Snow - At Last...

The weather has been good for so long here I've forgotten the last time the sky wasn't blue. But the long run of sunny, clear, cold and somewhat windy weather ended this weekend. For the first time this winter, it snowed in St Andre.

It was a gray and miserable all weekend, with snow falling gently almost all the time. I had a couple of monochromatic hikes, trail breaking in the snow. The forecast for the rest of the week is a bit more interesting - more snow and colder, clearer weather during the week. Maybe some nice skiing or snowshoeing or even a snowy hike and fly?

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Today's flying forecast looked very similar to yesterday's and - while I enjoyed yesterday's flight - a repeat didn't exactly turn me on. I had a lazy little hike in relatively flat countryside in the warm afternoon sun. I tried not to, but I couldn't help noticing some interesting little clouds over some of the peaks...

A few pics

First Decent Flight of 2012

I've had a couple of hike and flies this year, but Saturday's forecast was the first that was good enough for me to take my "normal" gear up to launch. Last year at this time, snow had blocked the road up to launch and flying was a very solitary experience. Today was hardly busy, but there were around 10 so pilots up on the launch throughout the afternoon.

Conditions seemed promising, if very cold, as I got ready with 4 other pilots on the W launch. When conditions are at all good here, you launch and go up. But in the very dead of winter you often get a reality check; promising conditions can be deceptive.  I launched at the back end of the other pilots and struggled about 50 meters below launch in small, rowdy thermals. I went from slowly losing height, to maintaining, to slowly creeping above launch height - and then it was easy. The other pilots weren't so lucky and had sunk out almost immediately; we probably should have waited another 20 minutes before launching.  

Conditions slowly improved - the thermals got bigger and less sharp-edged - and I got nearly 600m above launch. It was very cold and I didn't want any retrieve hassles, so I didn't do anything very adventurous. More pilots arrived - including the early launchers coming back for a second flight - and everyone enjoyed the good conditions. I landed just short of 2 hours as the batteries in my gloves gave up. Hardly epic flying, but lovely views and not too bad for 2 weeks into the year.

Tracklog and some pics.

Snow Shoeing Weekend

The weather continues to be dry, sunny and clear. It's wonderful, but I would like a bit more snow! I bought snow-shoes just before Xmas and have been waiting for a chance to use them. Since the snow hasn't come to St Andre, I decided to go to the snow. So I drove my little car into the bigger mountains just to the North and had a couple of nice hikes over the weekend.

It was a lot of fun. A bit slower than XC or randonee skiing (or even walking in the summer), but easier and with less messing around with gear. I was impressed how easy it was to tackle relatively steep slopes. I really enjoyed myself and I'm looking forward to doing more. The snowshoes should also make some higher hike and flies possible. 

Pics from a somewhat overcast Saturday and an extremely sunny Sunday

PS Can we have some snow please? Preferably delivered overnight!

Shirt Sleeve Hiking

At this time of year, a good day is very warm in the sun and absolutely freezing in the shade. From a clothing perspective, layers is the name of the game - you can spend a lot of time adding or removing them.

Today was glorious, with almost no wind, and I was on a ridge almost all day. No shade so shirt sleeves were the order of the day until the sun started to set. Absolutely beautiful - a great way to end the year (I'll be away for the next few days).

A few pics.

Xmas Thermals

The last 2 or 3 weeks in St Andre have been cold, sunny, clear, dry and windy. There's still very little snow - even on the higher peaks - and things aren't predicted to change in the next week. I've been doing quite a bit of hiking and some hike on flies in the less windy days. When the weather is this nice, winter is very bearable and Xmas has almost sneaked up on me.

I'll be away for the New Year but I was glad to sneak a flight today. Little sharp-edged thermal bubbles were good for a hundred meters or so above launch. I didn't fly for very long, but it was nice to turn in some circles and admire the scenery. The Xmas duck is in the oven bubbling nicely now.  

Practice Day...

You don't really expect decent flying just before the winter solstice. But today's forecast looked very promising and I had hopes of a mini-XC. The one caveat was the possibility of high cloud - even in St Andre, that's asking a lot of a December sun.

As I hiked up, cloud cover increased. There was no wind at all until the last 50m to launch. Launch was very cold and deserted, with a brisk south wind. There was at least 7/8 cloud cover (cloud base was about 400m over launch)  and it seemed like a sled ride was the best the day had to offer. 

It was too cold to hang around, so I wolfed down my lunch and got ready. I flew off the S side and found just enough bubbles to maintain. I persevered, hoping the sun would break through and transform the flying. I gradually worked up to 100m above launch but no more. The flying was entertaining, but - without the sun - it was impossible to go anywhere. 

I was pretty cold - another problem when there's no sun - and landed just short of an hour. A little disappointing, but good practice for better days...  

A very compact tracklog.