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AIRTHUG
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Location: Point of the Mountain, Draper, UT
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 Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 9:14 am Post subject: My first (real) XC: Camels to Yuba Lake |
 #1 |
Until yesterday, Sunday 5/20, all of my "XC" was flying to a pre-determined goal. Call it XC if you like, but I always debated it. I flew from Randall Airport, NY to my house in Pine Bush (12ish miles). I flew from Inspo to Point of the mountain (18ish miles) a lot. And occasionally Camels to the Point (26ish miles). But always flying from A to B and landing no matter how high I was. Always landing somewhere I was familiar with...
Well, I think I'm going to try my hand in a comp, and that means I should do some real XC first. So, yesterday I decided to attempt heading SOUTH from Camels (a SW facing site). Not a popular plan, but I'm an "against the grain" kind of guy 
I knew the initial moves would be the hardest, working from Camels around the bend and getting on the West face of Mt Nebo (the highest peak in the Wasatch). It took some doing, but I *did* make it around! From there, I jumped a few canyons and kept heading South.
When all was said and done I made it 63 miles South to Yuba Lake, pushing against a SW headwind. Flight time was about 4 hrs 10 mins.
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blindrodie
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 9:16 am Post subject: |
#2 |
 
Good run to lose yur virginity too Ryan...
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Jason
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 9:28 am Post subject: |
#3 |
i can only assume you whacked
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blindrodie
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 9:29 am Post subject: |
#4 |
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AIRTHUG
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Joined: 09 Aug 2007
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Location: Point of the Mountain, Draper, UT
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 9:32 am Post subject: |
#5 |
| Jason wrote: |
| i can only assume you whacked |
No-stepper in nearly no wind in my Covert. Suck it Jono 
Here's the complete flight report I posted in our local yahoogroup if anyone wants to read the entire play-by-play 
| Quote: |
They day started out with high expectations. Forecast called for South winds switching around to North later in the afternoon, and the thermal index was a little better than Saturday- which we knew PG's flew from Inspo to the windmills at Spanish Fork Canyon. Shadd and I noticed there was an interesting shift in the winds aloft- it should be SW at camels, but it switched to NW up high. For a while I've been wondering if it would be possible to launch Camels and work your way South to Nebo. This forecast seemed ideal for that plan- launch and get up, and then have a tail all the way there :-)
In all honesty- Camels sucked yesterday. The North wind showed up early... and reminded us what we already know- Camels sucks in a North. There were thermals, and they were strong, but being in the wind shadow of the mountains to the North, it was VERY turbulent and the thermals were not well formed. Damien launched first, and appeared to easily climb above launch. It didn't look very rough, he had no problems in his paraglider. Once up he headed North and tried to work his way around the corner toward the Y and Inspo. As he got around the corner it was clear he was hitting an even stronger North wind, and making little progress. A visiting pilot launched next, flying a U2. He also thermalled up above launch very quickly, but he did not stay up very long. Not sure if he sank out or chose to land because it was so rough up there (either would be understandable).
I went next, and Wes quickly followed me off. We bounced around in the turbulence masquerading as thermals, until I managed to hook something real. I climbed above launch, drifting South East with it. Since my plan was to try to head South anyway, and there are plenty of LZ's that way, I went with it. I was able to make the first jump, but got to the next mountain quite low. I bounced around in broken lift there, noticing the drift was taking me SW. Could the wind REALLY be NE here, I don't know...
Then it happened. It was like someone flushed the toilet, only up. KABOOM! My vario was pegged. I couldn't help but think of Shadd's "8,000... 9,000... 10,000... 11,000... 12,000!". I called on the radio and told everyone I was going to try to make my move across Spanish Fork Canyon. On my way I noticed very quickly I wasn't making much progress. I had a freaking headwind! The forecast wasn't only wrong for Camels... it was opposite for the winds aloft, too. It was North down low, and SW up high. Maybe this wasn't such a good plan???
I continued my glide past tower mountain, and stopped to work some weak lift on the next peak South of tower mountain. At this point I kind of knew that weak lift was forming into strong climbs if you could just stick with it... so it was an exercise in patience bouncing through broken lift and waiting for something more. But it worked, and up I went! Again I topped out about 12,000 ft and the lift went soft. That seemed to be about the top. I didn't want to waste time working the light lift at the top, so off I went.
The next glide was long and pretty much directly upwind. I had to get around the northern shoulder of Nebo, and steer wide enough to not be in the lee-side and get rolled. Once around the corner, I had a choice. Go for the high ground, but it would be a long glide out if I didn't find lift... or go even further West to a smaller sub-ridge. I went with the safer option... and found nothing! At that point I had to continue SW to the NEXT sub-ridge, right next to I-15. I was greeted with beep beep beep and up I went! My drift was clearly SW at this point, so I knew I it was going to be a long journey (or a short journey LOL). Interestingly, on the reservoir on the other side of 15 I could see wind lines showing NW on the surface. At least I knew what direction to land if I had to... but very odd based on the forecast.
