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Grand Paradis
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Alex wandered past the Pegasus at around
11:30 while Steve, Tony and I were having lunch, and he advised us that
conditions were already very good, and maybe we should consider an early
launch. I had already seen early cumulus over Hongrie and didn't need
telling twice, so I prepared 245 and got on line. The forecast was again
good for the north, after a front had passed through yesterday, so I had
high hopes of a trip to the Maurienne.
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Into the Maurienne
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Hongrie worked as promised, although I did
need a while to get away properly. Les Monges was interesting, as I squeezed
past its northern slopes towards Blayeul at a height rather lower than I
have so far been used to. I worked past Oratoire and then direct to la
Blanche, Dormillouse and Morgon. Crossing
the lake I noticed a glider very low at the foot of Guillaume, so I
hedged my bets and went for the tete de Lucy, rather happier with my
altitude than his. It worked and I then followed rising cumulus as I
approached Pelvoux. My track towards the col d'Etache was blue, but I felt
fairly confident that I would get some good lift, and was proved right on
the Rocher Bernaud where an 8-knotter got me to a most acceptable 13,000ft.
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Grand Paradis
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I passed over the col d'Etache and worked the
mountain to the Modane valley. Lift was not easy to find as I flew over the
snowfields towards the head of the valley, although my safety field at
Solliere was always in reach. Just short of the col de Carro I found enough
of a thermal to get me over the border into the valley leading to Aosta.
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Grand Paradis
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It was now 4:30pm and, as I didn't want to
break my self-imposed return time of 5pm, I decided to spend some time on
the Grand Paradis, the eastern ridge of the three that run to Aosta from the
col. I was also a little wary of how the Aosta valley was looking in terms
of clouds and wind. It is a beautiful
part of the Alps, with far more snow than the Ecrins, and I spent half an
hour or so exploring its peaks. As cloudbase was 13,500ft, it was easy to
make the return through the col de Carro. I stayed high over the
south-eastern ridges of the Modane valley and worked my way to the col
d'Etache, just before which a handy climb made the crossing easy. From there
it was an easy return, via Pelvoux and the pas de Cavale, back to Sisteron. Shortly
after my landing, Ed and Robin arrived with their EB28, having flown from
Italy for a few days at Sisteron. They also reported odd conditions in the
Aosta valley, so perhaps my caution was justified.
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Glacier Blanc from Pelvoux
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