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.

Horns Of Satan

Clay Watson called on Thursday looking for a climbing partner for Friday. Clay seems to always have something in mind that exceeds the norms of climbing. In our phone conversation, he briefly mentioned a route in Albion basin on Devil's Castle, an eight pitch line named The Horns of Satan. I was in! The next morning we met at Clay's house which is at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon. Along with Erik, another one of Clay's climbing partners, we were on our way.



The route just left of the black streak


After driving up Little Cottonwood Canyon, we arrived at the campground in Albion Basin in the Alta ski area. We sorted our gear and headed up the valley toward the prominent wall in the circ-like formation. Forty minutes later we arrived at the base of the wall, racked up, and with Erik linking up the first two pitches, we started climbing. The first two pitches proved to be as expected, loose and dirty, as a constant rain of gravel sized rock pelted Clay and me.

We used a method for accomodating three people on a climb that worked quite well. The leader ascends the climb with two ropes, sets up his belay, and brings up the remaining two climbers simultaneously, each on their own rope. With the second and third climbers staggered 10 - 15 ft apart, it surprisingly goes quite smoothly. The problem is, if you have never used this system the belay area can quickly become a rats' nest of tangled rope. Clay took the third 5.10 pitch, and it turned out to be one of the better sections of rock.



Clay, looking for pro


I linked up the forth and fifth pitches and ended up meandering around on a 45 degree loose section of rock with no gear, searching for the route. 150 ft above the belay ledge and unable to find the anchors for the next pitch, I set up a belay in some crappy rock and brought Clay and Eric up. Erik took off on pitch six and seven. After rambling around unprotected for fifteen minutes, he finally found the anchors that I had missed. Clay and I were quite relieved to have Eric clip in to some solid pro.



Clay topping out on pitch six



Erik and me



Erik finished off a great lead on the 5.9 section of the climb and began belaying Clay and me. Halfway up the 5.9, I gingerly passed a huge flake that looked suspect. As I was moaning and cursing the loose rock under my breath, I barely weighted the tip of the flake with my right foot. Instinctively, Clay quickly moved out from beneath me as the slab of rock tore loose and pummeled the earth below. We finished the pitch, which turned out to be quite fun, and organized our ropes and gear on the roomy ledge.

Clay took the lead on the stellar 5.10c crux pitch, and was soon bringing Erik and me up. Erik led the final 5.6 pitch to the top of the ridge line. The hike off is essentially following the ridge toward Sugarloaf, then a quick descent to the car via a well beaten trail.



On the ridge line

Three Days of Understanding

After being blown out at Heber Friday and Saturday, returning with the same wind forecast seemed masochistic. Sunday morning Cody, Jeff, Steve, Lisa and myself were setting up on launch at Heber as the wind slowly strengthened. 20 to 25 mph with gusts to 35! Jeff was first off then Lisa. Cody, Steve and I soon followed. Cody and Lisa had clean launches, but immediately after, they were rocked like rag dolls for a few seconds. Surprisingly, the air was somewhat smooth once you were a few hundred feet over. It took over an hour before anyone was high enough to attempt flying over the back.



Steve's carbon fiber base tube on his Atos broke in mid-air, forcing him to abort his flight at around 100 miles out.



My Talon at launch


Jeff Obrien on launch after helping Cody and I stuff battens!


Lisa V


Cody Dobson

The clouds looked great for XC. Streets were beginning to form on route and the cloud tops remained relatively low. Cody was first to go over the back at only 10,000 asl. Soon the whole gang was en route with Cody out front. Lisa V landed in the Bail out LZ after determining the conditions were over the line for her. After leaving Heber at 10,000 asl, I was low over the back near the I80 - 40 junction. At 8200 asl I found a solid thermal over the cement plant, the lift topping out at cloud base - 15,000 asl. At Chalk Creek I was low again but managed to thermal out and continue on course. From Chalk Creek I stayed high all the way to Evanston and remained above 12,000 asl until reaching Little America. My flight ended 81.5 miles from launch at Lyman, Wyoming. Cody was 85 miles out when he landed near Highway 189 in Wyoming. Steve's carbon fiber base tube on his Atos broke in mid-air, forcing him to abort his flight at around 100 miles out. Because the Atos doesn't rely on the control frame for structural integrity, Steve managed to bring the glider in from 14,000 asl for an eventless belly landing in a big grassy field. The big news is Jeff broke the state record with a killer 220 miles!!

