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| Briefing
Weather briefings are given at 10:30 each morning and
all pilots who intend to fly are expected to be there. Forecasts are no
less reliable than in the UK and feature expected thermal strengths and
cloudbases in the various areas in which pilots might intend to fly.
Today's forecast was for a hot day (30°C) and good thermals until storms
moved in from the French-Italian border. |
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To
the Glacier
John headed north towards the Ecrins but
decided against the regular route along the lac de Serre-Ponçon to the St
Crepin valley. After passing to the north of the pic de Bure (left) he
flew towards the Valgaudemar, a deep valley on the western fringes of the
Ecrins. This valley is fringed by steep mountain ridges and today
cloudbase (9,500-10,000ft) was a few hundred feet above most of the ridge
with some of the peaks in cloud. |
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| At the head of the
valley it was just possible to pass over into the St Crepin valley and on
to the Glacier Blanc, beneath the Barre des Ecrins near Briancon.
Cloudbase here was 12,500ft with 6 knot climbs. Seeing storms from the
east along the col de Vars, John decided to retreat to the south, flying
along the edge of a series of storms to the plateau de Valensole and south
of the lac de St Croix. He turned a small village called La Verdière (for
some reason...) and made it back to base just before the storms arrived.
Click here to see a map of the
route and the logger file. |
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