August 2002 Paragliding Road Trip

- a story in pictures -

by Jérôme Daoust , revised 2004/1/1

From Los Angeles, what can you do with 9 days in August ?

Drive 6000 km (4000 miles).
Fly 7 sites in 3 states.
Gather 16 hours airtime.
Get more sand in the wing.
Loose a camera.
Make 2 mistakes (find them in the captions below).

Sky Bee had set a broad description for the road trip : LA to Chelan and hit other sites on the way back. Good enough for me. Here is the story in pictures (higher resolution available)…

Day 1. We leave Los Angeles early afternoon, driving throughout the night and survive on what rest stops have to offer. …must keep heading North… Are we there yet ?

Day 2. Tiger Mountain, Washington.

After 22 hours of driving from Los Angeles, we reach Tiger Mountain and given a proper site introduction by Abe Laguna. We flew (extended sleds) the South side earlier, now we are on the North side launch. Stories of site politics were left unconfirmed. Tandem pilots are helping each other on launch.

Looking back at the North side launch. Tiger Mountain (WA). Top landings were done by coming in next to the edge of the trees, to the right. Conditions were good enough to go to the “antennas” we see in the background.

Day 3. Chelan, Washington. The main focus of this road trip.

Some pilots at Tiger Mountain tried to scare us away from coming here (closed due to fire, blown-out) but the site was ready and offering good conditions. Joe Gluzinski provides a site introduction. Setting up on “Ants-in-the-pants” launch.

Scratching and using anything to stay up, until solid lift is encountered. Waiting for a good cycle was the key, early launchers struggle lower.

Looking down on launch. We are told that sometimes, all launches can safely be used at the same time.

Fueling up with altitude. Nicolas Pisar is enjoying his new red Atis. The Columbia River runs cold below.

Near the top of lift and looking East, reveals thunderstorm activity. One pilot still scratching low, experienced the gust front, and was sent up to 11 K.

Time to go somewhere. I follow Nicolas and Roman Pisar across Lake Chelan.

Looking back at launch. Staying up is now “too easy”, and 3 thunderstorms are getting closer. Time to land.

Over the radio, Joe Gluzinski told us earlier we could land in the field at the “red roofs”. Roman Pisar sets his approach below.

Myself, pointing back at launch.

Late afternoon, after the weather has calmed down, we enjoy a flight in the rotor from the ridge to our right (Mistake #1).

The glide ratio is bad when you fly along a ridge’s rotor. The LZ is just out of reach. Better to land on the hill than in the net of wires down below.

Day 4. More of Chelan, Washington.

Conditions are similar to the previous day. I’m the wind dummy today. Nicolas Pisar and myself reach top of lift first and head for hills on the other side of the lake.

Looking back at launch. After very low saves (250’ from the deck) we regain favorable altitudes.

Here is the plan : Go back towards the Columbia River and make it to the mountain next to the dam.

A low save near the dam is now just a memory. The route plan has worked. Wide and potent lift sends Nicolas and me to our maximum altitude. Temptation to cross the river and enter the flat lands is under control.

Looking back at launch : Farthest peak to the right. Rain is pouring 2 valleys along our initial route. Time to return for an easy recovery.

Day 5. More Tiger Mountain, Washington.

Conditions offer over 3 hours of thermalling and soaring. Very crowded late in the afternoon (I get upset at a tandem not following ridge rules). The word must have gone out. Roman Pisar believes it is this day he lost his camera (Canon Digital, silver color, small) after taking in-flight pictures.

Day 6. Cannon Beach, Oregon. South of Ecola State Park.

Those who do not fear loading their trailing edge with sand, enjoy kiting. Pilots engage in a best glide ratio contest.

Day 7. Woodrat, Oregon.

The city invested over 100,000 $ in the last years, to improve the road and launch. A fire had filled the air with smoke.

Myself and Roman Pisar, battling for supremacy of launch airspace. I end up loosing and sent scratching further below. Maybe I should go back to a high DHV-level wing ?

After a low save, making it back to launch altitude.

Now it’s easy to get altitude. Looking down at launch. Relocating to the end of the rim to the left of launch, produced the most powerful lift over a burned area.

Wide and generous lift awaited over the LZ, which would bring us back up to the highest altitude of the day. Crossing the valley revealed good lift on the far mountains too. The LZ looks good from up here, but watch for areas with less “cow pies” when on approach.

Day 8. The Dumps, California.

The Dumps provides ridge soaring for the San Francisco pilots. A Southerly component forced some to use the upper launch. A local pilot tells me to launch higher, more into the wind.

Using the fog above the ridge, Abe Laguna plays hiding games.

Parking LZ (Mistake #2). I should have know that the strong wing and a sharp break in the ridge profile would produce a rotor. This picture was taken just after I recovered some airspeed and applied generous amounts of brake to flare. The skid marks are not mine.

We move further South to the Monterey sand dunes. Jerry Miller took the above picture in January 1999. Roman Pisar lets me try the Fides (DHV 1) : Easy kiting and soaring. After flying the wings are given a good shakeout to get rid of the sand. Good food at the Fisherman’s Warf.

Day 9. Comanche, California. Close to Bakersfield, just South of the town of Arvin.

The hot LZ greets us with the smell of a dead goat (we think). The shallow slope had some pilots struggle to reach the LZ. Conditions turned on for their next flight. Notice the golf course (lighter green patch) to the right.

Looking down at launch. The LZ is the last bend in the road at the top of the picture. Joe Weber shows me a better thermal, I’m going for it.

Heading towards the back of the mountains. Joe Weber is my local guide.

Landing on the green of the 18^th hole at the golf course. Launch is at the far right. Golfers cheer us on, as 3 of us land here. Their only comment : Next week there is a tournament so just avoid the green for that time. Nice. A crowd’s reaction seems to follow that of the first person.

PS. A big thanks to those who let us crash at their place (sometimes late into the night), and gave us local introduction : Abe Laguna, Joe Gluzinski, and Joe Weber.