Ski season approaching fast

The season is upon us! Today started the annual Park City Mountain patrol lift evacuation training. Over 75 full time patrolers as well as a few weekend volunteers showed up for this week long training program. The training includes rope ascending and other specialized high angle rescue tactics.

Saturday 10.12.07

Greg and I went to the point Saturday morning and managed to squeak in a bit of airtime. We got there around 10am. There were several para's in the air along with John Lindberg, flying his Falcon. We set up and waited as the wind slowly diminished. Finally a promising cycle or two coaxed us out into the waining morning lift. After a few top landings things got real light and we decided it was time for lunch. After a quick Mc d's run we returned to the Point only to find the getting light trend continued while we were gone. We hung out for a while longer hoping the predicted pre-frontal winds would manifest. No dice! We packed up and headed for downtown where we sat in on a session of the semi-annual USHPA board meetings - interesting.

Now and Then

Finally I purchased a new (well slightly used) computer. I had worked myself into a corner with my old 350 mhz G4. I picked up a powermac G5 dual 2.0 gig beast, and it seems to be the perfect system for my recording project.

My current project should be finished by Thanksgiving, if all goes well. I will post some pre-production, partial song files on the blog soon.

For your enjoyment, a few pic's from the Valle De Bravo trip this past winter


Cody and Greg chillin' at Fly Mexico's lake front LZ


The lemmings all lined up


Bruce launches after the lemmings trundle off

Change in the Wind

This past weekend we got slammed up here in Summit Park. I guess a little taste of what mother nature has in store. The snow was gone by 2pm, but it's remained unseasonably cool. However, Clay and I got up early this morning and ticked off a few routes in little Cottonwood Canyon.


A look out the the back of our house



Clay leading up some fine climbs in Little this morning

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.

Lessons In Collision Avoidance

Yesterday part of the gang flew Inspo. When we arrived the wind was a bit stiff, and as a result a van load of bag pilots were calling it quits (and wishing they had hang gliders). Val, Jeff, Greg and I set up and within the hour I was launched. I was surprised to find myself scratching to stay up. I was soon over the sub-station near the bail out LZ, barely maintaining 400 ft above the ground. I was able to stay in the lift and climb high enough to fly near the the big green LZ. There I worked some light lift, but was soon making turns setting up my approach to land. The rest of the gang had better flights, but reported nasty conditions. Later Greg was heard on multiple occasions making "there I was" comments. Not too long after I landed, Greg and Val appeared high over the LZ. By that time the big green LZ was transformed into a soccer circus, with a few hundred kids playing and oblivious that soon they would be under attack from the air. With the LZ 75% obscured with kids, Greg and Val pulled of respectable landings and managed to avoid hitting anyone. After a two hour+ flight, Jeff showed us all how to thread the needle. Jeff landed well even though the number of soccer players multiplied.


Some of the kids were shocked as the gliders seemed to appear from nowhere. Greg on final.



A few shots of Jeff weaving through the maze



A couple of future pilots

The Space Between

I don't know if Dave Mathews meant for his song to be interpreted this way, but I'll take the liberty to believe right now I'm in the space between. The last week has been filled with far more work than play. Today I was working on a decaf at Starbucks when Greg called. He offered to drive down to the Northside of the Point where we could possibly cash in on a bit of much needed airtime. After several rounds of calling back and forth, we decided it was too late to make the drive down south. So I guess it's just more work until the end of the week.

A few Valle De Bravo pics from our winter trip to Mexico.


An amazing residence with some killer ironwork


One of my favorite memories of Valle. After a short hike one evening, I was rewarded with a great overlook of the town.

Catching up

Julie's Birthday at Maza

This summer there's been so much blogging about flying adventures, I've neglected a few important moments. Julie, my wife, celebrated her 39th birthday September 4th. I took her to Maza, one of her favorite middle eastern restaurants where we enjoyed the evening with friends.


A pic of the studio

One of my long time music friends came out last month for a week. We spent most of the week writing songs and just having some good times.




Finally the 110 ft driveway is complete, as well as most of the rough landscaping at the house. (Proof that I do work)

Inspiration Point 9.8.07

Jeff and Greg at launch

Saturday started with welding my broken truck rack. I used the truck for staging a zip line that served to load 45 lb. retaining wall blocks down into the side yard of our house. After 275 blocks, a weld on the rear rack failed.

Later in the morning Greg and I conversed over the phone about flying, and by early afternoon Jeff, Greg and I were setting up at Inspo. I was surrprised at strengh and consistency of the lift. With smoke in the valley as a result of few Idaho fires and light winds, it just didn't seem like it was going to be a great day. We watched a few bags launch, and as they climbed out effortlessly, our motivation to get into the air shifted to second gear. In near-record time we were all three launched and climbing out. The thermals were small and punchy, but they seemed to converge at a few thousand feet over launch, making them biggger, stronger and more pleasant to core.



A shot of me above Cascade


Viewing the top of Cascade with Timp in the background

Jeff was seen from time to time when he slowed below warp speed, but just as he appeared, he would vainish without a trace. Greg and I followed Jeff south to Rock Canyon, and before Jeff could finish radioing, "lets head for the Y" (a land mark south of Rock Canyon), it was as though a giant sling shot catapulted him forward. Greg and I opted to follow a scraggly thermal that landed us over Cascade. At one point in a thermal over Cascade, we were joined by a golden eagle. Priceless! Later we crossed Provo Canyon and onto the flanks of Timpanogas. All three of us spent a good 45 minutes or more on Timp climbing out in smooth late afternoon thermals, enoying the great lift and incredible views.


Timpanogas


Jeff's duct tape wonder


Greg landing


Jeff in the big green LZ - photo Greg Billow

More From Saturday

Greg's wife Jennifer took some pic's on Saturday and I just figured out how to open the files.


