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High Cloudbase/Strong Winds
Today was Terry & Margaret's last
flying day before they set off for home, while it was Wendy's first, having
just flown in the night before. At briefing the forecast cloudbases went off
the scale (well above 4500m in the high mountains and 3500m locally). The
north-westerly wind was to increase during the afternoon and would produce
violent and gusty thermals.
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John & Wendy at Mission Control
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Near Pelvoux
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Getting away was to be a problem with two strong inversions
to get through before reaching the high cloudbases - a few of us needed
relights but were rewarded with good flights afterwards. Thermals low down
were difficult to find and very tight, but most of us were soon on Blayeul
enjoying its unusually high 11,000ft cloudbase. It was then easy to set off
for the higher mountains to the north. Trois Eveches produced 12,500ft, as
did the tête de Lucy across the lake. It was then possible to work the
spine of the Ecrins, working in a zig-zag fashion to the north all the
way to Pelvoux.
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Lac d'Allos
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The wind was a problem, at about 30 knots NNW. With a cloudbase
over 14,000ft this generally would not be a great problem, but having
mountains of 12,000ft close by generated extreme turbulence which made many
thermals unusable to all but the most highly skilled pilots. John gave up
near Plampinet after an hour in the spin cycle and retreated back to the
south where the mountains are lower and the wind was a more manageable 15
knots.
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The final part of the afternoon was spent
hunting for wave at Gache and Chabre. With a local cloudbase of 12,500ft and
winds of 20 knots gusting to 30 knots it was difficult to see what we were
climbing in but no-one managed to get into any high wave.
An unexpected and most welcome bonus of the strong winds
was in turning glider landings into a great spectator sport. It is surely
only a matter of time before the fence at the threshold of 36 becomes but a
distant memory.
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The Sisteron valley, looking south towards
St Auban
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