The Short Divide (1st Real Flight of the Year)

I had 4 days off last week to catch up on life outside of my flight training in Utah. You would think that would be ample time to relax, but that was not the case. I had only 4 days in which to cram over a month's worth of errands, life, and time at home. Needless to say I didn't accomplish everything I wanted to.

Alex on Launch

Jeff and I made plans to hang glide when I got back to Utah on Sunday. Cody told Jeff about a newer site in Northern Utah called the Short Divide. I was stoked to fly a new site and everyone was buzzing about the cross country potential. I got up early Sunday morning and crammed about 3 hours of studying in, but it wasn't enough to keep up with my training. I'd need at least another 3 hours of studying that night. I followed Jeff and Greg up interstate 15 almost to the Idaho border. We met Cody at a gas station and followed him to launch where Matt, who pioneered the site, was already setting up.

Jeff on Launch





Cody and Greg on Launch





I decided to park my truck at the bailout LZ below launch. That would allow me to fly for an hour or two, land, and head back to Salt Lake to study. As we set up, we listened intently to Cody's advice on the site. The winds blowing into launch were strong and gusty at around 20mph. Matt launched first followed by Jeff and Greg. They all got up quickly and headed North to the higher mountains. I launched next, followed by Cody. I climbed to 200 feet over launch quickly, but struggled to get any higher in broken thermals and ridge lift. Cody climbed through my altitude right away and headed North to join the others. Following Cody's lead I managed to get up to about 8500 feet on the highest rocky peak to the North.


Jeff Launching




When I lifted my glider off the truck I tweaked my back and the pain only got worse during the flight. After about 45 minutes I couldn't take it anymore and was worried it would affect my ability to control the glider. I wished the others good flights over the radio and headed back upwind to the bail out LZ. I spend another 25 minutes trying to lose altitude in a constant barrage of thermals. It gave me plenty of time to visualize my crosswind landing on the slightly downsloping field. I followed Cody's advice to the word and crabbed about 30 degrees into the wind throughout my final. I flared right in the middle of the window and had a perfect crosswind landing.


Jeff Zipping Up





I managed to make it back to Salt Lake at 7pm and got my 3 hours of studying in. Other than my back pain it was a perfect diversion from my hectic training schedule, a great opportunity to brush off my thermaling skills and, although brief, a great opportunity to catch up with friends.


Greg Launching






Jeff, Cody, and Greg flew over 80 miles. Matt top-landed on a 10,000 foot moutain, re-launched and hitch hiked back to his truck! To read more about the other's flights check out Jeff's blog here.