Alex's Flight (Photo's 27-28)

The second Blizzard of '06 wasn't as bad as predicted so I didn't get stuck in Montrose today, but I did get stuck in Denver. I had 4 hours to do nothing but edit photo's, which is exactly how long it took me to finish editing photo's from our Moab trip in November. Here a few more shots from 29 Hours - 29 Photos. Jo shot a sequence of my launch that I thought would be best as a slide show (photo # 27).

Here's the base shot of the sequence and in my opinion the best shot of the trip (already posted in a previous post). You can tell by the curl in my VG chord (the string below my body) that the glider is not flying yet. I wore orange socks that day and I love how the sock on my right foot sticks out.



This is another favorite from that sequence. By this point I'm established in the dive and the glider is flying. It's framed nicely between Jeff and Adam's gliders on the ground and the rocky edge of the cliff.

Blizzards and Holidays

I've been in Maryland most of last week and without highspeed internet, hence my lack blogging. Blizzards and holiday travel are never a good combination, but when your travel method is by standby the result is usually many hours in the airport without ever leaving. The first blizzard of '06 gave me 7 days off for the holidays. My original plan was to got back to MD for Christmas, but with 5000 people trying to get out of the airport my only chance would be in the jumpseat. There was no shortage of pilots trying to get out of DIA so I decided to wait a couple days for things to calm down. I managed to get home on Christmas eve after getting bumped off of only 3 flights. It sounds bad, but I was stoked to get on a flight period. Andrew picked me up at the airport and we made quite an entrance at the midnight service where my Mom was waiting. After a short but wonderful holiday with all the family I made back to Colorado last night.



Having to work today I was hoping the second blizzard of '06 would come early and I would get a couple more days off. Unfortunately that was not to be. On the way to work today I stopped at the gas station to top off my tank and get a Sobe energy drink. As the tank was filling up I went in to get my Sobe. My flavor was sold out, mildly annoyed I kept a positive attitude. As I walked out to my truck a lady getting out of an old Chevy put her cigarette out at my feet. I longed for the time when pilots got respect. I was late, so I didn't have time to sulk that I would be sans caffeine for my drive to work. Then, just as I was pulling the gas nozzle out of my tank it exploded all over my arm. My Arc'Teryx shell protected my uniform coat from the gas, but it's the nicest piece of clothing I own. I needed to wash the shell before it absorbed the gas. I ran to the only bathroom just in time for my cigarette smoking friend to close the door in my face. I waited patiently for a few minutes, but as low frequency sounds from behind the door confirmed my suspicions that she was up to more than number 1 I needed another option. There was a sink by the coffee machine. I moved an unattended coffee cup out of the way and frantically washed my sleeve. It was too late. As I lowered my head in failure I felt a hand on my shoulder. A raspy voice smelling of ashtray said "That's my coffee." There were many things I wanted to say to the Jerry Springer Show attendee. Remembering the cigarette snubbed at my feet I simply replied with "Then you should have taken it in the john with you." as I poured it into the sink. I sped off to work angry and smelling of gas. Yes I could have been a bigger man and yes it was petty of me to pour her coffee down the sink, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time and I stand by my decision!! I'll be stuck in Montrose for the next 2 days while Denver digs out to think about it. Ha!!

No Sliding??

What the hell is Sliding? Maybe winter revelers would respect the sign if it called the prohibited offence by the right name!

This sign is located in Chautauqua Park at the Base of the 3rd Flatiron in Boulder. All those little black dots in the background are sliders, I mean sledders. Ramine got a pair of touring skis last winter and had only used them once before our hike up to the 3rd Flatiron. In fact it was only the second time in his life he had ever worn skis! I was grossly underprepared with only a camera, no snowboard, trash can lid, sled, tarp, toboggan, shovel, kayak, pretty much anything that would get me down the hill. Ramine listened to my complaining the whole way up.