I'm sure he'll post the flight later on his website - http://hang6.blogspot.com/

Finally the weather cooperates. Sunday I spent the afternoon at the South Side waiting on the wind to calm down, only to watch the wind drop from 35-40 mph to zero in less than five minutes - no flying. Monday however was a bit different. The air dried out and it looked as though it may have been a big XC day from Heber. I had seven yards of concrete to pour.

Tuesday Jeff and I met at the Inspo LZ and decided on an early launch, with the prospects of getting high and linking up Inspo and Heber. It turned out to be a bit to early. Jeff and I ended up scratching around close to launch, and after wrangling with little unorganised bullet thermals for an hour, decided to use the little altitude we had to make the big LZ . I was hopeful when at one point in my flight I found a resonably tight thermal low above the bailout LZ. The lift was drifting directly toward Timp, but after a thousand feet + of gain the thermal flatened out and would have left me low and deep in Provo Canyon. We both ended up landing in the main LZ. The remainder of the week looks great - more later!

Monsoon shmonsoon

Typical nasty weather


It's been dismal for flying around here lately! The Monsoon flow has been great for our drought conditions, but also extracted a low yield for XC miles. Practically everyday we have seen big over-development in the mountains and some rain in the valleys. This past weekend was a bust. Greg was out of town, Cody could not be found, and other pilots who have been flying here in Utah forever were in a quandary as to where to fly. Guess we'll just half to wait and be patient while mother nature does her thing.



Early afternoon cell



All photos courtesy of KSL News

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.

Short Divide 7/15/07

The crew converged around noon at the gas station below Gunsight Peak. After grabbing lunch, we headed up to launch and set up our gliders - and waited. Out in front of launch it was blue with some high cirrus clouds. The problem was the over-development behind us. Around two o'clock, Jeff decided the growing clouds behind us were not a threat and he proceded to ready himself to launch.

Jeff gave it a valiant effort and lasted thirty plus minutes in the raspy, unorganised thermals. The launch at the Short Divide is only a few hundred feet above the primary LZ, making it difficult sometimes to gain the higher peaks in back of launch. However, once you are a few hundred feet above launch, you enter the lift band on the main ridge, and you're "in like flint"! Soon after, Cody launched with a repeat performance. Practically a carbon copy of Jeff's flight.


Jeff helps with Cody's launch




The conditions began to change. The southerly flow became more consistent, and nice looking cumulus clouds began forming out front. I launched, and not too long afterward Greg followed. I was able to climb out to ten grand under the growing cu's and fly upwind eight miles, following a distinct convergence line marked by the nicely formed cu's. Greg played in the smooth evening ridge lift for a while and topped his flight off with a good landing.


The field I landed in, with Gunsight Peak in the background


Greg gets his gas money

Colliding forces

Julie and I arrived at our home in Park City Sunday morning. The trip went fine and our flight back to Salt Lake was routine. Yesterday Greg and I decided to fly the point. Being rather late in the day when we left and given the conditions, we both had reservations about our soaring prospects. As we began setting up, brothers John and Guy Lindbergh along with Dude, showed up and began unloading gliders. As we were closely monitoring a growing cell over the Oquirs, Greg noticed a quickly advancing gust front moving into the valley from the Lone Peak area. We hastily broke down our gliders and loaded up. As we watched, another micro burst from the south was heading up the valley toward the lone pine gust front. As were leaving the point we watched as the two, mainly dry, gust fronts collided. Kinda cool - wish i'd had my camera!

Time to Kill

Tuesday, Julie and I traveled to Oklahoma to visit my parents for a few days. On Thursday morning we borrowed one of Julie's parents' vehicles and headed south to Abilene, Texas. On the way down to Abilene, I couldn't help but notice the great cumulus formations that made up endless cloud streets. I've always been fascinated with weather, especially with cloud formations. Before learning to fly hang gliders, I realized and appreciated the awesome power of thermal convection, personally experiencing several tornados and viewing a few from afar as well. To harness that power (in a very limited way) and use convection for non-powered sustained flight, is a dream come true. Literally!

