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Over the Queyras
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The
forecast was for a very good day, blue over the Ecrins and Queyras, with a
possibility of going further north. An early start was called for: the
local Nimbus was away straight after briefing. From Sisteron, long tows
are required for early starts. Unfortunately the CFI dispensed with his
tugging duties in favour of providing some Duo Discus instruction, so we
were down to just one tug, which explains why, when my turn came to
launch, it was already past noon. On the plus side the thermals had really
got going by then, so I managed to reach the Briancon area in fairly quick
time. |
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Viso
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One
of my many failings is an occasional inability to follow through a plan.
So, just before reaching the col d'Etache, having flown through a fair
amount of sink, and seeing a clear blue sky in the Modane valley, I wimped
out of going further. There was a little hesitation as I saw distant puffs
of cumulus on the western edge of the Vanoise, but not enough to persuade
me to continue. The OLC reveals my folly...
So, southbound again...over the tops of the
Queyras into the Barcelonette valley, past the cime de la Bonnette, Mont
Pelat, the lac d'Allos and down the Colmars valley with the intention of
turning Puismosson. Cumulus was plentiful here, with strong lift to match.
As I passed the lac St Croix it made sense to carry on further south
following some very good looking strings of cumulus as far as
Quinson. |
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Lac d'Allos
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Then it was a case of seeing how far north
I could get before wrapping up the flight. The parcours was working well
and at Guillaume I decided to follow the Route Royale as far as the pas de
Cavale and the Valgaudemar. Fantastic scenery here as I flew between
multi-coloured peaks, their heads in the clouds. As I made my way home the
odometer ticked over 500km, so in the end it was a very satisfying day for
me. |
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Route Royale
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