Ramine did a good job going up hill, he made good time and negotiated the obstacles on the trail well. On the way down things got a little interesting. Ramine employed a technique of crashing to slow down which was hilarious and made me forget how mad I was at not bringing anything to play with in the snow.

As we reached the bottom of the hill where the "sliders" were, Jo called and was ready for me to come pick her up. Being a diligent boyfriend I headed straight for the truck trying to avoid any distractions. As I passed the sledders I thought "Maybe I'll just see if anyone needs any help getting their sled down the hill, it shouldn't take too long"; nothing but good intentions. A bunch of college kids had built a nice kicker (jump) and had an inflatable tube to go off it with. The only person to got off it was lying face down in the snow clutching his tail bone. He went down on his butt, lost the tube in the air, and landed on his tail bone. Always up for a challenge and not wanting the kids to go home thinking they had built their jump in vane I volunteered to go from the highest point on the hill. And to make it interesting I would go down head first! A hush fell upon the crowd and you could almost hear their little conscious’s telling them not to let me go, but the desire to see me crash won out and the guy holding the tube quietly handed it to me. As I walked up to the top of the hill I felt that familiar sick feeling in my stomach (fear) as the voice of reason pleaded with me not to go. It was too late, there was no turning back. Impressing these kids, who I had never met before and would never see again, was way more important than my personal safety.

I ran and dove head first on the tube. I was stunned at how fast the tube accelerated down the hill. The advantage of going head first is you can steer by dragging your feet and once in the air push the tube out to cushion the impact. I continued to accelerate the whole way down the hill and as I neared the jump I realized I was in trouble. My speed was way to high, it was faster than I had ever been on a sled before. The jump had a lot of vert built into it and it slingshot me into the air. The upward acceleration off the lip of the jump felt amazing. I was flying, it was the same feeling I get in my hang glider as the ground falls away. Amazing, I was soaring! Alas, my joy was short lived. As I reached the apex of my arc the reality that this wouldn't last for ever set it. I was high and dry (about 10 feet). I thrusted the tube out in front of me and braced for impact. The tube and I landed like a basket ball, bouncing back into the air another 4 feet. What happened next is a blur. I rolled a couple times, but never let go of the tube. I came to rest about 20 yards below the jump still clutching the tube. I sent out feelers to my limbs and to the cheers of the crowd realized I was okay.

Blizzard of 2006

At 7:12am on Wednesday morning I woke up to my phone ringing. I didn't have to be at work until 11:00am and my alarm was set for 9:00am, so I didn't answer. For the next 2 hours my phone rang incessantly. I tossed and turned, defiantly silencing the calls, while stubbornly trying to stay asleep. Finally, at 9:05am, I got up. There was about 6 inches of snow on the ground. All the phone calls were my crew members asking me if they should drive out to the airport or not. Bad Idea!



A quick call to dispatch revealed that Denver International Airport (DIA) was shut down, but they still wanted us to come in - just in case it stopped snowing. Yeah Right! It was supposed to snow for the next 20 hours and I-70 was already closed in some areas. The thought of being stranded with 5000 panic stricken travelers at DIA gave me shudders. Last time that happened I thought there was going to be a mutiny! A wise man chooses his battles in life and this was one I was not going to back down on. After some negotiating dispatch agreed with me and canceled all of our flights. Still in my underwear I jumped up and down on my bed like a 12 year old when he found out school was out for snowday. I went back to bed, while Molly "swam" in the snow.



At 4:oopm I was still in my underwear! When Jo got off work I followed her home and we shoveled the driveway. There was about a foot of snow on the ground and it was coming down at a rate of 1 inch per hour. The neighbor's kid and I built a pretty rad snow cave in the mountain I had moved from the driveway.



Jo just started a new job as an EMT and had to be at work at 7:30am this morning. There were 30 inches of snow in Boulder and her street hadn't been plowed so we got up at 5:30am to get her to work. By sunrise it had stopped snowing, but the state was a disaster - literally!



