I know what you are thinking! I was thinking it too! Why the hell was I going to Denbigh with a week of easterly winds forecast? It was going to be a complete waste of time gliding wise, the ridge faces south west and it's October, it would be easier to find crocodiles than thermals in north Wales. But what the heck, you only live once and if nothing else I could always work on my tea and moaning skills with the master carper Captain Slow and at least it wasn't raining.
On Wednesday morning the wind was south easterly and howling a good 25kts with gusts up to 35kts for good measure. Just after sunrise a prominent wave bar stretched across the sky behind the ridge and as the sun climbed up and poured it's warmth into the atmosphere the wave bar dissolved to be replaced by wind shredded cumulus which were quickly swept off to the west.
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| Yes! That is a cheesy grin, there's hope of flying! |
Around 11 Rod and Dan took a winch launch, fired the Arcus' engine, powering up to 3500' and into 4kts of lift before disappearing for 3 hours touring Bala, Cadir Idris and Snowdon with their high point of 16000' being over the sea near Barmouth. All right for some!
Meanwhile the rest of the visitors, with their gliders battened down at the western end of the field had no hope of getting away and so had to endure the radio updates from Arcus EW. The visiting tug pilot, Jonathan May, with his Ikarus was just as frustrated as the rest of us because the crosswind was out of limits for his machine. JB thought some personal grooming would be a much more productive use of the day so went off with Malcolm to get a haircut while Nick tried to regain his strength after a dodgy squid starter at dinner the night before.
By 3 o'clock the torment became too much and one of the Trent Valley dudes, Dave, took a launch, broke the cable, dropped the parachute deep in the woods and definitely didn't contact the wave. The wind however was finally showing signs of abating somewhat and the Ikarus made a tentative flight, satisfied, it was all systems go and 1 by 1 we were towed up to 3000' to try and make the transition into the wave, Pete and I near the back having foolishly gone looking for the lost winch parachute just as the tug came out the hangar.
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| Immersed in Wonder |
It wasn't straight forward and Tom and Dave managed to stay airborne, wrestling with the rotary lift but not connecting with the smooth wave which only really got going above the now 4000' cloudbase. Pete and I climbed steadily, passing each other now and then, as we tracked up and down the reforming wave bar below us. To the south we could see the tops of the wave shaped clouds near Bala and felt the unspoken desire to get over there. Pete made the transition across the 30 km to get there and was rewarded with 5kts of silk smooth lift to over 9000'. I completely botched it, having been pushed west into the sink by what I assumed was the Airway to our east but was actually the triangle of airspace which is only active after 8pm. Numpty! Realising my mistake I set about climbing up again for another attempt but I was fast running out of daylight. As the sun sank my frustration at lack of distance grew. I heard Pete and the others down to the south smoking back eager to get back to Lleweni before sunset.
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| Wave bars bathed in light |
Alone above clouds, I finally abandoned thoughts of going south, and opted instead to spend the remaining time before official dark, dancing with the clouds. It was my most inspired decision of the day, washing away my frustration with a wave pure delight. The top of the wave bar was brushed orange and yellow by the setting sun, the shadows were purple blue and the whole horizon was dipped in fire. The air was silk smooth, I slipped into the shadowy valleys absorbing the energy, pulled up, skimmed the peaks bathed in sunlight, filled with joy, totally immersed in wonder and relished every precious moment! It was unbelievably awesome! I played there for 20minutes and the memory of that experience will be forever burned on my soul.- Matt
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| Clouds on Fire |