I continued South along the west face of Nebo, between the peak ridgline and I-15. I stopped a few times to climb, and once more to get a good look at the summit. I've been eye-balling Mt Nebo since I moved here... the tallest mountain in the Wasatch... and wondered if I'd ever fly over it. Wondered what it really looks like up there, when you get in close. It was pretty smooth, so I got pretty close... close enough to see my shadow on the snow of the summit :-) It's a big freakin' mountain. I quenched my summit fever by flying over the highest point before going on my way South again...
Crossing toward RedCliffs I found a strong climb in what I would consider the LEAST likely place... right in the middle of the valley, over Rt 132. Thermals typically follow the terrain up, so sticking to high ground is the way to go. Yesterday that wasn't working so well... thermals seemed to be out in the valley more than on the peaks. Go figure. Noticing this, I didn't go back over the cliffs of RedCliffs, I stayed out front over the foothills, keeping safe LZ's well within reach even with the 15ish mph SW headwind.
After a couple climbs in front of RedCliffs, it was a straight glide to the town of Levan. Somewhere at this point I regained radio contact with Des, reporting that I was at Levan and still above 9k. I advised her to navigate to Levan and take Rt 28 South, which is a fairly main road and pretty well follows the base of the mountains. I found another good climb at Levan, and took it back up to almost 12k. It was getting late, and I was surprised to have such a good climb so late in the day. This wound up being my last strong climb.
I went on glide from Levan following the mountains and Rt 28. This lead me SW, directly upwind. I found a couple weaker climbs as I was getting low, which allowed me to continue on. As I approached Yuba Lake I notice there wasn't much friendly-landing-terrain if I continued on my current track. I also noticed there was a ridgle-like mountain range behind me... the question was how to get there. I guess I had a bit of luck, because I found a weak thermal that was actually drifting exactly where I wanted to go. I was barely climbing, but at least I wasn't losing altitude. I drifted SE with this until I was behind the small range I had been working, and I went on glide to the ridge to the East. I found another weak climb and drifted with that. This one actually carried me almost straight South.
One last glide took me to a nice green field with easy road access to Rt 28, and that's where I put down. I landed into a light NNW headwind, and had a nice no-step landing to cap off a pretty pleasing flight. Just over 63 miles, and over 4 hrs flight time. Launched at about 3:10 and landed around 7:25.
I was only on the ground for 10 or 15 minutes before Des and Jackson the Dog arrive to retrieve me. This kind of flight is a HUGE pain if you don't have good retrieve, part of the reason I usually hate XC. Thank you Des for making my first "real" XC a very positive experience :-)
63 miles might not be THAT far... but the gauntlet is thrown for 2012 at least... Sounds like Shaddo & Company are headed to Commodore today.... I'm beat!
Attached is my IGC tracklog. Here is a good resource to convert IGC to Google Earth KML format: http://www.maddyhome.com/igc2kml/convert.do (thanks to HG pilot Rick Maddy)
RV |
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NMERider
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 9:35 am Post subject: Re: My first (real) XC: Camels to Yuba Lake |
#6 |
| AIRTHUG wrote: |
| ...When all was said and done I made it 63 miles South to Yuba Lake, pushing against a SW headwind. Flight time was about 4 hrs 10 mins. |
Nice work. Did you fly w/ your Covert?
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dievhart
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Location: Santa Cruz, CA (Fort Funston)
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 10:19 am Post subject: |
#7 |
That sure is a nice story, now where is the video to prove it?
Diev
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NMERider
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 10:23 am Post subject: |
#8 |
| AIRTHUG wrote: |
| Jason wrote: |
| i can only assume you whacked |
No-stepper in nearly no wind in my Covert. Suck it Jono ... |
I have taught you well grasshopper. You are now ready to tame the American West.
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AIRTHUG
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Joined: 09 Aug 2007
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Location: Point of the Mountain, Draper, UT
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 12:19 pm Post subject: |
#9 |
You know I keed Jono. I have much to learn when it comes to open XC like this.
Any pointers from viewing my tracks would be more than welcome 
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NMERider
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 12:33 pm Post subject: |
#10 |
| AIRTHUG wrote: |
| ....Any pointers from viewing my tracks would be more than welcome |
I thought you did a very good job of beating your way upwind. I've flown with you enough to know you have the requisite skills. Do a lot of X/C and gain expereince to make decisions quickly and develop confidence that you can dig your way out from being flushed or overcome errors. Find some good X/C partners if you can hook up. Develop tremendous patience. You're already aggressive. Be able to switch gears quickly and don't get emotional about your fight until after you've landed. Getting emotional is like taking fast-acting 'Stupid Pills'. Most of these observations apply to anyone.
