|
        
| |
|
  |
|
|
Pelvoux
|
|
| My plan
today was to fly only if there was a positive forecast; yesterday
had been a good day and I didn't want a three-hour grind like I had the
day before, particularly as I was facing a long, long drive back to the UK
tomorrow. Typically, the forecast for the north was excellent, the only
problem being that getting away from the local area was likely to be
difficult.
And so I joined the single-seater queue and prepared for
flight. Tug KB is not the most powerful tug, but for the past few flights
that was the one that always lined up in front of me. But today, I won my
round of "Kilo Bravo Bingo" and actually got a tow behind the
more powerful Hotel India, which got me quickly to Hongrie into a
4-knotter well above its summit, thus avoiding the need for a longer tow
to Trainon. |
|
|
Glacier Blanc, in retreat
|
|
| After a
brief fumble at Blayeul I was away to the parcours where the fresh
north-westerly wind was most effective in chopping the thermals close to
the south-facing ridges. Slightly uncomfortable, but once in the core the
lift was strong and smooth. Lift wasn't confined to just the ridges either
- as I crossed from Morgon to Guillaume, right over the middle of the
lake, I found a solid 4 knots that took me from 7,500ft to 9,000ft: I
suspect a bit of wave enhancement was going on there. That made Guillaume
an easy target, followed by the col des Terres Blanches and Vautisse.
Keeping to the west of the St Crepin valley I made
successive steps up to 13,000ft, above the Pics d'Agneaux, overlooking the
Glacier Blanc (what's left of it, after this very hot spell). The
cloudbase further north was a little lower over the Maurienne and there
were no clouds at all towards Bardonecchia. When John in 150 reported that
a two-seater glider had just landed at Le Rosier, that effectively made up
my mind for me not to push my luck on the last day. (Le Rosier is a small
and therefore difficult field, in a high valley with a tricky approach.
I've been there on foot and still couldn't work out the landing
direction.) |
|
|
Col de Galibier
|
|
| I
sneaked a look at the col de Galibier, hidden under a sheet of cumulus,
and then headed back south, flying over the top of the Barre des Ecrins
towards the parcours via the route royale. Cloudbase remained
unusually high as I headed still further south towards the lac St Croix
and the gorges du Verdon. The 60km or so into-wind leg back to Sisteron
went well and took my OLC distance to over 400km for the day. |
|
|
Les Mees
|
|
| This
was to be my final flight of this particularly fine summer visit, so I
took a good last look around the cuvette before making an early landing.
This had been an excellent day and I was really happy to have made the
decision to fly. John McC kindly helped me to derig
and I took the trailer back to le Mas du Chene ready for a really
early (pre-sunrise) start the following morning.
I will miss this place. |
|
|
FIN
|
|
|
| |
|
