Fly with caution.

Today's forecast was again for a strong chance of thunder storms. When we arrive on launch it doesn't look very good and no one is staying up. When the sun pops out from behind the clouds I grab my glider and start setting up. Nicole, Greg and a few other paragliders launch about half an hour after the sun comes out and struggle to stay up. I suit up as their is a storm forming across the valley which I fear could come over and end the day. Greg is reasonably high and Nicole is still trying to stay off the ground. It is still early by Golden standards but I decide it's time to get going.

I have a hard time getting up too but find enough lift to get me to 7000' with a couple other pilots. Once the lift stops I head south to the punch bowl directly below Mnt 7. I'm reminded why we call it the punch bowl. I continued on to Willi's knob on the south end of Mnt 7 which works well. I climb out to 9000' with a few paragliders. We all head south and get drilled. Every one turns around and heads back to Mnt 7. I climb up again over Willis knob while the rest of my group head back to launch.. I get back to cloud base and look at the storm across the valley. It's time to go land or get going south. I turn south and get a much better glide this time.

With cloud base being so low I need to stop and climb after short glides if I want to stay over the range. I get back to cloud base over Kapristo and keep heading south. Climbs are week and broken. The air is very turbulent for the poor lift I find.

Once down at at Spilli I start down the back range as it is much faster to stay over the high peaks. With cloud base so low I soon jump out front so I don't get caught behind the front range. I continue to push south getting lower and lower. I get high enough height over the low hills at Spur Valley to get in front of the cliffs at Edge water. I find my first good thermal of the day and climb to 10,000' before I pull out of the strong lift. I gain another 700' flying away from the strong lift before I get away from it. The cloud wasn't very big or dark but I was glad I pulled out early as I never like to get into clouds. I make a few turns in stronger lift on the way to Invermere and arrive there low. The Valley here is shaded and I go into survival mode to stay off the ground until the sun comes out. Finally I work weak lift high enough to connect with stronger lift. I get back over the high peaks south of Invermere and push on to Fairmont.

I can see big storms forming to the north east and push harder to keep well ahead of them. I get a good climb over the last big peak at Fairmont and head south towards Canal Flats. I've never been this far south before and head towards ridges I hope will be working. Finding only very week lift I head out to the huge fields at Canal Flats. Many flights end here because you have a big jump with no landing fields to the south. It's late and I'm not at cloud base. Today hasn't been a very good day any way and I'm not going to push further south knowing I'm probably going to have difficult landing options. I burn off 3000' of extra altitude and land into a south wind. I get packed up before the gust front hits and into the local restaurant before the rain starts. Lucky for me when I call for a ride Guy's wife is in Radium looking for him. Soon I was picked up and heading home in good time.

It was tough flight but felt rewarding to make it so far on such a difficult day. Total distance was 148km. Now I need a better day to make Wasa!

Luck was on my side.

The forecast was for light east winds and chance of thunder showers. I got off launch late after Ross and Doug. Once I got off the hill I climbed out fast to 4000m right over launch. I stopped over mount seven in strong lift for a few turn to top up a bit. I pushed hard trying catch Ross and Doug. I caught up to them at Spilli right at the edge of the storm coming from the south. Ross and I pushed closer than may have been wise before turning around. Ross said he raced all the way back to get away from the storm. I felt like I was far enough in front and not pushing really hard coming back. I wanted to head north to get a little extra distance. I climbed over mount seven to 3500m watching the storm behind me guessing how much time I would have before the gust front hit. I watched Doug climbing up from low thinking that was a bad idea as I thought I was pushing my luck. I head across the valley toward moberly and then turned and came back to land at Nickleson. I had a nice landing in no wind. I took off all my gear and started to talk to Ross and he said gust front. I turned around and saw the dust kicking up across the street. Seconds later it hit us hard. Several pilots were parked over the field with paragliders going backwards. Serge, Doug and Dave Bacon all had very hard landings and were not able to control their gliders at times coming into land. Half a dozen paragliders were blown back and landed in the swamp. Lucky no one was seriously hurt. I would like to say I had good judgement landing before the front hit but the truth is I was a little lucky getting in before it got ugly. More storms forecast for today so lots of people taking the day off with the weather looking good for the rest of the week.

Heading back to Germany!

Thanks to the US team some how piling my glider on with thier's,(I'll see if I can get a photo) I hopped a train back to Douselldorf. More presice a new friend dropping me off, a bus, a cattle car that sleeps people, a sub way across Paris (hurry your going to miss your train), a bullet train (holly crap thier fast), another train and a cab to the airport. It was interesting but would have been super stressful if I would have been trying to get back in time for my flight. Getting around France is tough as no one speaks English. I had no idea I needed to goto another train station when I got to Paris.

