Soaring - Well, Almost..

Ridge soaring doesn't do much for me. It's a nice alternative to staying earthbound during the winter months, but 'real' soaring - chasing a thermal up until it tops out several thousand feet above launch - is much more exciting as far as I'm concerned. I still watch the forecast in hopes that a rain-free, fog-free prefrontal day at Walker Mountain will coincide with the weekend, but those days are few and far between.

This last weekend hinted at becoming a 'real' soaring day. There was just enough of a lapse rate to entice me to drive up the hill and find out first-hand how accurate the forecast was. While others were settling into their easy chairs in front of the TV, cracking open beers, stuffing Doritos down their gullets, and preparing for the Stupor-bowl (I'm obviously not a big football fan), I was assembling my glider at the top of Woodrat. It was such a beautiful spring-like day I just couldn't stand the thought of lounging away the day while watching a bunch of overpaid jocks run into each other. But I digress..

Ken met up with me in the lz, but didn't feel inspired enough to fly. There was also a contingent of paraglider pilots there, including Rick (of course), Carl, Jules, & Don. The wind was blowing over the back when we got there, but as the sun heated the west side, cycles began coming up the face. The paragliders launched first, and some managed to maintain for quite some time. I gave Ken a headstart down the hill in my truck before launching and worked the same lift as the PG's for a half-hour or so. It wasn't anything to get too excited about, but for the first day of February, a day of thermic soaring - more or less - is a real bonus.

We'll be watching the skies from now on for the first tell-tale signs of spring soaring conditions - when the turkey vultures (abbreviated TV) return on their annual spring migration. So, I guess I'll be watching TV after all...