Eagles Locking Talons

In winter at St Andre good flying days are normally very cold - things need to be pretty unstable to compensate for the winter sunshine. I must admit I don't feel quite as keen on flying such days as I was a few years ago. But today's forecast suggested decent flying at reasonable temperatures, so I decided to head up to launch.

I was later setting off than I should have been; when I arrived on launch Philippe had top-landed and Nigel was taking off. It was also a bit windier than I expected but still perfectly manageable. After a leisurely lunch I took to the air and had a very pleasant flight. There were a few weak thermals mixed in with some dynamic lift, as well as some convergence.

The snow that fell in mid-January has completely melted and it looks more like August than February. After flying for around an hour I was taking some pictures of three eagles in a thermal when two of them locked talons and plummeted from the sky; this can be a mating ritual or a way of males fighting (in a game of chicken). Ever since I've seen this video I'm a bit wary of eagles and I avoided them for the rest of the flight...

A few pics.

Snowy Hike

We've finally had a dusting of snow and, even though it's only around 15 cm thick, it makes the mountains look special. The forecast is dry and sunny for the next few days so it may not last long. I decided to take advantage of the snow while it's here and headed up the Pic de Chamatte, a 1900 m peak near St Andre. The hike up was very pleasant - the sun was just warm enough for me to layer down to a tee-shirt. 

I was looking forward to eating my lunch on the summit but, as I reached the peak, the wind strength increased. This often happens in winter here - the top of the boundary layer is around the same altitude as the summits and once in the meteo wind you don't want to hang around. So I layered up for the end of the climb, turned around sharpish at the summit and ate my lunch 200 m lower down. Very scenic!

Brocken Spectre

Brocken Spectre (towards the bottom left)

I had a new year paraglider flight today. I certainly didn't fly because the forecast was spectacular but a nice hike and fly seemed like a good way to start the year. There's also bad weather moving in overnight (serves me right for posting about global warming...), so flying is likely to be out for the next few days. 

I've had surprising experiences in the Alps when bad weather arrives. I remember flying at Aspres once when the bad weather was clearly coming from the north but I was ridge soaring in a strong south wind. Today was a bit less dangerous, but the wind was all over the place - very lightly from the N on the south launch, about 10 km/h from the W on the west launch and at 35 km/h from the S above the LZ.

The damper air bringing the bad weather was forming clouds as it rose over Chalvet and I took the opportunity to fly above it and snap a picture of my brocken spectre (more info here).

Global Warming in the Southern Alps

It's always a bit dubious when non-meteorologists (and many meteorologists) talk about global warming.It's very hard to sort out long term effects from some unusual weather. But I've certainly seen plenty of 'evidence' this year. 

No snow on the Tete de l'Estrop (3000m)
at year's end

Dried up spring near
the Refuge de Boules

The summer and fall have been hot and dry this year but the start of the winter feels more like the start of fall. I've been hiking at 2000 m in shirt sleeves twice since Xmas. It looks more like mid-October here than the end of the year. There is no snow visible in the mountains near St Andre - the nearest seems to be on the Italian border, at around 3000 m, and that's just a dusting. The local ski area has only 4 out of 60 ski runs open, and they all narrow strips of 'artificial' snow on rocky slopes. 

Pine trees are infested by caterpillar nests - caused, I'm told, by warm winters not killing the beasts; see more details here. I know of one spring that has dried up this fall. Primroses are flowering in December. To that I could add the retreating or extinct glaciers I've seen further north in the alps. And then mountains that are literally falling apart as permafrost melts - see here.

I know it's not very scientific but it's not very encouraging for the future.

But on the other hand it's very pleasant for outdoor activities. I've been hiking a lot and have yet to give up bicycling for the winter. I've not flown my paraglider much lately, but people have been flying most days. Some pictures here.

Coping with Change

I did one of my standard mountain bike rides today. I think the last time I did it was in June with my son. At one point there are a couple of small rocky drops where the trail descends to cross a 4x4 track - but you don't really need to slow for it.

Well,that was then - you need to slow now. Someone has dug a drainage ditch along the side of the road and the ditch can easily swallow up a mountain bike. Fortunately I was able to stop in time, but it was a nasty surprise...

Refresher Flight

Above launch

I haven't flown my paraglider in a while; other things have just seemed more attractive. Yesterday I went for a hike nearby and saw quite a few wings in the air and realized I fancied a flight. So this morning I hiked up to launch with my gear.

There was an inversion that was hindering thermals - everyone launching seemed to either go up or go down pretty quickly. Once in the air I discovered that I hadn't taken my bi-focal sunglasses - so I couldn't read much of the information on my GPS. But I could see the altitude and that confirmed that I was in the "going down quickly" category. 