I thought about touring the south of France before heading back but decieded to head back to Germany first and then rent a car and goto Holland. I thought about Berlin but it's a bit of a drive. I offered to take some luggage for the Americans as the Van they rented was over flowning, literally. They had bags strapped to the top of the gliders. As Jeff said, "we look like the beverly hill billys. Lucky for me they declined my offer. I thought I would have lots of room on the train. I was wrong!

First the bus had almost no storage underneath it. I had to hold my harness in with my foot and then slam the door closed fast.

Next the cattle car train. It was an over night train so the cars are made for sleeping. One car has six cot's. The compartment is just wide enough to walk into with beds on both sides three high. Again just over head storage. I put my bag on an empty cot, lucky for me.

The sub way, well it's just like our trains. Good thing it was Sunday and not rush hour traffic. I had more room on the subway than the rest of my trip.

The bullet train has a little shelf for luggage which was already filled with other passengers luggage. Lucky the overhead storage fit my largest luggage. People just weren't very impressed getting hit in the head with it.

The last train again had only over head storage which was just big enough for fanny packs. I filled two empty seats with my bags. Got lot's of funny looks but no one said any thing. Not that I would understand them any way. Finally back to Douselledorf and piled all my crap into a cab.

Ran out of time.

Sorry I didn't finish my last post as I ran out of change and time. The big upset the last day was when Manfred landed at the first turn point, this left it open for Alex or Jonny to win. I'm not sure what Manfred did but I think he may have been trying to shake off pilots following him around. Jonny finished second on the day but too far behind Nene to get enough points to catch Alex in the over all results. Alex had heard that Manfred went down early and said the last hour was the hardest flying of his life. Many of these guys have been trying to win the worlds for a long time and with Manfred in the field, having won three world titles, it's a tough task. With the worlds only happening every two years you don't get many chances in your life time to win. Just ask Andre Wolfe or Gerolf.

The Americans did really well. With Jeff winning the first day and Dustin finishing 7th and Zac 4th. I was really impressed with the US team. They could be a force if they all stick with it. Several others in the past have shown so much potential then fade away. I feel really lucky to have been a part of the worlds this year and had a great time. The great thing about these comps is the new friends you make and seeing old friends you only get to see at comps. This was no exception and I meet some great new friends that did a lot to help me out. I felt like an orphan that the world adopted. I look forward to trying to make it to Italy in two years.

Huge upset!

We had a good forecast today with little chance of over development. The forecast was for noth west winds which caused some indecision on which launch to use. After sending us to the lower north launch they changed thier minds and sent us to the uper south launch on Chabre. This sucks for me because I get to set up as far away from the parking lot as possible. It's the hottest day we've had yet and I am nearly dead by the time I get my glider to the rigging spot. Not to worry as the poor launch conditions mean I get to wait a long time before I will get to launch.

Our line moves the slowest and we are launching to the south while the other two lines are launching to the north. Half a dozen pilots from our line move to the other lines after they are cleared off. I am the third or fourth last off and find some weak lift to get me above launch. Eventualy it turns on and I get to cloud base five minutes after the second start window. I don't want to wait another 15min as we have over 150km to go. I just need to get there. I push hard by myself and get good glides and manage to catch a gaggle from the second start at the first turn point. I continue pushing and doing well catching up with pilots along the way. Just before Gap I get low and have to take a slow climb which will eventually turn on and get me back to cloud base. I make over the second turn point and no one is climbing very well so I just keep going. I glide to the dirt with a lot of other pilots around the second turn point.

I was happy with how I flew today just wish we could have had more days so I could have gotten into it a little sooner. More later on my trip home.

Looking like a good day.

Looking great as the launch opened.

Major Screw Up.

We had high hopes for a good day today hoping the rain would stay away long enough to have a task. The sky looked good when we arrived at the top of Aspes and the wind started to blow in nice again today. The task committee called another short task of 113km. People were in line early again but their didn't seem to be as much panic to get off as yesterday. With launch conditions looking perfect I decided to wait to launch and spend less time avoiding mid airs. No one looked like they were getting very high but I needed to get into the air in order to make the first start.

