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| Storms |
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Col de la Bonette
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After our day off we returned to the club with renewed optimism, particularly
given the morning's blue sky and good visibility. Jerome still warned of storms, so we would need to keep an eye on any developing Cu
Nims, but the day would still be reasonably good even if early landings would be required. There was
also still
some north in the upper winds.
Most of the British contingent had left for home, leaving just us, David and Marion, and a couple of newcomers from
Talgarth, Robbie and Don. |
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Frozen lakes near the col du Larche
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| We needed long tows today, towards Trainon, as Hongrie did not seem to be kicking off any thermals. Well, so we thought; Dave (with an engine-less Pik) had asked for a tow to Trainon, but as they arrived at Hongrie the tuggie reported that he was low on fuel and politely asked Dave to get off. It took a sweaty hour or so before Dave managed to get away to the parcours. |
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| I had no such distractions, and worked from Trainon to Authon, Auribeau, Blayeul and the parcours, tracking into the Barcelonette valley via the Grand Seolane, operating at around 10,000ft. I then worked my way around the eastern bowl of the valley over the col du Larche, joining the southern edge of the Queyras towards Viso.
The clouds were brewing (now with 12,000ft bases but
growing tall) and after gliding north to Briancon and getting rained on, I
decided to return to the Gap valley by the pas de la Cavale. I could now
see five distinct Cu Nims, one of them over the Sisteron valley. Gliding
into the grey sky it soon became apparent that this one had nearly blown
itself out. That said, there is nothing like a few nearby lightning flashes and a
welcoming airfield below to help one make the correct decision... |
Pas de la Cavale
Afternoon storms near Sisteron
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