Who turned the lights out?

I'd like to meet the person that said that hang glider pilots are loners. It just isn't so!

The forecast called for light west winds, moderate climbs, blue skies, and 5000 foot top-of-lift. A forecast for westerly winds is always amusing. We have northwest and southwest mountain launches, Morningside with its 450 launch, or Morningside's north-south runway for aerotowing. We can launch from any of them if the winds are light, but no place is ideal. So the "where are you going" phone calls and email messages started early. No one wants to be the only person at a launch when everyone else shows up at the other launches.

I was either going to go to Mount Ascutney, the northwest mountain launch, or aerotowing at Morningside. I had a slight preference for foot launching since I have done a lot of aerotowing recently. I was on the cellphone during most of my 2 hour trip north! The lobbyists in Washington DC have nothing on the pilots around here. There were a few pilots wanting to launch at Ascutney or Morningside. The remaining pilots were "in play". Finally a consensus developed and I headed to Ascutney after I picked up our driver Mimi and Dave at Morningside.

We had a good turnout for a so-so weekday. Another sign that the flying weather around here has been "uninspiring" this season. An unforecasted thick deck of cirrus was rapidly approaching from the northwest and it appeared that the wind was starting its predicted shift to the southwest. It was time to go. The wind was crossing on launch at times, but I managed to find a good cycle and I assume everyone else did also. I flew over to the bowl near the ski area, found a thermal, and climbed to 5600 feet as I drifted back of the mountain. Several other pilots were close by and started heading back to the front of the mountain. I took a look at all the pilots cruising around at launch height and decided to move on. I had a smooth glide across the river and found a weak climb over the Claremont airport. I was ok with the slow climb since it would let the others catch up with me so we could fly east together into the milky blue. No one else was leaving the mountain when that climb finally fizzled. I began to wonder if anyone else was going to leave the mountain. Instead of heading downwind I flew cross wind to a small ridgeline so I could "hang out" but still make Morningside if I missed the climb. I topped out a climb there and finally got word some pilots were leaving the mountain. About that time the cirrus became very thick. It seemed like someone simply turned the sun off. The weak climbs were still there, at least up high. The other pilots approached my area low and eventually landed at Morningside. Meanwhile Michael towed up behind Rhett from Morningside and joined me in a climb. Dave sank out but took a tow to get back into the game. Greg eventually found a climb and the four of us played around Morningside for the afternoon. I continued to find abundant, but weak lift. After landing at Morningside later in the day, I wondered if we gave up on good day simply because the sun was gone.