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Rest Day
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Sort of. After
yesterday's excitement I decided to go for a short and hopefully undemanding
flight into the St Crepin valley to look for a bit of wave. Thermals
were plentiful in the local valley, just requiring a modicum of patience
while waiting for the big one to arrive. I
got a little taste of the forecast turbulence on climbing away from Malaup,
with plus and minus 10 knot surges in a single turn. Onwards to Morgon,
which wasn't working as a thermal generator when I got there, though the
huge street just upwind of it turned out to be the more obvious and better
solution.
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Ecrins from FL195
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It was as I was crossing the St Crepin valley
from the tete de Vautisse to the tete de Peyron that the ghost of
"Knuckles" Malone reappeared, still "not very happy",
and proceeded to give me and my glider a damned good thrashing. I decided
there and then that getting into some wave would make the return to Sisteron
so much more pleasant.
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Glacier Blanc
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It didn't take too long - all I needed to do was find the
really strong thermal near the into-wind edge of the cumulus and push
forward, all text-book stuff.
Very soon I was in clear, smooth air, climbing at 6 knots
towards the legal ceiling of FL195. I made a short trip northwards to
the edge of the Maurienne, though not much further as I am a novice at
working out wave lines, while the 44 knot wind was a mere secondary
factor.
So, I decided to fall back to the St Crepin valley and head
closer to home, by-passing the large congestus building over the central
Ecrins.
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Pic de Bure
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I have to say that descending from the high
wave was a spine-tingling delight - and I speak as one who dislikes wave
flying. The depth of cumulus was about 6000ft, so there was plenty of
opportunity to duck and weave through massive cauliflower cumulus in the
smoothest of air, as I headed past Furan towards the Gap valley. I was still
above cloudbase as I approached the pic de Bure, which was generating its
own "special" wave, up the into-wind side of a very tall cloud, to
about 15,000ft.
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I continued southwards, experimenting with the Lure to see
whether any southerly wave was on offer there. I did find some lift, but it
wasn't spectacular: the best of it appeared to be directly above the lower
ridges of Somiou and Pelegrine.
After a quick check for sunbathing women at le Mas du
Chene, I decided (after a mere five hour flight) on an early landing.
I think I was still exhausted from yesterday. I also think
that I must be getting old...
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Floating down...
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