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slimchance
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Location: Las Vegas
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 12:53 pm Post subject: |
#11 |
congratz AirThug............ahh ,someday
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lostgriz
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Location: Virginia
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 5:48 am Post subject: |
#12 |
Nice flight Ryan. I spent a memorial weekend at Yuba once, what a disaster. There were literally people camped 6 deep all the way around the freaking lake.
What comp are you doing this year, the SCFR? Big Spring sounds like it would be a great one to hit too.
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AIRTHUG
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Location: Point of the Mountain, Draper, UT
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 6:09 am Post subject: |
#13 |
Santa Cruz Flats Race is the closest real meet, so therefore the easiest and cheapest. I never paid much attention, but meets are frickin expensive! The Covert ain't cheap either, but if I don't enjoy the comp scene I can always sell it.
Funds are always tight being in the hang gliding business. We also just bought a new home, on the North Side bench 
Anyone else on here planning to hit SCFR?
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Ryan Voight
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lostgriz
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Joined: 26 Sep 2007
Posts: 1928
Location: Virginia
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 7:01 am Post subject: |
#14 |
| AIRTHUG wrote: |
Santa Cruz Flats Race is the closest real meet, so therefore the easiest and cheapest. I never paid much attention, but meets are frickin expensive! The Covert ain't cheap either, but if I don't enjoy the comp scene I can always sell it.
Funds are always tight being in the hang gliding business. We also just bought a new home, on the North Side bench
Anyone else on here planning to hit SCFR? |
I haven't flown POM since there were houses on the North Side. What a sweet place to live though, good for you.
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"Better to have a shorter life that is full of what you enjoy doing, than a long life spent in a miserable way." - Alan Watts
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Mavi Gogun
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 7:24 am Post subject: Re: My first (real) XC: Camels to Yuba Lake |
#15 |
| AIRTHUG wrote: |
| So, yesterday I decided to attempt heading SOUTH from Camels (a SW facing site). Not a popular plan, but I'm an "against the grain" kind of guy |
All my early XC flying was upwind- it's a great way to start; upwind, you start by flying over familiar territory, and everything you fly over scrutinizing for landing potential will be easier to reach when in your rear view mirror. At the same time, progress upwind is slower, allowing the new XC pilot time for consideration. When all is said and done, the pilot that can fight upwind has honed critical skills- and when it comes time to run downwind, they enjoy the long legs while still able to go where they need to.
For me, up wind flights are an assertion of will, while down wind flights are an acceptance of unknown lands; upwind, like foot launching, I know that every foot gained is an expression of my skill, acumen.
Congratulations on the flight. If it doesn't detract from the experience, maybe you could throw up a recording and narration next time? It would be great to have your voice and sensibilities coupled with something that could be enjoyed vicariously- and others new to XC could cut their teeth with you. Thanx for sharing.
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Mavi Gogun
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 7:38 am Post subject: |
#16 |
| NMERider wrote: |
| Do a lot of X/C and gain expereince to make decisions quickly and develop confidence that you can dig your way out from being flushed or overcome errors. Find some good X/C partners if you can hook up. Develop tremendous patience. You're already aggressive. Be able to switch gears quickly and don't get emotional about your fight until after you've landed. Getting emotional is like taking fast-acting 'Stupid Pills'. Most of these observations apply to anyone. |
Ain't that the truth! There's nothing like arriving at the far end of a long glide between clouds and discovering sink and more sink to shake confidence and test my will not to bolt around, panicked.
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TomGalvin
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 8:31 am Post subject: |
#17 |
| AIRTHUG wrote: |
| Santa Cruz Flats Race is the closest real meet |
* cough * Villa *cough*
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CAL
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 8:57 am Post subject: |
#18 |
though he says this is his first real XC, trust me he has flown a lot of out and backs, he does this for convenience so others do not have to track him down, i am glad too see that he went for it, now that he sees that Des was happy to be part of the adventure, we should see more of it. LOOK OUT COMP PILOTS !
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AIRTHUG
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 9:02 am Post subject: |
#19 |
| TomGalvin wrote: |
| AIRTHUG wrote: |
| Santa Cruz Flats Race is the closest real meet |
* cough * Villa *cough* |
REAL meet. That word was not put there accidentally.
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TomGalvin
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 9:11 am Post subject: |
#20 |
| AIRTHUG wrote: |
| TomGalvin wrote: |
| AIRTHUG wrote: |
| Santa Cruz Flats Race is the closest real meet |
* cough * Villa *cough* |
REAL meet. That word was not put there accidentally. |
Rick Fitzpatrick, Dave Hopkins, Larry Smith....real enough for me.
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