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Man and machine in perfect harmony
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Hot and Stormy
Following yesterday's poor
weather, today was the first flying day for our recently arrived expedition
members. After a flurry of rigging and a pause for lunch, we all set off
into a promising sky that was marred by the early appearance of over-large
cumulus clouds and congestus.
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What's that type of cloud called?
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Lac de Serre-Ponçon
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Conditions were again
excellent, with climb rates reported of up to 11 knots and a cloudbase
of around 10,000ft local to Sisteron and Gap. Some of the locals with
self-launching gliders had gone early and managed to reach the northern
Alps, but by the time it had got reliably soarable for pure gliders the
storms were beginning to build rapidly. Cells developed over the Blayeul,
Meouge, Barcelonnette and the Ecrins, prompting the instructors to advise
that we all stayed local to Gap or Sisteron airfields.
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Cu-Nim developing over the Ecrins
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Fortunately there was not too
much rainfall and explorations were made of unusual wave effects between the
Gache and l'Hongrie, giving a smooth 4 knots under the grey to 9500ft. The
wind varied from 150 degrees to 310 degrees depending on location and
altitude and, while the storm was passing, the wind got up sufficiently to
make the ridges work. By late afternoon the wind had died to zero and the
sun was still behind the remnants of the storm, forcing early landings.
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Near the pic de Bure, before the storm
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