Monday, September 14, 2009

Opening Day at Mount Equinox

Although John had a sledder off the new ramp at Mount Equinox last month, the first true flying day didn't happen until Sunday of the Labor Day holiday weekend.  Amy and I arrived early and warned the nice woman at the toll gate of the impending invasion.  We stopped a few times on the drive up to put on warmer clothes and check out the views of the valley and mountains over the back.


I managed to have my glider rigged and tucked into the corner of the tiny setup area before anyone else arrived.  I set out wind indicators and then relaxed in the warm sun on the ramp as pilots tried to fit a dozen gliders into the space usually consumed by 2 or 3 gliders.

Photo by Linda

Pilots got creative selecting setup spots; Chip near the picnic table on the opposite side ramp, John B along the path, and John A alongside the ramp which insured he would be the first to launch.  After he finished rigging, John and his daughter impressed us with their gymnastic abilities by placing a streamer high in a tree.


As expected, John A, the first person to launch off the new decking, was also the first to launch that day. He managed to get low enough to depress a few pilots but finally found a climb to the south (right) and restored confidence that we might have soaring flights.  That confidence didn't last long as Chip ran off into oppressive sink that didn't give him any choice but to head towards the valley and the far off LZ.  (The site is rated H4 precisely for this reason.)  I was up next and had to wait as John crossed back and forth low over launch.

Photo by Amy

Photo by Linda

I launched in light to nil wind as John started a weak climb to the south (right).  I quickly managed to get above launch but lost it all when I tried the southern-facing bowl to the north (left).  The lift in the bowl was strong and rowdy but I just kept losing altitude with each wrestling match.  I returned low to the south with "my tail between my legs" twisting in any little bug fart I could find.  I finally jacked my way back up to launch level when Mike launched.  Mike and I shared a miniature high-pressure-day thermal until I made a big circle allowing him to tighten up and climb above me so we both could sit in the tiny sweet spot in the middle.

Rebecca's video of Randy's launch

I finally found a scary climb over the back that yanked me to cloud base around 1700m (5600 feet).  I announced on the radio that I wasn't happy about the turbulence up high but I didn't get much sympathy from the guys fighting along the ridge or in the valley below.

With Mike's help from the LZ, I finally put together the weather conditions that were making the air unpleasant.  The valley was briskly flowing from the north.  The wind above the valley was light east southeast; 90+ degrees to the valley.  The wind above 1500m (5000 feet) was northwest.  No wonder the naturally snaky high-pressure thermals were unpleasant; they were being sheared not once but twice.  Once I figured that out I tried to avoid the transition layers and somehow knowing what was causing the turbulence helped soothe my concerns as I got slapped, the side wires went slack, and was tossed into unplanned wing-overs.

PK was the only other pilot that managed to climb to base with me.

PK

We bounced around at cloud base and talked about possible XC routes.  We had a sweet line of clouds downwind of us, but of course there weren't any LZs that way.

South

West

North

As the afternoon wore on, the clouds on the east side of the valley starting looking good as the sun warmed the west-facing slopes.  I decided to venture across the valley and make a play for a lee-side climb.  If that didn't work out, I was OK with landing on the mowed lawn at Hildene Meadows with Mike.  PK followed me part way across the valley, but turned around to join Andy and Jeff B when he saw how quickly I was losing altitude.  I didn't immediately find a climb so I pushed north along the ridge towards the LZ.  I finally stumbled into a snotty lee-side thermal that took me back to 1500m (5000 feet) but not quite cloud base.

I started thinking about making a run to Mount Greylock, 58 km (36 miles) to the southeast where just about every other hang gliding and paragliding pilot in New England was flying.  Amy, was having lunch in Manchester so I didn't need to feel guilty about leaving her waiting in the LZ and PK said he was up for XC flying.  However, when I tried to call PK over, he was on final to the Wilcox Farms LZ.  Dang.  I pushed south and took another climb to base before deciding that adding more driving just wasn't worth it.  I turned around and made a long glide back to the LZ.

Amy arrived at the LZ shortly before I did and I could have landed right next to the truck.  However, I couldn't pass up the chance for a fun "pop up" landing.  The LZ is higher than a large hayfield to the south.  I buzzed across the hayfield effectively dropping below the level of the LZ, followed the contour up the hillside, and flared just as I rounded the top. I landed about 10 yards from the lip.  If I did it right, it should look like I came out of the ground and then landed.

I walked my glider across the yard and broke down under a shade tree next to the truck.  The pilots in the other LZ were treated to an approachable but soggy hayfield.  I was satisfied with my choice.  ;-)



Mike, Linda, Randy, Rebecca, PK, John B, and Dennis showed up before I finished packing.  We drove by beautiful homes and inns on our way into Manchester where we had dinner before heading back to camp.

More of Linda's pictures from launch and the LZs are available online.  Allen Ahl posted a nice video of his launch at Mount Greylock.  There are other videos of the flying at Mount Greylock here or here and photos here.


Flights: 1, Duration: 2:26

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