LZ at La Mure - it's the field in the center

But then I caught a good enough thermal to ride up 600m and get through the inversion - from then on it was pretty easy. After maybe 30 minutes of admiring the fall colors and straightforward thermalling, I headed out to land. Maybe not the greatest of flights, but more than enough to scratch my itch and I found it all very pleasant! 

The GR5 - Going Lightweight

The GR5/GR52 is a long hike - 600 km long, 32,000 meters up and the same down. You'll be carrying your gear all that way, so you obviously want to minimize it. You'll also be using your gear pretty intensely over 30+ days, so it's important it works well and you like it. You want to think long and hard about your gear list; this is the approach I used. 

We planned a lightweight trip for three main reasons. First and foremost is enjoyment - I enjoyed almost all the hiking on the trip, but I know that wouldn't have been the case if my backpack had weighed 10 kg more. Second, a lighter backpack means less pounding of the joints and hence a reduced injury risk. Lastly, an increased performance margin; if you need to deal with a crisis at the end of the day (e.g. having to walk to the next hut, getting lost, helping another party, horrible weather), you'll be in better shape if you've been carrying a light backpack.

The first step in going lightweight is staying and eating in huts, gites or hotels. This reduces your backpack to pretty much clothes, emergency gear and daytime food and drink. There are disadvantages in this approach (cost, busy huts, noisy dormitories, having to plan around the available accommodation) and it isn't for everyone, but it worked well for us. We also always took a picnic from a hut or (if we were in a valley) bought our lunch in the morning, so we only really carried food for that day.

The second step is is not to take stuff you don't need - and to be pretty ruthless about it. An obvious exception is safety equipment - here, you have to carry some stuff you hope not to use. I decided to take a whistle and decent bivy bag but against taking a gps and an emergency beacon (e.g. a spot locator) based on the margins I was comfortable with.  

My full backpack (without food and water) weighed 5.3 kg. Here is the gear I took, broken down into categories. All weights are in grams.

Carried Gear - 5285
  Backpack and Hydration System - 990
    Backpack (Simond Alpinism 22) - 730
    Hydration System (Source 2L) - 230
    Waterproof Clothes Bag (Sea And Summit) - 30
  Emergency Bivy Gear - 772
    SOL Escape Bag - 260
    Down Jacket (Patagonia) - 382
    Silk Sleeping Bag - 130
  Clothing - 1492
    Shell Layer - 440
      Waterproof top (Marmot Super Mica) 314
      Over-trousers (cheap, showerproof) 126
    Hut Clothing - 430
      Briefs - 60
      Socks - 60
      Merino Shirt - 137
      Trousers - 273
    Hiking Clothing - 622
      Light Top - 234
      Light Fleece - 212
      Socks - 60
      Gloves - 81
      Snood - 35
  Other Equipment - 2031
    Stationary - 754
      Topoguides (2) - 404
      Writing Materials, Puzzles - 180
      Passport, Wallet - 140
      Reading Glasses - 30
    Electronics - 318
      Phone + Charger - 180
      Camera - 138
    Toiletries - 357
      Towel - 127
      Toilet Bag (soap, toothbrush etc) - 110
      Sun Protection - 110
      Ear Plugs - 10
    Emergency Gear - 602
      Cliffbars (3) - 227
      Water Purifying Tables - 30
      Swiss Army Knife - 99
      Tissues - 25
      Compass - 34
      Whistle - 10
      Torch - 61
      Blister Cream (Friction Zone) - 80
      Advil - 20
      Waterproof Bag (Sea And Summit) 16

A few notes
1. There are 4 topoguides for the hike. I had two sent to the post-office in Modane (along with some minor things like extra sun protection) so I only needed to carry 2 at any one time (I sent the 2 'used' guides home when I collected the 2 'new' ones). This worked well.
2. My backpack was light, compact and well balanced; it allowed the water to be carried next to my back. It needed to be packed carefully, but I felt it was worth the hassle.
3. The Sea and Summit bags did a good job of keeping everything dry.
4. I had a light long sleeved top as well as a light fleece; the light top was often better when hiking, when a fleece would have been too warm.
5. In addition to this, my normal hiking clothes were a light tee shirt, trail running shorts, light boots, sun hat, sunglasses and walking poles.
6. The above weight doesn't include food and water for the day. Normally this would add approximately 2 kg for the water and a bit less that a kg for the food.

I don't think you can get things much lighter than this without reducing your margins below what I was comfortable with. The most obvious way of lightening things would be to reduce or eliminate the emergency bivy gear. Another would be to not take the topoguides and instead rely on following the red and white signs (maybe augmented with photos of the maps on a smart phone).  

I wouldn't change much in what I took; everything performed very well. I would have preferred a merino shirt to hike in (they dry more quickly after washing and smell less), but couldn't find one in a light (cooler in the sun), bright (better for safety reasons) color. I would also have taken a long sleeved merino shirt as an alternative to the light top I sometimes wore when hiking. I would consider taking a well stocked Kindle for reading next time.