La Motte Saturday 20th June - Back into the blue

After yesterday's excitement and the year's shortest night, the NHL contingent were rather sluggish in gearing up for today's fun. Similar conditions to yesterday but with more wind, oh horray. It will be easier to get away but the landings will be even more exciting.

JB plumbed in

It was indeed easy to get away and the trio were quickly across the Durance valley to the west of Sisteron hunting for wave again. Despite the much stronger wind, the wave proved to be elusive and we endured a number of vicious rotor thermals trying to claw our way higher. Matt hooked into a particularly gnarly one and need both hands with a white knuckle death grip on the stick to try and keep M5 roughly the right way up. He used the rapid gain of height to push forward into wind to what looked like a promising line of rotor cumulus near where we contacted wave the day before, and spent all the hard won height even more rapidly and with interest. Phil, mean while, found the same ballistic thermal but managed to stay with it and was soon getting his breath back in 4knots of silk smooth wave. JB who was uncharacteristically nearby, soon followed suit. Matt had fallen into the weeds and spent the next hour or so fighting with ratty thermals more or less just maintaining height rather than actually climbing. His frustration was compounded by listening to Phil and JB complaining about bumping up against the FL115 airspace and unable to use their helpful advice of "the wave is just by the big ridge that runs by the mountain next to the river" or other constructive tit bits.

Phil and JB, bored of waiting and out of ideas, pushed north east aiming for Pic de Bure again. Phil aimed a bit more east and ended up falling out of the wave and soaring the northern slopes of the mountains around La Motte, using them to push upwind in the hunt for possible wave near Gap. Alas it was not to be.

Pic de Bure, the beast beacons once again

Matt had finally managed to climb up, joined JB near Serre and embarked on another dive into the lee of Pic de Bure, this time though, the feeling of flying into the gaping maw of some massive beast was over whelming. The sustained sink with no apparent progress into wind made Matt chicken out and turn for home. The day wasn't over yet though! Running downwind towarrds La Motte another zone of turbulence gave way to strong smooth lift, we had to stop. It wasn't too long before we were approaching 5000m and heading North East for the Erins.

Glacier Blanc

JB off on his own mission had a wrestle with an alligator in some rotor near the ski resort of the Champsaur valley while Matt tiptoed his way over the gnarly stuff to catch a glimpse of glacier Blanc before burning off the height with a 110km final glide back to La Motte.

We are thinking of having a day off tomorrow, lets see what the forecast holds!

Heading home