Memorial Weekend

I always try to spend Memorial Day weekend at my moms house in Colorado. Last year it rained the whole time and we spent a ton of time inside eating and drinking. This time, although it was windy I got to get in my kayak and do a fair bit of paddling. Always good for the sole to be on the water.

Full moon rising over the Dolores River. Taken from Moms front yard.

Its Fun When It Isn't Blowing

The last week has been an interesting one. After my South Mountain adventure, Saturday was an Epic day. Cumulus clouds as far as the eye could see, yet strong rowdy air. Roy and Ben got to launch before me and were up and established. Roy got to 11,111 from Sheba and was headed south. Ben was not liking the beating mother nature was giving him and top landed. I finally sorted through my gear and set up to launch and catch Roy. Ben told me of the textured air and I was eager to sample it. Yep strong. After some rowdy conditions around the take off I was screaming upward at over 1000 feet per minute thinking this is gonna be a long day. At 9500 feet I left my good climb to head towards Roy. A couple turns in another strong thermal along the way I saw him only one cloud away. Greed took hold of me and I made a total rookie error. I flew straight toward him, forgetting any XC potential and the fact that to stay in the sky you first have to stay in lift. After landing I laughed out loud as he came and landed next to me, only 4 miles from Sheba. He was cold, had to piss and was overwhelmed by the air. He will be prepared next time. So what we blew the best day of the year for a huge flight but we were all together laughing. That should always be the real goal.
Sunday didn't look so good but the afternoon had great potential for Apache Maid. Layback, Ben and I headed to the hill and couldn't set up fast enough when we saw the conditions. I punched of first and with minimal searching went straight to 10,400. I got another climb just east of Stoneman Lake and headed towards Lake Mary Rd. Here I was getting low and found an area of 0 lift. Learning from my reminder the day before I made some lazy turns in this area and drifted with it only to reap the rewards of it getting stronger and stronger and next thing I knew I was looking at Mormon Lake from 13,700 ft. After a long late afternoon glide I came in 100 ft above the Mormon Lake overlook where we launch when we fly there. I was laughing out loud in my harness when I started ridge soaring the smooth air off the lake. It was late in the day and I would find no more thermals but I flew for another hour or more until sunset. Why land and wait for your friends who are going to fly till dark when you can fly till dark as well. Just as I finished packing up they came and picked me up. May is windy here and these magical days are rare yet Thursday evening had the perfect ingredients for an Aubrey cliff session. Paul Alley has had quite a winter while being a new father and remodling his house he hasn't been out since Oct. I let him know what I thought and he was in. He with his hang glider and I with my paraglider headed to Seligman. Again the conditions were perfect and we flew for a couple hours and around 20 miles of mixed ridge/thermal lift. Glad I got to share another epoch night with him after his long break. Wow is the word most people use after a week like that. I actually managed to get some work done during this time period as well. But I don't think I'll remember it like I will flying with my friends. 6 hours of airtime and near 60 miles of ground covered I think I'll be able to sit back and watch May do what it does best for the next week. Between gusts I'll be day dreaming of the past week and smiling. From Dustin and Sean to Paul and everyone in between this was a really cool week in my flying career that I'll remember always. Huge thanks to Will for the laughs, the shuttles, and the ideas. You rock! Sorry no pictures were taken by me during the construction of the huge smile on my face.
T

South Mountain

Downtown Phoenix From 5000'

Well it happened. If you write it down it'll happen. On Thurs. I had to go to Phoenix to get some building materials. After loading my trailer with the goods I met up with Dustin Pachura and Sean Buckner. 2 Phoenix locals and down right good dudes. They took me to South Mountain and showed me around. In a little less than an hour Dustin and I got quite the tour from above. I even got to land at my truck and make it home before dark. Thanks guys! Too Bad there is a ceiling at 5000'.
Past this casino the airpace drops down to 3000 ft

May

May has been typical. Wind, wind, wind and you got it more wind on the way. The flying scene in Arizona has really taken of in the last few years. The Phoenix group has grown to a Phoenix sized group of good pilots and a few hacks. I have been trying to link up with a few of them and fly but this damn wind keeps getting in the way. I really enjoy flying with good pilots from other places and think that it is a great way to learn skills you may not realize until you see them in a different light. Stay tuned as summer is on the way and I'm hoping for great things this season. We are seeing some big numbers go up on marginal days. I'm excited to see what happens on the right day. It used to be that with such a small community good days were rarely capitalized on. Now with more good pilots with different schedules anything could happen on any day. I think we will see a new state record this year. I think it could happen at any site on the right day as long as there is a pilot ready to send it. I hope its me. I would like 100+ from The Craters but we'll just see how the cards fall. If I get 100+ from another site I won't be complaining. Yet they may not fall in my favor and its still exciting to see this change in the AZ scene. Good luck boys and girls!