Highway 36 looked like a scene from the movie independence Day. There were vehicles strewn everywhere with a windy, half-plowed lane snaking through them. The police marked abandoned vehicles with police tape to indicate they had been searched for occupants. Trucks, busses, 4X4's, Cadillacs, and even a Hummer were littered all over the road. At one point I passed a front end loader with a 8 foot bucket moving snow.







My '97 Tacoma was awesome in the snow. I never got stuck once and the snow line was over the bottom of the doors in some places. I spent the drive back from Jo's work helping stranded motorists get unstuck on highway 36. At one point I even helped a newer style Tacoma out, proving my point that the older, narrower bodystyle is better. I hate the new Tacoma - it looks like a Chevy! He was embarrassed to be helped by me and I was sure to rub it in!

Off the Face

I've been "off the face" lately and neglecting my blog. Sadly life has been pretty boring so my adventure department is in a bit of shortage. I'm still editing photo's for 29 Hours - 29 Photos and should have some more up shortly. In the mean time here are a couple shots from a night out in Denver last week.

Union Station
I had to shoot from the front, the condo's have blocked the backside angle with the cityscape in the background (see October post), but the holiday colors really stand out.



5 Stools
I thought these stools had character, they looked like they were leaning against a fence talking. The snow added texture and solitude. I'm the only person who seems to think that because everyone I've showed it to thought it was a pretty boring shot.



Red Dragon
These were inlaid in the wall at a martini bar in Denver. I liked the dragon, but thought this shot lacked depth.



Shooting from an angle gave the dragon more character, depth, and contrast in lighting.

Batman has flown South (Photos 24-26)

It's a sad day, Batman has flown South and not just for the winter. Adam and I met on a failed hang gliding venture back in the summer of 2003. We survived a terrifying 45 minute ride up to launch with 8 other pilots crammed in the back of Zippy's truck. Zippy drove like a man possessed up the rutted windy dirt road, attaining speeds I never imagined were possible much less safe. We all wore our helmets and clutched for our lives to anything possible as we watched the tires fling rocks off the crumbling edge of the cliff that bordered the road. The old hang gliding adage that "the drive to launch is the most dangerous part of the flight" was true that day. I was so car sick when we reached launch that I didn't want to fly anymore, which was convenient because the wind was blowing down and it was unlaunchable. The prospect of riding back down in Zippy's truck was more terrifying than a downwind launch and a few of us even considered it, but eventually a thunderstorm moved in making the truck a safer option. Adam and I survived the ride back down and teamed up with Jeff for many other flying and non-flying adventures.



Adam finished his Doctorate at University of Utah in September and last Friday started the long move back to South Africa with his wife Shela. I have mixed feelings about his move. I'm sad that such a good friend has moved not only to a different continent, but a different hemisphere, but also applaud and completely understand his moral decision to bring knowledge and talent back to his home country. With Jeff and I asking endless questions and being skilled distractions, he spent the past 5 years conducting research in Utah that has contributed to the collective knowledge on global warming. His contributions are truly making the world a better place. As a tribute to the end of his chapter in Utah here are a few pics from Adams final flight off Horse Thief Canyon (2 are previous posts and have already been counted in the 29).







Adam and Shela will reach Capetown via Chicago after a short stay in London. I wish them safe travels and look forward to the hang gliding trip to ZA that my future holds.

Contemplations from the Edge (Photos 20-23)

Hang gliding is a sport that demands a large amount of dedication, passion, and love from it's participants. That's not to say that flight, in one it's purest forms, isn't worth the hours of learning to fly, studying soaring, driving, setting up, break down, setting up only to break down, and sinking out. Simply put the amount of work vs reward is higher than most sports, but unlike most sports getting higher is the reward! Here are a few non-hang gliding activities that took place out on the cliff during our trip.

Problem Solving
Who should go first?



Recreating
Dogs are an essential element of the sport.



Relieving
Results in lighter wing-loading and increased pilot comfort.



Contemplating
"I'm hungry!"

