Last Flying Day of the Summer

Here are a few pics from flying at Inspo on Friday.



With the fall colors close to reaching their peak and the crystal clear air, the day was brilliant.

Cody had been in Park City for a conference this morning with plans to fly in the afternoon. Greg and I were eager to join him for an end of summer flight at Inspo. The conditions were supposed to be strong and pre-frontal, but the wind was light when we arrived at launch. A few bags were out in front staying up in the light lift, giving us hope. We watched as one bag thermaled out of sight in the cloudless pristine air. We were getting a late start, and on top of that Cody was 45 minutes behind, so he opted to forgo flying and drive for Greg and me.

I followed a bag off of the hill and into a nice cycle. The para found better lift out front as I was barely maintaining to the north of launch. I managed a few hundred feet over launch before the thermal fell apart. I ended up snagging a good core out front over the gazebo. I followed the light lift and drifted slowly back over launch and ended up at 11,500 ft above Cascade. In an attempt to capture a few shots of the fall colors, I flew south to the end of Cascade and over Rock Canyon where there was a high concentration of colorful trees. The air was a bit textured, but I managed a pic or two, then climbed out in a raspy little core to 12,500 ft. Greg launched, but in the waning afternoon light found absolutely nothing. It was his shortest flight of the season. He ended up landing in the bailout LZ.

I thermaled on Timp for a while, and with a glassy ride out over the valley the day turned out to be a 10+. I ended up landing in the big green LZ with an additional 2 hrs to log for the season.




The city of Provo


Looking south and over Rock Canyon.

Last week after flying Inspo, I asked Jeff why he didn't get on Timp after thermaling high over Baldy (a smaller mountain in front of Timp). He answered, " the closer I got to Timp, it was as though she was breathing on me - heavily". Today I noticed the same thing, but it felt more like she was exhaling violently. Must have been some sort of mixing layer. Regardless, after a few turns over the spine I felt unwelcome and flew west towards Baldy.





The gang ended up at the Spin Cafe in Heber for some good food and relaxation.