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| Loss |
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The mood at
briefing this morning was sombre. Rumours of an accident had hit the internet yesterday
afternoon and it was revealed this morning that a Swiss pilot flying from
Sisteron had lost his life in the turbulent conditions of yesterday's
wave.
The briefing room was packed full. We stood in silence in respect.
It was a further terrible shock to me to learn
that the pilot was my friend Heinz. We had met several times over the
years; he was always friendly, always funny and always helpful. And he was a very good
and experienced pilot. It is hard to understand how the accident could
have happened and equally hard to realise that now he has gone. Hans was a
good family
man and he leaves a wife and two children, whose pain I can barely start
to imagine.
RIP Heinz.
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Lac Castellane
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| Today's forecast
hinted that today's would be my final Sisteron flight of 2014 so, despite this morning's dreadful
news, I
decided to fly. I rigged and launched, perhaps a little
too early, for a tow to the Gache and its baby thermals. It took me a
while to reach the cumulus, which was retreating eastwards as quickly as
my attempts to reach them, but after a longer-than-expected spell in the
cuvette I managed to break free onto the Blayeul which opened the door to
the higher cloudbases in the east. |
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Lac d'Allos
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Cime de la Bonette
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I hadn't flown east of the Cheval Blanc during this
visit, so I took the opportunity with a 9,000ft cloudbase to visit the lac
de Castellane. The way to Fayence looked very possible, although the
return leg might have proved problematical, so I turned north, heading for
the Mercantour. The lac d'Allos looked as pretty as ever, and cloudbases
rose to 10,000ft as I continued further north.
The visibility was clear and sparkling, a beautiful day
to visit the southern Queyras. I crossed over the Barcelonette valley via
the high pass of the cime de la Bonette and the east of the col de Vars to
what I consider to be the most picturesque region of the southern French
Alps. The combination of cloud shadows, deep blue sky and the brown and
snow-white mountains was awe-inspiring.
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Wilderness living
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I continued further east towards Mont Viso, although it
was clear that today only its feet would be visible. Cloud spilled up from
the Italian plains obscuring the col d'Agnel, just a few kilometers from
Viso.
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Queyras
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I declined the opportunity to fly further north and
returned instead to the Barcelonette valley via the Grande Berard,
continuing over the col d'Allos as far as the Cheval Blanc, where I decided
to fly back to base for a final landing.
Today's flight had been relatively easy,
but the day had been
emotionally difficult.
Time to go home.
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Col d'Agnel
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