Mountain Flying Season Opener at Wolcott

Quite a few Colorado pilots have been flying the mountains for over a month, but work kept me in the flatlands until last week. I met up with OB for an evening flight at Wolcott. The launch is located near the end of a ridge that runs west from Red Mountain then curves around to the south. The high peaks of Mt. Powell and the Gore Range tower to the northeast. Vail and Beaver Creek are to the southeast, Eagle airport is one valley to the west. I met Jeff, Lauri, and Weston in the late afternoon and we rallied up the ridge. At launch strong southwest winds were a concern, but our T2C's had plenty of performance to handle the wind.

Wildflowers

Launch and LZ Below

The Phoenix

Weston Admiring My Wing

I can't imagine what it must look like to him,

it would have blown my mind at that age.

I launched first in moderate ridge lift. After a few launch passes I flew out over the LZ just to make sure we could get down. I've been pinned up at 14,000' at other mountain sites on strong days and had to wait until sunset to get down. There was a little rotor off of Bellyache Ridge, but getting down wouldn't be a problem. Jeff and I flew a solid two hours exploring the upper ridge, crossing the valley, and working the terrain to the west. The air was chunky enough to cause a little underlying anxiety, but I was confident that the T2C's high speed envelope would keep me out of trouble.

Testing the Air

The LZ

Arrow Head & Beaver Creek

Jeff Over Launch

From Behind

The mountains were covered by lush green grass, wild flowers, and light snow on the peaks. Heavy snowmelt had swelled the Eagle River into a violent, muddy monster that merged with the Colorado River just downstream from the LZ. The evening sun set off a melody of colors that sharply contrasted the deep blues of the thin atmosphere. Wolcott isn't the most scenic mountain site in Colorado, but the late spring colors were a joy to behold. I topped out just under 13,000' and landed after the clouds started looking too ominous for my comfort. Jeff landed shortly afterwards and we celebrated the first mountain flight of the year. It was my longest flight since Florida and his first since last year!

Go Pro Vid of My Flight

(double click to view full screen)

Ominous Clouds

Looking Down on a Gulfsteam Jet Going into Eagle

Jeff Setting Up his Approach

Stoked

Sunset

Airtime 2:03