Greg and Cody with Cody's neighbor in the background



Me landing at Cody's house



Greg's kids, Emily, Page and Jeremy



One of Cody's dogs

The Wellvilles

Launch

The Wellvilles are a range of mountains slightly north of Brigham City, Utah. It is a perfect formation of crags and peaks that looks as though God designed it specifically for soaring. I have eyed them for years. Everytime I drive up to the Short Divide, I pass the Wellvilles to the west and wonder about the possibilities of flying the perfect range. Cody and Greg flew the Wellvilles in June after being introduced to the site by a local pilot, and since then I have pestered them about flying there. This past Saturday the weather conditions looked poor around Salt Lake for flying and there wasn't enough wind for the Short Divide, so we came up with a plan to fly the Wellvilles with Cody's house (and a barbecue) as our goal - which works because Cody's house is only 8-10 miles to the east, over the back.


Bruce launching


Greg


Greg

Finding a driver is always an issue, especially with sites like the Wellvilles. Because the launch area is an hour's drive from the LZ and because the road is very primitive, you don't want to drive back up to retrieve your vehicle. We were in luck! One of my friends from Texas was out for the week and we managed to hornshwaggel (in Texas a word meaning to coerce or finagle) Darryl into driving. Darryl and I met Cody and Greg in Brigham City around 12:30 pm, and before long we were on the road to the Towers launch. The road to the top is in my book a catagory 4-5, with 5 being the nastiest, scariest road I've been on. Along the way to the top Darryl could be heard muttering short sentences under his breath like, you crazy fools do this for fun?, as well as making reference to situations where one might have brought along a case of pampers. At one point for meanness Cody locked the doors and sped up the truck just to dispell any ideas anyone might have about abandoning the truck.


Greg


Bruce


Bruce


Cody


So we made it to the top without incident, and we were rewarded with one of the most beautiful launches I've been on. We quickly set up in the afternoon breeze, and before long I was launched and circling in a little disorganized core above a craggy spine just north of launch. The thermal amazingly came together, and I was soon a few hundred feet over launch. The boys were quickly suiting up and making their way to launch as I was coring my way to a thousand feet over. Greg and Cody took off close together and were soon making the best of the late afternoon lift. At one point, in the words of Darryl, Cody was well below the prominent point in front of launch and out of site when he meandered into a decent core that saved him from a premature landing. The boys stuck it out in the light lift for another 45 minutes and managed to climb out to a thousand and some change over. Greg was the next to go over the back and with his altitude managed to fly to Pisgha Peak, which is the mountain directly over the back. Greg was amazed to see Cody venture over the back, being only a few hundred feet above launch, the Code Man got drilled and ended up landing in Sardine Canyon. Greg soon found himself out of lift and low and opted to land in the same wash Cody had landed in earlier.

I was able to manage a bit more altitude and squeaked over the back. I landed at the Dobson's residence after conversing with Cody several times on the radio regarding the location of his house. We all ended up at Cody's house where we had a great barbecue and enjoyed the Dobson's awesome digs.




Cody's backyard

Flying 8.26.07

XC season is quickly winding down with fewer and fewer of those stellar days left, as the gang experienced yesterday. The call was for Inspo, with a few other pilots making Crawford's their destination for the day. Jeff was the first to launch with me trundling off close behind. Within minutes of launch, we both ended up thermaling together just a few hundred yards north of the overlook. It was cool thermaling with a world class pilot (hehe). We were at times quite close, but I felt very comfortable taking some turns with Jeff. At one point we were in the same thermal, but turning in opposite directions at the same altitude.... still felt like it was a no brainer. At some point we split up, and I ended up low over the sub-station near the bail out LZ. I was able to work some light lift that drifted toward the primary landing area, and after a few minutes I was on glide to the big green cushy field. I was soon joined by Jeff. Above a pic of Greg on approach.

Meanwhile, Cody was in the air making a valiant effort to stay aloft in the light conditions. Cody's flight lasted 15 minutes, and he probably felt like he earned every second of air time. Greg was last to launch, and after watching Cody land in the bail out LZ after a short desperate flight, Greg was motivated to wrangle out some much needed airtime. Greg was soon on the fast track to joining Cody, but he hooked a solid core and after a great recovery, bought himself a one-way ticket to the big green field.

There were hundreds!

Yesterday Greg and I ran down to the North Side. The weather information we got on the internet looked like conditions could be strong later in the day - a good thing. It had been over a month since Greg had flown so he was excited about the possibility of getting some airtime. As we approached Draper around 3:30 pm, the wind was barely moving the flags along the freeway - a bad thing. Dude was the only other pilot at the Point when we arrived, and he was set up and ready to go. Dude's readiness and enthusiasm motivated us to start throwing things together in the light winds. As we were setting up, Dude began making his way to launch as a few paras threatened to take to the air. Minutes later he took off in a good cycle and without too much effort was benched up. (For those unfamiliar with hang gliding lingo, the Northside launch at the Point is only 200+ ft above the ground with a 1000 ft ridge directly in back. Typically the goal is to get to the higher ridge - benched up).

Soon after Dude launched, a visiting pilot took off only to find himself in the bailout LZ below launch a few minutes later. I launched into a decent cycle, and benched up rather low on the west end of the main ridge. As I watched and waited for Greg to join me, the air at launch was quickly transformed into a sea of bobbling panties - (para gliders). This situation is the bane of all hang glider pilots, especially for Greg at this moment. As fate would have it, the horde only thickened, further frustrating Greg's launch efforts. Finally Greg had a decent launch window and folded into the currents of airborne jellyfish above. Later we all landed safely with a little more airtime to log.