It was a hot, high pressure day in the mid 90's, with just enough of a sw breeze to funnel the thermals right up launch in some nice cycles. We launched around 3:30 and found just enough ridge lift to allow us to "hang in there" until we could core a thermal for the ride over the upper mountains within about 15 minutes. Like any other hot, high pressure day, the thermals were strong and sharp-edged, with some pronounced sink inbetween - especially closer to the mountain. My GPS registered some basetube-grabbing "jolts" at near 1,400 fpm, which then settled in at up to 1,000 fpm - although most were between 400-600 fpm. As we climbed away from the mountain and closer to cloudbase, the lift seemed to smooth out and strengthen.
As we climbed through 12,000 feet, we found ourselves "over the back" heading northeast, as the mountains seemed to shrink beneath us, looking more like a 3-D relief map laid out below us from horizon to horizon. I drifted downwind with that thermal for a few more miles, finally topping out at 12,621' at which point I lost the lift. By now Cody had returned over Gunsight Peak to work another thermal which he eventually took to 16K! I decided to go on glide toward a cloud street to the northeast, crossing into Idaho. At this altitude, I felt a strong tailwind, which my GPS confirmed, showing a groundspeed of 51 miles per hour! It's amazing watching the miles tick away at nearly one per minute. Unfortunately, I was also descending at about 500 fpm, and the cloudstreet was dissipating when I arrived underneath it. By now I was about 300 feet over the valley, when I ran right into a nasty, bumpy thermal that I arm wrestled with for about 10 minutes, until it finally spit me out over a very nice, large, inviting field next to the highway. I set up a long upwind final approach, and elevatored down to a gentle no-step landing in a 15 mph headwind, about 16.4 miles from launch.
I carried my glider across the field next to the highway, and as I yawed it around across the wind, I saw a family of kids all standing in a big front window in the house across the road, trying to figure out how I had come to land in this field! After talking with the friendly homeowner, I learned that I had landed just north of Dayton, Idaho,
- right next to "Winward Avenue". I broke down my glider and continued talking with Cody on the radio. He had taken a different, more westerly route across the valley. I encouraged him to continue going for miles, but he decided that the XC potential wasn't that great, and opted to land near Preston, Idaho for a quicker retrieval, at about 20 miles out.
Although we didn't go all that far, it was the first rowdy/rodeo air of the season for me, allowing me to increase my "bump tolerance" and reminding me how to arm wrestle with the hot summer sky. Cody and I had a blast airplay'n, and it was my first opportunity to use my radio with my new official call number! I also learned that I need to invest in a modern vario, so that I have a better chance of riding the thermals to cloudbase, after my main reference point - the mountains - shrink far below me!
Airtime: 1 hour 30 minutes!
1 comments:
What a ride!? Looked nice -
What is a Mt vario? Glad you both had great rides - Love, Mom
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