7 Jun 05

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Wave Day

Today's weather feature was a moderate wind, NW to NE, with gusts. Otherwise there were clear skies, with perhaps one octa Cu and more strong, wave-enhanced thermals. I found a good climb off the Gache and while Authon was not working on its face, I managed to find a wind-shadow thermal slightly further south. On Blayeul I climbed in a 10 knotter in the company of half a dozen Duos, reaching 10,000ft which helped me on to the parcours, Guillaume and to the east of the Ecrins via Furan. 

 


Pelvoux


Barre des Ecrins from 18,000ft

The lift became rather tricky and was obviously wave-affected, giving me lots of unexpectedly strong sink. 

Retreating  from Pelvoux I decided to pop over the pas de Cavale and hit an astonishingly strong wave climb in the Valgaudemar, peaking at 11 knots. I took the wave right up to the legal ceiling of FL195 before pulling out and heading further north.
 
The wave structure was too complicated for me to work out so at les Deux Alpes I retreated back towards the  south, reconnecting with the wave once more, this time in the lee of the  pic de Bure. This ever-reliable mountain generated strong wave that was still going at 6 knots at FL195, so a possible diamond for those with a disregard for local airspace rules.


L'Alpe d'Huez

 


Climbing in wave over  the Valgaudemar

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