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Early build-up
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Moustiers Ste Marie
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Another long tow to Trainon (yes, again...) led to a strong first climb, but today's cloudbases were relatively low and indistinct which immediately framed the day as one with limited opportunities. The only sensible option I had was to head south, over the lower hills, towards
Puismosson. The visibility was poor too, so eyes were on stalks as I approached the busier traffic near the Serre
Montdenier.
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Montagne de Coupe
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I had a go at heading north just in case cloudbase had lifted a tad in the time
elapsed since I had launched, but I was quickly disappointed. Running along the montagne de Coupe was fine, but cloudbase dropped at
Couard and was well below the top of the Cheval Blanc, so I abandoned all thoughts of the parcours and headed west, back towards the club,
now looking at the Vercors as having greater potential.
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I admit that I went a little off-piste at Malaup, wondering if Colombis would be ok, but a struggle at Montserieux
persuaded me to return swiftly to Plan B. I passed Serres and got as far as the northwest of Aspres when I saw more storm build-ups and heard
depressing radio messages concerning rain at Chabre.
Oh well, best not to cock it up on the last day, I thought. So I headed back towards Sisteron, studying the advancing storms to determine whether they would disperse in time.
Once again I went into parking mode near Hongrie and the Gache, as the sky grew darker. There was
now no sun on the ground, but enough heat was getting through to generate weak thermals. I stayed until I saw a bank of rain moving
rapidly eastwards from Ribiers, at which point I decided to come in and land.
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Time's up, sunshine...
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So, not a great day, all in all. Except that as I later counted up my flying hours for this holiday, I realised that this
particular flight had marked my 7,000th gliding hour. And yes, I'm still learning....
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It's a wrap - thanks again, Sisteron
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