I had a slow climb at first and I was not getting quite as high as some of the other pilots a few hundred feet above me. A few minutes before the first start I hit a strong climb. You know you found good lift when the people around you all slot in under neath you. You know you've hit great lift when half the field comes charging toward you. I topped out a couple minutes after the first start and I watched a couple people head out on course. I figured I would go on course and most people went. My GPS wasn't navigating me to the turn point and I started to wonder if I programed in the task wrong some how. A lot of pilots write the task on a piece of tape and put it on their base tube. I was starting to wish I had done this so I could change to the first turn point. Even If I could stick with the group a 400m cylinder is hard to hit with out an instrument. As I was getting to the top of the first thermal on course it hit me. An 11km start circle! I was out side the start when the time switched over. I had to go back and get a start or score zero for the day. I got drilled when I got back to Aspes and took 1/2hr to get back to base. 15min late for the last start and on my own I just wanted to make it to goal. I stayed over the mountains on the way to first start point but still managed to get low just before the first turn point. I worked weak lift trying to get as high as I could before the turn but just drifted farther away. I saw several gliders on the ground around the turn point and finally I just pushed forward and got the turn point. When I hit the cylinder I found lift and gained some height. I had taken so long that I decided to just push forward. I hit a boomer down low and took it right back to base. I could see rain ahead but thought I would push forward. I was under the first really dark cloud and it was really lifting. Looking towards the turn point it was obvious I wasn't going to make it ahead of the storm. I punched in the camp ground coordinate and headed home. A few others did the same after the task had been stopped. The back the times up 15min from when the stop the task. I probably won't even get the first turn point. This is really going to hurt my score for the day. On the bright side I don't really have very far to fall any way. I heard several guys made it in to goal before they stopped the task. Some of them won't count when the back the times up. That would really suck. Sounds like Obrian may have missed it by a minute. Zac said he had goal on glide when the task was called. Hoping for good weather tomorrow.

Canada Day

Happy Canada Day!! I hope you all enjoy the fire works tonight.

Todays forecast was for thunder storms again. They sent us up Aspes and tried to get us off as quick as they could. It's a bit of a drive and not easy to send 120 pilots off on a task. They called a short 89km triangle landing back at the base of the take off. It's an open launch when we fly at Aspes as the set up area is massive so when your ready to go you step into the launch line and go. With pilots getting stuck on launch yesterday every one seemed keen to get off right away. I find it amusing that these are the very same pilots who complain about having to fly around for 1.5hr waiting for the start. I just sat and visited with Jamie and some of the ground crew watching every one pile off trying to climb out while not running into the other twenty pilots that just launched. It's bad enough 1000' over never mind 20'. It's not the marginal launch conditions of yesterday it's blowing straight in, just walk off when ever your ready. You still need to wait for the first start in over an hour. So I finally go back get suited up and bring my glider down to the front. By now most of the field is waiting at cloud base as it gets darker and darker. I throw my self off with only about ten people left on the hill. I climb up to base with 25min left to spare. I won't have to wait this long as the clouds get bigger and darker I see pilots heading out towards the valley. The task has been canceled. Back to the campground to avoid having to do retrieve. When I get over the campground I count forty gliders on the ground and another forty in the air with me. I watch glider after glider land hoping I will have some space with the half dozen gliders I'm going to have to land with. No traffic control and no motor to stay up and wait until it's clear. When it's your time your gonna land. I did a standard aircraft approach into the Field and wondered what the guy beside me was doing. I took another look at the wind sock and the wind had turned 90 degrees. Oh shit new plan. Turn into the field and put out the air brakes so I don't run out of field. An early flare and drop down behind the guy who landed just before me. It was a fun flight and I think its good to get every one flying even if we don't get a task to keep everyone from getting too stressed.

The author of the Irish blog getting jiggy with one of the locals.

A great day ruined by bad weather.

Sorry for not posting sooner. We had a pasta dinner put on for all the pilots last night. By the time I got done flying I didn't have any time before heading off to dinner.

The forecast was for thunder storms yesturday so the task was some what short and they tried to get pilots off as fast as possible. Sadly the launch conditions were very difficult and getting the whole field off was not an easy task. Many people were complaining they didn't have the chance to get the first start. This is normal. It was only a big issue today because the task was stopped and you get scored to where you were when the task is stopped minus 20min. So the earlier you left the further down the course you could make it. Even with my poor 105th launch slot I was still able to get off and at cloud base 2min after the first start.

Given the high chance of showers and the way the sky was looking I deceided to head out on course rather than wait 18min for the next start. This turns out to be a wise choice when the task gets canceled. I head down the ridge instead of on course line as I'm hoping to find better lift along the ride. Talking the long way around staying over the high ground the whole way works well until I get to the turn point. Low at the turn point, I struggled to get back to cloud base. Once pilots catch up from behind we get back to cloud base and head on course. As we get closer to the turn point it's obvious the day had been cancelled as the sky was looking ominous. I was going to head away from the storms to nicer looking clouds and maybe wait to see if the sky would clear so I could make it back to the camp ground. Then I noticed Julia spining down. I looked down and saw 40 hang gliders already on the ground at the sail plane port beneath us. Looks like a party so I started to spin down as well. It was a long way down considering we had just gotten back to cloud base. It was my best scoring day so far. As long as it dosn't get thrown out on protest.

It was a fun day of flying too bad it had to be cut short.