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As we headed back towards Geneva for the departure, we spent time in the places we had flown earlier in the week. St. Hillaire was really on this time, and I spent alot of time at cloudbase, high over the bench where launch is. On the second flight after lunch, I crossed the valley after reaching cloudbase again, and worked it up to the dewpoint on the east side of the valley before heading back to the LZ. Lake Annecy
After Breakfast, we got a sledder from the high launch, landing at the south end of the lake. No lift, but Dick had fun getting a little crazy over the lake! Later, we went to the main launch for a midday flight, and found lots of lift and lots more people! There were so many pilots crammed into the narrow lift band above launch, that many times we each were surprised and appalled by the gaggle. One guy in a Flight Design was basically out of control, flailing around with arms extended, out of his seat, overcontrolling the glider. Finally, I got a bit of room to actually do a circle in lift, and I climbed out above the masses and headed for another ridge where I could work lift in relative solitude. Soon, I was working a light thermal back up the face of the main mountain behind launch until I was again at cloudbase, alone and exhilirated. I called to Don, but he had tried to work the same bump where I went, but three other gliders had invaded the thermal, and he got flushed back to the ridge. I headed out to land, but as I got near the LZ, Dick launched and I asked him if he would go back to cloudbase with me. We worked the ridge again, and soon were able to break away from the crowd and work the little bump again, back to the rock cliffs. The air was a bit abusive this time, so I opted to leave about as quickly as I arrived, feeling like I was flying in the rotor of the mountain top. As we landed, the clouds overdeveloped and everyone came out to land as the wind increased. Soon, there was only a few gliders in the air and a light rain fell. We packed up and headed for the Gustavia Inn in Chamonix. The Gustavia serves the best breakfast - there's fresh juice and fruit, fresh cheeses, breads and ham, granola with yogurt or milk cheese, cereals, chocolate hazelnut spread, honey, dried fruits, soft-boiled eggs, croissants, and of course - cafe au lait! Coffee! It was all spread out like an offering to the gods! (read: sky gods) After the feast, we got on the tram again to see if we could fly from the Aguille du Midi above town, but the wind was too strong on top. I got a real humbling as we looked at the 'trail' down to the glacier where launch is. We were prepared to rope up and descend down what seemed like a knife edge, one side dropping hundreds of feet, and the other a few thousand! I remembered Berndt's trip to France, where he had thermalled up over the launch after hiking down to it, and I developed a great respect for the mountain. We hung out for awhile taking in the views, then dropped back down to the first level, where pilots and tandems were launching in the snow. Once launched, we crossed the valley over Chamonix and worked up the sunny side to the clouds for a better view. After an hour or so of punchy thermals with sharp edges, we enjoyed a leisurely glide back to the middle of the valley where the landing zone is. As we ate lunch, we observed pilots getting high on the tram side of the valley as the sun heated the rocks. As usual, we got pumped for another flight and headed for the tram once again. This time we launched from the other side of the ridge where the first tram station is. The thermal was right over the tram wires, and it was a ratty crankin' rocket you had to hold onto with both hands.
I flew out to put my gloves on, and got the awesome view of the famous Chamonix valley. Soon Hans and Don got into the air, but didn't really like the nasty thermal over the tram cables, and flew out for smoother air. Don hooked something deep in the valley, but couldn't work it past a certain point. You have to hold the high ground or just enjoy the sledder. I jumped back into the tram thermal and this time got really thrashed on the way to the top, finally getting rocked so hard that I looked at my leading edge straight out in front of me as the wing surged. Enough abuse! I headed out into the smoother air high in the valley and toured down to the glacier below Mont Blanc. Dick finally got launched after the wind had gone dead on launch, and flew straight throught the tram thermal as it lifted him high away from the hill. He didn't like the feel of it, and I don't blame him, so he just flew out and boated around for awhile. This was an extra day in the trip, since we could not get a flight out on Sunday, and we all basked in the memories of our flights in France as we relaxed in the LZ. For information about joining us in France, click HERE. Gran Monte and Lake Annecy St. Hillaire du Touvet St. Andre, Entrevous and Moustiers Cloudbase in Chamonix |
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