From time to time as we traveled the two lane highways connecting the small Texas towns, we encountered overdeveloped cu's with small diameter bases but towering 25,000 to 30,000 ft. tops. Hope someone's out here taking advantage of these great soaring conditions!

We're heading back to Utah on Sunday morning. The soaring conditions here in Texas make me look forward to the remainder of the XC season in Utah. Still plenty of time left for fulfilling personal goals and record breaking flights.

Today started with high hopes for high mileage. Most of those plans quickly dwindled, as a driver could not be found for our retrieval purposes. Both Greg and Jeff bailed for good reasons, and Cody and Dorothy are in Florida. So I set out for Inspo on my own. Once on top the conditions looked rather poor. It was hot with very little wind. I felt a repeat of yesterday's sledder comin' on. A few para gliders set up and thrashed around on launch in the light but sometimes trashy thermal cycles. The paras finally took off only to find light conditions out front as well. The paras flew around for half an hour or so and landed below in the school LZ.

A fine shot of Mt. Timpanogas courtesy of Jeff Obrien

A fire that started at the base of the mountain a few days ago burned all the way up to launch, leaving an 800 acre black spot on the hill. Can someone say thermal generator? Not long after the paras landed, I noticed small dust devils forming on the blackened hills below. At times there were five or six going off at once. Ironically, just last week I read an article in the latest Hang Gliding mag about a similar occurrence. The fine black ash left behind after the fire is easily picked up by the dust devils, therefore marking these small meteorological phenomena that normally could not be seen by the human eye. Anyway, that was enough to get my butt in gear and get ready to go. Right after launch I encountered a somewhat solid core that put me a grand over Cascade. After hanging out in thermic ridge lift on Cascade for half an hour, another solid core landed me at 13,950. With the strong south wind, I was over Mt. Timpanogas in no time at all, losing only 1,500 ft. I continued soaring Timp's awesome spine for over an hour. After leaving Timp and a 30 min tour over Provo, I landed at the main LZ. To top things off, for the second day in a row Jeff drove me back up to launch to retrieve my truck!! By the way, his phone number is 1-800-IDRIVEU.

Stuart's Arete

A few weeks ago I was able to climb one of my favorite routes with a fellow climber who doesn't get out much. Stuarts Arete is a three pitch climb in Big Cottonwood Canyon that fit our agenda for the day perfectly. Its rated 5.6 in the guide book, but the third pitch is a stellar 80' knife blade arete with one bolt and no gear! You never really feel like your sketched out on the last pitch, but the excitement factors is definitely there. There are tons of routes in Big that are fun and enjoyable. Maybe the reason I climb there more than anywhere else is because the rock reminds me of the sandstone back in the south - where I honed my climbing skills.



Jason, obviously pleased



The right side of the formation falls away drastically into Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Heber 6/23/07

The whole gang showed up on Saturday for a potentially great XC day, with possibly Evanston Wyoming and beyond a goal. Greg, Cody, Jeff O, Steve and myself found ourselves at the top of Heber launch around noon with drivers Dorthy and Chickadee in tow. As we were setting up, high level cirrus clouds began spreading out, thwarting our chances for good thermal production. However, one by one we committed to the air sustaining two to three hundred feet above launch in ridge lift - very few thermals. It wasn't until an hour after launch the high clouds began dissipating and we began climbing out in moderate broken thermals. Cody, Jeff and Greg got the first good thermal. I watched from below as the crew circled higher and higher, drifting back behind launch. As Steve and I were working the leftovers, I heard Cody on the radio. He and the others were at eleven five and heading over the back toward the 40 -I80 junction. Steve and I managed to eke out ten five, and headed over the back. Only a mile behind launch, Steve and I found a great thermal that took us within gliding range of Park City. Steve continued to work the lower part of the thermal and managed another 20 minutes in the air before landing just southeast of town. I was able to hang on in the better part of the lift and managed eleven and some change. Greg and Cody had Wanship on glide. With a bit of an altitude edge I decided to make Chalk Creek my next waypoint along the route. Jeff was satisfied with making the junction his goal, making a shorter day of it and earning brownie points with his wife.

