Williams to the Eagles Nest

Williams to the Eagles Nest and Back

(Vimeo link for Europe http://vimeo.com/32653956)

In August I had a random day off. It was going to be one million degrees in Denver so Jo and I headed to the mountains for a dog outing / hang gliding. I glanced at the weather, but didn’t dig too deep. I was more into just getting into the mountains and spending time with Jo than having an epic flight. We headed for Williams, a launch located on the northern end of the Williams Fork Range. While I flew Jo would drive down and take the dogs for a swim.

Williams Launch

On the lower launch at about 1:00pm it was slightly cross from the north, but not too strong as the thermals cycled through. By the time I was rigged and finished a picnic with Jo a huge cloud street had set up just north of launch that went all the way to the horizon. The air was big with gusts over 25mph as thermals cycled through. As time passed the street filled in even more and the launchable lulls got shorter and farther apart. I waited for about 20 minutes back from launch before I got a small launchable window. It was a big-mountain-air launch that required a little minding of the right wing and awareness of rotor off the bowl to the north of launch. I wasn't too worried about the conditions, as the T2C would have no penetration problems.

The View from Launch

The Cloud Street to the North

Waiting for a Lull

Off

(Look at that Cloud Street!!!)

I had no GPS, but I would estimate winds aloft of 25-35 from the NW over launch. The air was "relatively" smooth for the wind speed and the thermals were super elongated. It took few minutes to hook something, but my first climb was delivering only 3-400fpm. I took that to 11K and pressed upwind along the street to the NW. The next few climbs along the street were epic, 10-1400fpm on the averager, with spikes of 16-1800fpm. The headwind was persistent and inter-thermal sink was averaging 600-800fpm with spikes of over 1000fpm in the lee-side sink eddies. I only had about two hours before Jo would make it down the 4X4 road, swim the dogs, and start to get annoyed or worried. If I had bar mitts and was on my own I would have blasted downwind to the divide and beyond. It was that good.

Jo Shooting Me from Launch

Me Shooting Jo

(black truck at the 180 turn)

Green Mountain Reservoir and the Eagles Nest from Over Launch

Beautiful Cloud Street

The Blue River Valley to the South

Instead, I hatched a plan to box the valley by penetrating to the NW, surf Elliot Ridge north of the Gore Range to bench back to the Eagles Nest, then angle out back to the LZ to avoid the massive rotor that I'm sure was lurking further south in the valley. The hardest part would be getting north of Green and Sheep Mountains into the strong headwind. It took three climbs to 16.5K and full speed glides. At altitude I would estimate the headwind of over 40mph. The cloud street was so defined it was pretty easy to angle out of the lift or sink as required and back in to make the most efficient forward progress. I only had box-handling gloves so I had to limit myself by leaving climbs well early. I never got hypoxic, but fingertip numbness was an issue.

Three Climbs Over 16,000'

Closer to Cloudbase

Getting Cold

(note the box-handler gloves)

Eagles Nest Beaconing

After the third climb I decided to angle SW behind Sheep Mountain to Elliot Ridge. It was a moment of commitment, but I had decent LZ's on top of the 10,000' tall ridge with a road that lead to parked vehicles to the north. I convinced myself to commit by thinking, "I have the skill, I have the glider, I have an out - Do It!" When I hooked up to the ridge there was no lift to be found. The ridge was actually pretty flat so even ridge lift was absent. Not wanting to waste precious altitude I hardened my resolve and pressed on to the south. If I was going to land either way, I might as well run the length of the ridge. At the highest point of the ridge I was down to 75' AGL, unzipped, and setting up my approach.

Elliot Ridge

Getting Low

And Lower

And Lower

Finally, I saw a bunch of crows take the air. They were below the next cloud street to the south, which wasn't as defined as the previous one. It was another moment of commitment, but I had a bail out LZ that was lower behind me. As a rule I "never trust a crow", but I could see the vertical movement in the flock. It worked out and soon I was coring 800fpm on the averager. That got me up to 14,800’, which was a good margin to drive back above the sink to the Eagles Nest. It also took me to the south of the cloud street and into less organized air. The Eagles Nest was the goal so I'd have to make due. As expected lift was light over the craggy peaks, but the view was amazing. Dragging my feet on the northern ridge gave incredible views of Mt. Powell to the south and glacial bowl at its base. It was a treat that I've been seeking for years and a quintessential Colorado flying experience.

The Eagle's Nest

Mt. Powell

Vail and Beaver Creek to the South

Cliff Lake

Upper Cataract Lake

Eventually, I was low enough that diving downwind through the sink would be an issue so I decided not to get greedy. The glide back to the lake was rough, but without drama. The rotor spit me out in 6-800fpm lift for the length of the valley. I had to fly north of launch road to get below 10K. Jo was in the LZ for my landing, which luckily was also without drama!

Cataract Falls

Lower Cataract Lake

Back at Green Mountain Reservoir

Landed

After I broke down we took the dogs for a swim in the Blue River. The water was freezing, which was only slightly warmer than my core temperature. After the swim we finished the day properly at Smash Burger.

Swimming the Dogs

Delicious Smash Burger

Total flight time 1:34.