Jeff's Flight (Photos 16-19)

Here are some photos of Jeff's flight during the
29 Hour Trip to Moab. He was the first to launch so I figured I would show his flight first. Note: all of these were all taken by Jo.

Contemplating the Tip-Toe Launch

Just After Launch
(This one doesn't count because I posted it in a previous post, but the sequence wouldn't be complete without it)



Flying into the Canyon



Buzzing the Mesa



In the Flare

2 V-Tails Land Together

Kim sent me this. On November 6th a Beechcraft B-35 V-tail Bonanza landed on another V-tail Bonanza at Los Alamos Airport in NM. Apparently the guy on the bottom had tuned to the wrong CTAF (common traffic advisory frequency) so neither pilot heard the other. There is no tower at Los Alamos Airport so pilots are soley responsible for traffic avoidance. For the news story and video click Here.

More 29 Hours - 29 Pics soon!

Ski-Gliding the Eiger

With all the snow we've had in Coloardo the past week I've been itching to go snowboarding, but alas I spent all my recreation money on the trip to Moab last weekend. Who needs money though, there is always the backcountry right! Yesterday would have been the day, but I was the only one motivated to hike and going alone just isn't a safe option. So to ease my need for powder I've been drooling over this video I found on the OZ Report about Ski-Gliding down the Eiger in Switzlerland. It recently showed up on YouTube, which is more blog friendly.



Ski-Gliding is similar to paragliding, but done with a smaller wing that has a lower glide ratio. For those of you who don't know about paragliding, it is similar to hang gliding, but instead of a rigid glider it is done with a high aspect ratio, multi-cell, inflatable parachute. The gayness of paragliding has always prevented me from trying it, but ski-gliding is different enough that I think I could take up the sport without it affecting my heterosexuality.

Juniperus osteosperma (Photos 12-15)

On Sunday morning, after recovering some of my body core temperature (which had dropped because Jeff had stripped me of my sleeping bag in the sub-zero temps), I noticed this Utah Juniper Tree (Juniperus osteoperma).

The morning sun was still low on the horizon and the light was very warm. Standing alone, growing out of a crack in the rock, the mix of leaved and bare branches gave this tree a very animated character. Adam estimates this two and a half foot tall juniper is approximately 100 years old and in poor health. Junipers can live for thousands of years. One of the oldest junipers in Utah is the Jardine Juniper which has a great mountain bike ride up to it. It's 3200 years old and you can find more about it Here.



It's humbling to think that when this waist tall tree sprouted out of the rock 100 years ago the Wright Brother's first powered flight at Kitty Hawk was only 3 years old, San Francisco was in ruins from the Great Earthquake of 1906, and WWI was still 8 years in the future.



The passage of time in the desert happens on a different scale. Signs of the past are painted beautifully on every canyon wall. Not covered by soil or forests millions of years of erosion are visible in the features of the land. Evidence of the beginning and end of life are everywhere. It's a land of extremes - which I think is why I find it so appealing. It's a place where it isn't necessary to jump off cliffs to feel one's own mortality, jumping off cliffs just accentuates the feeling!

29 Hours Story (Photos 3-11)

Adam called the Monday before Thanksgiving and proposed a one day trip last Sunday to Moab to do cliff launches in Horse Thief Canyon. I was in Philly for most of the week, but the prospect of hucking off the cliff one last time with the boys from Salt Lake was just too enticing to turn down. Jo got off work at 5:00 pm on Sat night so we planned on leaving shortly after. She thought I was crazy for wanting to drive 6 hours each way for a 5 minute flight, but just being in the desert is sacred to me. Plus every time Adam, Jeff, and I do the cliff launch at Horse Thief I'm stoked for months after.

After loading up new friends, Molly Dog and Deogie, fueling up on Starbucks and 17 gallons of 87 octane Jo and I were on the road by 7:00 pm. We were at the campsite by 1:15 am and managed to avoid the tomfoolery Adam and Jeff had planned for us (see yesterday's post). Even though it's in the desert, the elevation at the cliff launch is over 4000 feet which means extremely cold temps in the winter. It was just below freezing when we arrived. Adam and Jeff had the fire stoked for us in no time.