The route to Evanston from Heber is a complex line that requires an intelligent strategy. Fortunately I was able to cash in on some great info, thanks to Steve's willingness to share some of his knowledge of the route. My track continued 10 miles past Chalk Creek and just short of Evanston by fifteen miles. I landed in a small flat field by I80, full of cows. A whopping 39 miles. Cody followed close behind me, landing in Chalk Creek for a twenty nine miler. Greg decided to cut his losses and backtrack a bit, landing at the junction (by his truck).


It was one of the quickest retrieves thanks to Dorothy. At seven pm we were at Greg's house in Park City enjoying a great evening of food and friends.

From Iran with Love

Two weeks ago My daughter Melissa and her husband Hamid visited us. Melissa and Hamid are film makers and reside in New York. Recently their work has taken them to Hamid's home country of Iran where they shot footage for their new documentary about a wayward girls school. It's interesting to hear Hamid's perspective of life in Iran. Sounds very similar to our country's youth regarding the administration here in the homeland.



Anyway, we had a great time hiking and hanging out.



Melissa and Hamid have several films of interest. However, their newest full feature film, "Day Break" is a great little indie film thats worth searching out and watching. You can find information about Day Break and more At www.prometheuscinema.com/Prometheus_Cinema/daybreak/cast-crew1.html - 13k -.

The Three Amigos and Dorothy

Some flights are permanently etched in my memory. Enduring memories that are easily pulled up for daydreams and such. This past Saturday's flight was definitely one of those.

Cody, Greg and I met at the Short Divide at noon. Cody brought his wife Dorothy to serve as driver for the crew. Steve Rathbun showed up around the same time with his driver, code name - Chickadee. We arrived at launch and began setting up. The wind was strong with embedded powerful thermals. We knew from the abundance of dust devils in the valley below, it would be a interesting day. All set up and ready to go, Cody was first to suit up and head for launch. As he was picking up his glider, he somehow torqued his leg the wrong way and totally disattached his MCL. He was positive of the extent of the damage, a year earlier he sustained the same damage to his other knee requiring surgery. Bent over in pain, Cody hobbled about for a few moments insisting we duct tape his knee so that he might continue with his launch. Ten minutes later he was in the air. Greg and I soon followed and within thirty minutes we were all at around 11,500 ft and heading over the back. Within ten minutes of heading out, we were low and seriously looking for lift.




About 1,200 ft agl we began turning in light lift that seemed to be everywhere. The beautiful patchwork of hayfields were yielding the heat they had stored up in the early afternoon. In the strong south wind, we all three circled lazily for miles gaining only several hundred feet. We drifted toward a very flat range of mountains with a narrow pass that had no good landing zones. I was tempted to fly west toward a highway that ran north, which had plenty of adjacent fields for landing. I noticed Cody thermaling in the foothills of the flat range, so I ventured north toward him and found significant lift that turned into strong lift, strong enough to attempt crossing the flat range. Cody, Greg and I were soon high over the range and heading into Grace Valley. With abundant lift we crossed Grace Valley and over the next range of mountains. We then headed out over the town of Soda Springs . Not long after I was set up for a non-eventful one step landing. Cody landed several miles further and Greg landed in Grace Valley. 60+ and 35+ miles respectively. Thanks to Dorothy, we were soon having the turf and surf special at a local restaurant.



An hour after landing, a gust front blew through leaving a great rainbow



Waiting for Dorothy

Nashville - "beat goes on"

One of my ongoing projects is assembling a compilation of songs I have written, and releasing a CD in the near future. The songs I am working on are mainly older tunes that never were recorded - with a few new songs thrown into the mix.

I flew out to Nashville last month and did a bit of work on the project. John Willis, known for his recent work on Kenny Chesney's new CD, played guitar on four songs. One of my old friends Phil Keaggy did some great guitar work on two songs and Gene and Susan Miller sang background on a couple of tracks. I was so fortunate to have one of my favorite female vocalists, Missy Hale, sing a duet with me on a song I wrote many moons ago.



