Williams

Yesterday I was able to break away from weeks of monotonous work to get some proper flying in. Steve, Dean, Matt, Rich, Rick and I headed up to Williams to catch an evening flight. Williams is a 10,300 foot launch in the Williams Fork Mountains over looking Green Mountain Reservoir. The wind was strong out of the northwest so we chose the lower, 9300', launch. Across the valley is the scenic Gore Range with a rocky outcrop called the Eagles Nest over looking the reservoir.

Setting up on Lower Launch

(please forgive the picture quality, the Olympus is almost dead)

Green Mountain Reservoir and the Eagles Nest of the Gore Range Across the Valley

I launched third after Matt and Dean. Steve, Matt, and Rich schooled me on proper technique to safely bench back on the upper range in the strong northwest winds. The trick is to launch and work bowl north of launch making Figure-8's instead of 360's in the thermals as they drift into the Aspen Groves. Once you are a couple hundred feet up you can safely drift back to the upper ridge in the thermals. It worked like a charm! I hung out making gentle Figure-8's getting about 500' over launch then Steve launched and marked a big juicy thermal that took me to 12,500'.

It was the smoothest climb of the day. I took a few more climbs and got to 14,500'. The view was amazing. The peaks of the Williams Fork Range lead south to Silverthorne, Dillion Reservoir and Breckenridge in the distance. The rocky peaks of the Gore Range lead by the Eagles Nest beckoned me to glide across Green Mountain Reservoir, but the only way to get there would have been to drive way up wind to the northwest and surf the ridge line south. The rough air made the decision to hang out on the Williams Range a no brainer.

At 14,500' Over Launch

The View Across the Valley

The Williams Fork Range Below

(the grassy patch that the road leads to is upper launch)

The T2C was a rocket ship and I never once worried about getting blown over the back in the 30 knot winds at altitude. Matt eventually got into the upper teens, lets call it 17,999', and said the winds aloft were pretty steady at 30 knots all the way up. After about an hour I was done with the rough air and glided out to the reservoir to land. It was super fun flying out over the lake with plenty of altitude to explore its small islands and bust a few wing overs.

Gliding Out Over the Lake

A Closer View of the Eagles Nest

A Short Video Over the Lake

(the grassy patch near the shore at the very end is the LZ)

I briefly thought about landing on one of the small islands in the lake, but it would be a long swim back to shore! The LZ is a green patch between highway 9 and the eastern shore. The T2C's energy retention is so good I had to turn base over the highway just above the cars. It was a good show for the few motorists underneath me! My landing was spot on just past the cone marking the center of the LZ. Everyone else hung out for a little bit longer before trickling in for sunset landings by the lake.

Sunset After a Great Day's Flying

Villa Grove on Memorial Day

I had to work Memorial Day weekend, but got off at 9:00am on Memorial Day. Steve and Grant kindly waited for me and we headed out to catch an evening glass off at Villa Grove. Villa Grove is at the northern tip of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains. The launch is at 9400' over looking the San Luis Valley.

The Sangre De Cristo Mountains

Launch

(at the top of the brown triangle under Galena Peak)

Drive Up to Launch

We got there the wind in the valley was strong out of the south, so we relaxed and waited for the evening glass. I rigged the T2C and was happy to see that the Phoenix Multisport logo I had just applied was holding strong. It would be my first flight with a newly acquired Rotor harness and Icaro helmet.

New Stickers on the Phoenix Glider

New Harness and Helmet

Brave Paraglider Going Up

And Trying to Come Down By Folding His Wing into "Big Ears"

Larry launched first followed by a few others. My launch was clean, but my hang length was a little lower than anticipated. The air in front of launch was ratty so I got the hell out of there to adjust my harness. I ran to the south and easily climbed to 12,000'. It took a while, but I got my harness sorted and began to enjoy the flight.

Larry Launching His Custom Harness

My Launch

The strong south flow in the valley had increased and people were hovering down to land in 25mph winds. I had no desire to do land while it was strong so I hung out on the shoulder of a ridge and waited for the evening glass off to develop. It took about an hour, but soon the air calmed and started rising. I worked my way back to Galena Peak and soon was at 14,000'.

Waiting Out the Strong Air at 12,000' South of Launch

Digging My New Helmet

It was a typical Villa Glass off with gentle lifting air everywhere, that you could do no wrong in. The sun was low and cast long shadows of Galena, Mount Otto, and Bushnell peaks deep into the next valley. Grant and I were the only pilots left in the air, unfortunately Steve got shut down by strong cross winds on launch. I did my best not to take it for granted and boated around with Grant enjoying the incredible performance of the T2C.

