' msl, finding the tops of the wide 400-950 fpm thermals at just over 10,000' - 4,100' above launch and 5,000' over the valley floor!

The sky was slightly overcast, with patches of blue sky peeking through. At launch it was about 65 degrees, but over 9K it was chilly! I boated around over the mountaintops as Cody explored his speed range on two or three long glides out over the valley, racing back to the mountain with altitude to spare - someday maybe I'll be as speedy as him :-)

After over an hour of fun, we went over the back, only to find all kinds of lift over Clarkston! I went halfway to Newton Reservoir, but turned back a little late. I came up about 50 yards short of our usual Clarkston LZ, but it was just over another wide open field. The gentle upslope came up to meet me as I lit on terra firma and walked up to the corner LZ, just as Cody came in for a nicely timed flare! This seems like a rather auspicious beginning to a new flying season!




Here is a mini-movie from some of the flight! At the 1:00 mark you can see Cody walking his glider down to the slot launch. At the 3:36 mark you can see him swoop down just off my left wing!

Airtime: 1 hour 25 minutes!