We knew it would be crowded at Ascutney so we tried to get to launch early, but there were already 8 other pilots in front of us when we arrived at 10:15. Pilots continued to pour in as we rigged. Late comers were relegated to setup along the trail and in the forest. I later learned 20 pilots signed in at the base.
The calm blue sky kept the pilots at the head of the line firmly planted on the ground. Finally John A asked to go first even though he was far from launch. With everyone's help his glider floated over the top of the other gliders like it was surfing a glider mosh pit. He launched and was summarily stepped on for a big loss. Many pilots let out a moan and declared the day wasn't ready yet. However, I knew that for every big "down" there is a corresponding "up". Sure enough John was soon breaking launch altitude and everyone's attitude changed.
The first few pilots were very reluctant to step into the void fearing they would soon be looking back up at the mountain from the ground. I started dropping not-so-subtle hints that I wanted to go like asking what the wind on launch was doing or if there was traffic in front. I guess I should stick to launching early; I'm not very good at standing in line waiting to launch!Eventually it was my turn. I launched, headed directly to the western spine, cranked into a strong core and zipped to 7900 feet at 700 - 1200 fpm. I was surprised to see everyone, except Jake, still orbiting the mountain when I got to the top floor. I immediately radioed I was heading east and wondered if anyone wanted to join me. At least two said "let's go" so I did. It wasn't until I crossed the river that I realized they hung back. Oh, THAT kind of "let's go"!
While I waited for the gaggle to get the courage to leave I watched a dusty far below move across a plowed field onto the river. I watched the circular ripples and waves move up the river. Very sweet. I tried to find the top of the dusty but no luck. Meanwhile the gaggle was slowly losing altitude back at the mountain. Enough waiting. I headed towards Claremont with all its hot parking lots. Sure enough I found another 700 fpm climb.
Meanwhile the gaggle was beginning to move, but further north of my position. Since it was totally blue, I knew I should fly with others. I was about to head north to join Greg H and Jeff when I noticed Greg K coming off Green Mountain low. Yikes, I could see his shadow on the trees. I decided to stay put and make sure he made it to the valley LZs before continuing. Although I was happy to see him climb a little and then start turning I wasn't happy when I looked at my altitude. I could no longer connect with Greg H and Jeff but noticed Dennis on his ATOS below me. I decided to stay close to Dennis as we headed towards Newport. I wanted to fly directly over town but Dennis headed straight for a quarry to the northeast. I hesitated for a moment, wanting to try the town, but decided to stick with my newly adopted wing man. I found nothing but crushing sink at the quarry and was soon below Dennis as we ran east. Dennis was high enough to connect with some lift off the last reasonable LZ before Lake Sunapee but I was too low and was soon heading in to land.
I was about 300 feet off the deck starting my downwind leg when I noticed a huge swirl in the grass. Crap. I surely wasn't going to land in that thing! I immediately dove for it hoping to delay my landing until it was clear of the field. I was tossed around a bit but didn't climb or sink, which was good. Meanwhile a large RC craft was doing loops over the LZ and an F18 fighter jet was avoiding Greg H and Jeff above me and went into a full afterburner climb that literally rattled the air. Nothing like a nice mellow landing, eh? I rode the dusty over the farmhouse and then dove into the field for a functional, but not pretty, landing.
I chatted with the RC pilots and then greeted another pilot, Bill, who drove up. Dennis then came in and a short while later Greg K landed. Rodger landed on the other side of the lake at a golf course with a nice bar while Greg H, Jeff, and Johnny Z continued on past Concord. Lucky for Greg K (who lives at least 4.5 hours away), we bypassed the long retrieve ride by getting a lift from John A back to the mountain where Pete J had driven Rodger's car to the bottom. (Thanks Pete!) Greg and I picked up Rodger at the bar, got some Sushui for dinner, and then headed home. Even Amy pitched in by taking me back to my truck allowing Rodger and Greg to cut their trip by 40 minutes.
I was disappointed to be on the ground 20 miles out after only an hour in the air but I couldn't complain, it was just too nice of a day to be down about anything.
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