Looking North at 14,000'

Turning Over Mount Otto

Grant Over the Trees

Galena Peak and Its Shadow

Pure Bliss

Video of Me Making a Pass Over Grant

Video of 360 Degree View at 14,000'

After another hour the sun was kissing the horizon and I was getting cold. Grand and I headed out over the valley and spiraled down to land at Larry's house. Total air time 3:00.

Decals, Bike Racks, and M Coupes

Last weekend the Phoenix Multisport decals for my hang glider came. The first set I ordered were all the wrong size, which was the result of ordering them without looking at the glider in person. Coincidentally Jonny V had just bought an M Coupe the same weekend and brought it over to install the bike rack. Matt showed up to help out and we all got to work.

First I rigged the glider and pulled VG to get the sail tight. Then while it stretched out we got to work on Jonny's car. I know all the local M Coupe owners around and happened to bump into Daryl who owned an Imola Red 2000 M Coupe earlier in the month. He told me he might be selling his and later Jonny told me he was thinking about buying one. One week later the deal was done! I've invested all of my money and energy into hang gliding this year, so I was happy to live vicariously through Jonny. Adapting a Thule 753 rack to fit the narrow roof line of the M Coupe is easy, you just have to extend the channels in the rear bar with a grinder.

M Coupes and the T2C

After the grinding was done it was back to the glider. The 4' Phoenix Multisport logo was first and hardest. I wanted to mount it centered on the wing root, but that area has multiple seams which aren't perfectly smooth. Jo came out and worked with Matt and I to apply the giant sticker. We started at the bottom and worked our way up towards the nose. It was tedious work, but we managed to get it on with only a few air bubbles. A needle made short work of it.

Applying the Logo Decal

Next were the lettering on the leading edge lettering. We only had one shot, but dark storm clouds were ominously building over the mountains. Our time was limited. Not giving in to the pressure we carefully applied 8 feet of Phoenix Multisport lettering to the left wing. The wind was picking up as the gust front approached. I turned the glider around, tail into the wind and we pressed on. Lightning struck nearby and thunder clapped overhead. We were running out of time. We managed to stick the the T in Multisport just as the heaven opened.

Applying the Leading Edge Lettering

I de-tensioned the wing and we carried into the garage. Soon the rain turned to hail and the M Coupes were in jeopardy. Jonny took off to find an over pass while I threw everything possible that would pad the car and not scratch the paint on top of mine. I had mix of sleeping bags, flannel coats, soft rugs, and finally a tarp. It wasn't enough the hail turned from pebble size to gum ball size. Matt and I grabbed our bike helmets and a tarp and sacrificed ourselves to save the car. The tarp kept the car safe, but the gum ball sized hail hurt as it pelted us in every nook and cranny. It hurt most on bony areas like knuckles and spine, but after 20 minutes of pelting the storm had moved on.

The Skies Open Up

Protecting the M Coupe from Hail

It Still Hurt with the Bike Helmet

Jonny returned and we inspected our cars. They were in pristine condition. With our cars okay and the stress of the storm over we did the only natural thing - burnouts in the hail on the street!

With the Cars Unscathed a Few Burnouts were in Order

Post Storm Rainbow

Fruita

Jo and I headed to the La Sal Mountains above Moab last week to do some wedding planning and re-con. I won't say much but here are a few teasers of the venue.

A Few Wedding Venue Teasers

On the way home we stopped to ride some classic Fruita trails. The high desert is at it's most beautiful in late spring with green sage, junipers, pinions, and lush wild flowers and cactus in full bloom. Fruita is a mountain biker's heaven with a network of trails that offer everything. There is sticky slickrock, winding single track, fast smooth bits, and lots of technical sections to complete the menu. The scenery is as wonderful as the riding. The trail runs along a shear cliff ban above the Colorado River with views of Colorado National Monument upstream and Rabbit Valley downstream. To the north the book cliffs tower above the grand valley with majestic grandeur. We enjoyed ourselves even though our mountain biking skills were comically rusty at times.

Sweet Single Track

Flowing Cactus

(the green thing in the center is a catapillar)

Desert Wildflowers

Found this Collared Lizard on the Side of the Trail

Riding Along the Cliffs Above the Colorado River

More Wildflowers