Saturday the crew headed up for some fun at the short divide. Cody's back went out, so he volunteered to drive for the day. The conditions there were the strongest I've personally launched in. Still, the site worked great for us. Matt, Greg and I were in the air and benched up by 1:45pm, but none of us were getting much higher than 8500 ft. Greg was the first to break through 9000 ft, as his drift took him due north over the back of Gunsight Peak. Matt climbed through 9000 ft and turned north along the ridge line that runs parallel to I-15. He disappeared low into the the mountains behind launch. Greg and I were not anxious to make the same choice.

Over the next half hour, Matt reported rough conditions and minimal gains. However, the last transmission I heard from Matt, he was at 10,000 ft and crossing Weston Canyon. My plan was to wait for a better climb and take the same north east track as on previous flights from the Short Divide. An hour and some change after launching, the thermals began breaking through and we were getting better climbs. At 10,500 ft, I radioed to Cody that I was heading over the back. With a reasonably flat glide, I cruised the following 5 miles losing minimal altitude. I arrived over a series of small hills that yielded a 500 ft per min. climb back up to 10,500 ft. I topped out in the lift and headed downwind. The next few miles was very similar to my last flight in the area. Moderate ground speed and slow climbs. I ended up landing 25 miles from launch. Greg had a hard time getting high enough to go over the back and settled for staying local. Cody found Matt at the mouth of Weston canyon and was soon on course for my pick-up along highway 91 outside of Preston Idaho.



Flying. On course.



Not flying. A picture of the side of our house. The concrete retaining wall was poured last year. A few weeks ago construction began to complete this ambitious landscaping project.