The Friendly Skies of Short Divide

Friday Cody rallied the troops to plan an XC adventure from Short Divide on Saturday. The favorable forecast indicated that topping off our oxygen bottles might be a good idea. By 2 pm, Cody, Greg, 'Berg and myself were queuing up to launch under mostly blue skies and 90 degree temps. Dorothy was standing by, ready to drive chase. Cody launched first, followed shortly by myself in my BIG F3 Tandem 225! We found frequent thermals as we soared the small launch ridge, but they were tiny and tough to core. After a half hour, Cody caught a bullet that, in 2 or 3 turns, allowed him to bench up over Clarkston Peak! I tried to follow, but fell out of it.


Greg, 'Berg and myself spent the next hour scratching low, searching for a ride to the top. I tried to stairstep my way high enough to bench up, but every time I pulled in to stay safely in front of the ridge, my single-surfaced wing quickly descended, resulting in little net gain. Greg flew out over the valley, got spanked by a gnarly thermal and then landed safely in tricky conditions. 'Berg then flew over the newly plowed bailout LZ, found some nice workable thermals, and took one all the way back to the mountain!


After 2 hours of arm wrestling testy thermals down low, my arms and shoulders were toast, so I flew out over the bailout to try my luck. I found abundant lift along the little bench to the north of it, and soon found a fatty that I could lazily circle in and climb out. My vario chirped happily as I crested the summit ridge line and the 360 views opened up around me!


It had been nearly a year since I had climbed out over Short Divide, and this was the first time in my Falcon! The lower performance and lack of VG made it challenging, but not impossible if patient and persistent.


I was now able to relax, stretch my legs, and get the kinks out of my shoulders as I explored familiar ridges, saddles and peaks on my way to Gunsight in the buoyant afternoon pre-glass-off.


The view from there was spectacular as usual, as I could now see up the freeway to Malad. Cody and 'Berg had already left on course to the north when it looked like I wouldn't be able to bench up. Given the late hour in the afternoon, I opted to stay local today and enjoy the ride.


I flew back toward Clarkston, and then spotted a sailplane back over Gunsight Peak! I reversed my direction, and soon found myself sharing a thermal with the big glider as we approached 9,000 feet. The other aircraft only made 3 or 4 circles before pointing toward Logan, joining up with another glider on the way. (I hurried and snapped a picture as they flew away, but my old point and shoot digital camera did not do it justice.) I watched from my vantage point as they paused to enjoy some looping action before descending to land at the airport.


By now, Cody had followed the ridge nearly to Malad, where he landed out and was quickly retrieved by Dorothy. 'Berg had landed near the Portage exit along I-15.


Nearly 4 hours into my flight, I decided I should leave the amazing glass-off and land while I still had the strength. I watched the paragliders soaring the little bench north of the LZ as I scooted over the back and began my descent into Clarkston.


I safely landed, broke down my glider and retrieved my pick-up, filled with gratitude for my time in the friendly skies!


Airtime: 4 hours 10 minutes!