Adam Stoking the Fire



Adam woke me up at dawn, but the temp had dropped significantly so getting out of my sleeping bag was going to take a while. I opted to stay in my bag and inch-wormed over to the fire while we planned our flying for the day. A strong winter storm (which had dumped a foot of snow at my house this morning) was headed our way meaning strong winds by the afternoon. We decided to cliff launch in the morning and tow behind Jeff's jeep in the afternoon.

Planning our Day



Against my will Jeff stripped me of the warm cocoon that was my sleeping bag and we started the 1/4 mile scramble over boulders and cracks out to the launch site. Deogie and Molly are polar opposites when it comes to heights. The normally timid Molly has no qualms about being inches from the cliff edge while the more aggressive Deogie took one look at the first ravine we had to cross and aborted running straight back to the truck. Jeff and Adam rigged my glider while kept tabs on Deogie and woke Jo up. Not only did she brave the freezing cold to come watch, but also she agreed to photograph us and wanted to fly herself. My girlfriend is hardcore!

Jeff and Jo with Camera 1



The wind was crossing slightly from the left but it was launchable. The order would be Jeff, Adam, and me. Jeff had a great launch and flew in his quintessential style buzzing a mesa above the landing area before a perfect landing. Adam would be next. Molly freaks out when I fly, so I tied her up so she wouldn't get in the way while I gave him a hang-check. She barked non-stop the whole time. "Nothing compliments my anxiety more than Molly's panic-stricken barking." were his words. I couldn't agree more, no cliff launch would be the same without her! Adam had a textbook launch and made a couple passes against the far canyon wall before a great landing.

Jeff Launching



Adam Against the Canyon



Our normal no-wind technique at this site is to run a couple steps, so the glider has some airspeed (i.e. controllability), before reaching the edge. Jeff had talked about doing a tip-toe launch by just stepping off into the abyss as we walked out to launch. I was a little apprehensive about such a technique in my high performance glider, but today was my day. Jo gave me a hang-check as I listened to the voice of reason in my head ask "Why are we about to just step off a 1000 foot cliff again?" Sometimes it's best not to overthink things. I walked out to about 6 inches from the edge, took a deep breath and stepped off.

Jeff said he heard me say "I'm gonna go now..." rather apathetically from below, but I have no memory of that. I just remember the sinking feeling as I stepped off and the priority of keeping the nose of the glider down to get the wing flying as soon as possible. It always fascinates me how time slows down in those situations. I was 100 feet below the cliff and flying within 2 seconds, but it felt like hours. When I was a kid and I would stand on the edge of a cliff and dream about flying off (never realizing it was possible). The eternity of those 2 seconds was sheer bliss!

2 Seconds of Biss



After pulling out of my dive I did a couple wingovers and headed to the mesa Jeff and Adam had landed behind. I pulled in as much speed as possible, came over the top of the mesa at 6 feet. After clearing the mesa I went right into a wing over in each direction rolling out of the last one into my landing. It was the best flight I've had all year!

After breaking down we all had lunch at the campsite. Jo needed to study and wanted to go for a ride while Shela was content to enjoy the peace and quiet of the desert. The SLC boys and I headed out to the dirt road to tow. I drove the jeep for Jeff first who had a 30 minute flight in soarable conditions. Adam went next, but I got a little fast misreading the towline pressure gauge. He pinned off early, but the conditions had changed to mostly sink so he didn't get up. After forgiving me we broke the gliders down and headed back to the campsite for a sunset walk out to the cliff.

Reservoir Dogs



Jo, Alex, and Molly Dogs



Shela and Adam are off to South Africa on the 8th for good. Adam will be back in the states for work occasionally, but not until next year at the earliest. When Jeff, Adam, and I get together we feed each others creativity, flying, and photography. It's truly a relationship where the whole is greater than the parts. I couldn't think of a more fitting way for us to end Adam's chapter in the States.