John, in the creative mode



I was so impressed with Johns new Pro Tools studio, and blown away by his guitar collection. His performances on the tracks were so fresh and creative.



John's new digs



Gene and Susan Miller. Gene is currently touring with Kenny Logins as well as Peter Cetera of Chicago. Susan is a session vocalist in Nashville.



My sis Judy, one of my loyal fans

The Short Divide

The Short Divide, Cody Dobson's home site, was the place to be on Sunday. Even though it wasn't an incredible XC day, the site handled the strong south winds, no problem! Last weekend Cody, Jeff Obrien and Greg Billow had great XC flights with 80+ and 60+ mile flights respectively. So the whole Salt Lake crew came out for a possible repeat. Lisa V , Val and Sam had thirty mile flights while Greg, Cody and myself eked out a measly 13 miles. Steve had a long flight, but remained out front on the lower bench and landed safely in a big plowed field not too far from the main road. A great site with fantastic XC potential. Maybe next weekend.



Lisa V prepares to launch



Greg giving Cody a "pep talk"



Julie, one of our trusty drivers



Yours truly

Northside 5/14/07

A gathering of hangs and paras showed up this afternoon for some fine air! The early afternoon was dominated by half a dozen hang gliders, but it wasn't long until the sky was inundated by airborne jellyfish. There's lots of room in the sky, so no worries! Several Hangs ventured out into the gap, only to find little thermal activity. The main ridge behind launch was pumpin' out some descent thermals for a while. Early evening smoothed things out and the air became quite glassy until sunset.

More True Tales

Today began with a bit of work this morning - I wrapped it up and headed to the valley where I met Val and Greg at the Point of the Mountain. From there, we decided to drive down to Inspiration point in Provo and check out the possibility of flying. It had been an awesome day on Wednesday. Several pilots reported gains to over 13,000ft asl. As it turned out, the wind was a bit to cross and strong, so we headed back to the south side of the Point. When we arrived the conditions were too strong there as well. So after all the driving Greg and I were determined to fly, so we set up our gliders and waited. Several pilots from Telluride were in the process of setting up when we got Back to the south side. We hung out for a few hours and told stories until the wind finally began to tail off. At around six thirty, we began trundling off launch. A total of six hang gliders flew including a couple flying Tandem. The air was mildly textured at first, the later it got the smoother the air became. After my first twenty minutes I landed and re-launched. I noticed Greg and one of the Telluride pilots on the west end of the ridge. They were working some light but consistent lift and seemed to be staying higher than the others. I flew over where they were and enjoyed some very smooth lift that got us to 700 -800ft over launch. For fourty minutes, we worked a very smooth convergence area just in front of the prominant point on the west end. Great fun! Moma "S" pays out again!!

Mountain Travel and Rescue course

This past weekend I participated in the Mountain Travel and Rescue course, organized by the National Ski Patrol. The course began last month and included five three hour classes at the local REI. The course culminated this weekend with a three day backpacking trip to Albion Basin, which is just outside Alta Ski Resort. We began with a short but demanding two and one half mile hike into the basin. The objective of the course is to enhance a ski patrolers knowledge, as well as learn outdoor survival skills. Once we were at our destination, the first order of business was to build snow caves. After only three hours of grueling digging, our shelters were complete. We cooked dinner and promptly crashed in our ice dwellings. The caves were actually quite warm. If the caves are built properly, air that is warmed by respiration's and body heat are trapped in the upper part of the cave where you sleep. Cold air settles in the bottom of the cave and is carried out by gravity. The next few days were filled with mock searches, map and compass exercises and and a pretty cool rescue course. Anyway, great times!!



Matt, a fellow patroler, heads up a fixed line



Amazing amount of snow! Amy, on a compass heading



The spot we made camp was in a little mini cirque, as you can see in the background. Perfect for the high angle rescue scenarios



The last night we had an insane bon fire that left a fifteen foot wide by six foot deep crater in the snow, (we had to fill before departing the next day).