looking W along Chabre ridge
Arrive at Laragne Chabre take off early Saturday afternoon. Its a long E-W ridge. Vertical in some places on the N side and shallow on the S side. Lots of trees on S side with only 2 landing options. According to Zabdi (my original PG instructor who has been out for the women's training camp) conditions have been fantastic for the last week. The sky looks nice - good clouds must mean pretty unstable conditions... There's a NW breeze but strong thermals are kicking up the S side... The odd dusty goes through...rolling along the ridge top. We watch the fun. People are lobbing off the S side (picking their moment) and taking HUGE surges in lee side thermals quite close to the hill. 3 pilots take off too close together and get massive pendulums (all synchronous fortunately) as they push away from the hill. The guy turning hardest into the surges gets up the best but later when way high above the ridge he overdoes it and spins (2 or 3 full revolutions). One guy gets psyched out and pushes out away from the hill. Massive sink into the trees - he had chosen badly on which landing field to go for in the W breeze in the valley S of take off. We decide not to fly but find out later that one of the guys who got to base just above us flew to St Andre about 50k? to the SW After we left (to check out our accommodation) another guy got whacked on take off and dragged through a little tree. When he looked down he had a branch sticking into one side of his thigh and out the other. It missed the big pipes.
Day 1 - Sunday
a rather busy bergies take off
We go to Bergies to the W of Laragne and a 20k? task is called back to the campsite landing field. You could push forward and get on the main ridge and soar all the way to Laragne (but it looks hard to get there) Or you could go with the continuation ridge of Bergies which will get you to within a few k of goal but the ridge is not very defined at several points
Conditions look weak and all the top boys go early along the continuation ridge. An orographic cloud forming to the left of TO makes it feel very Scottish! We hang about waiting for the air to get a little less busy. The orographic disappears after our late lunch as the day dries. Bob Drury seems obsessed with the fact that there should be a climb where the orographic was. Out he goes, down, back to hill, scratch like hell to get back up, over and over. Eventually he bombs. Kai Coleman and a couple of the polish boys get more height than others above TO and get a "lucky" (senor hamon) thermal over the valley and to within a k of goal - an amazing effort. I get 4.5k or somesuch against Senor H's 10 or 12. We get involved in a rescue of a Polish pilot who crash landed in some small trees while scratching too close on a thermic slope about 10k from goal. When we get to him (gps coordinates relayed by radio) he has walked gingerly down about 100m from his glider and I have a hard time convincing him to stand still and wait for the doctor who is scrambling up the hill just below. The doc reckons he's OK and we help Jatzek to walk slowly about half a k down a reasonable path where he is met by the Pompiers and stretcher. Shock takes hold and he withdraws a little and submits to being trussed up quietly. It turned out to be bad bruising only. Meanwhile his Polish mate has got the glider no problem, "I land trees 14 times - now I keep saw in harness!".
Day 2 - Monday
top dogs russell ogden and adrian thomas admiring the N side. Its a bit less steep further down the ridge
Up to TO and its a fearsome mass of gliders getting unpacked! Some people are fluffing their gliders up right on the edge in the thermic S breeze. A 46k? task is called.... running along the ridge to the W for 10k to a turnpoint then over in NE direction from TO with a NW leg thrown in at the end. With a start cylinder 3k from the first turnpoint and a start window open in only 15 minutes all the top boys are off within seconds of the hooter. My glider is still in its bag and i am still punching GPS buttons.... David T has gone for an early fly and is now having a devil of a job top landing... its lifty and there are gliders streaming out...
I wait nervously in the queue and get off a bit untidily but climb out well and get under a nice dark cloud near TO. Hmmnnn Cb's possible for later in the afternoon by the forecast and I get on the ears nice and early (still going up) and miss the edge of the cloud nicely. The top boys are gone but there are a fair no. of gliders around. I push W into the strengthening SW wind. Soon there are just me and a blue firebird (Abi Barr it turns out) groveling along the ridge crabbing sideways and giving it full speed bar sometimes just to stay forward. This doesn't feel like typical french flying .... Oh, oh the turnpoint's gonna be hard its in a col and the winds gonna be worse than ever. I get it OK and then start working back along the ridge.... but get enthusiastic and try and stay with a big rough thermal. One turn later and I have lost it and am mid-compression and sinking. No place for heroics and I flee downwind into the friendly looking valley over the back before the rotor monster can reach me. Smooth and easy landing. Abi gets half way to the second turnpoint before landing....
I get picked up about 5 mins after landing by the mini bus and we pick up a couple more who have been pinned and washed over the back including Snowy who gives us a full run down on his triple SIV course in the rotor - I wonder how much lower to the ridge he went over....
Turns out the task was cancelled about the same time I made base because of strong winds i.e about 10 mins after I launched. Lesson; make sure you are getting the safety freq and if you see a few gliders doing a few turns of big ears for no reason that means task cancelled.
The cynics pronounce it a task that never was....
Day 3 - Tuesday
St Vincent-le-Fort panorama
The MISTRAL is here as predicted..... With Low to the SE and High to the W the only way for a whole wadge of air N of the alps to get S is to whoosh down the rhone valley to the W of the alps. Although Laragne is E of the main Rhone valley it still gets some Mistral....
Up in the morning and the wind is howling. We go to St Vincent le Fort which is about an hour E of Laragne... more in the mountains and legendary as the one place you can fly when the Mistral is strong in this part of the country.... (also Gourdon but thats 3 hrs plus away). St V is about 40k? N of St Andre.
Its an amazing place - not quite as spectacular as Annecy but up there... You take off from a lump beside a nice top landing field, soar right to thermal above the old village and ancient fort , get some height and then run back left onto the shallow, wooded spur leading up to the Dormillouse (>2000m).
looking back at take off
A cautious committee set a 40k? task cats cradle in the valley and avoid taking us along any of the big hills where there might be stronger winds. There are lenticulars all over the place. And wave bars. I have a GPS scramble but find out after entering the new waypoint about 20 times that i have jogged it off the correct map datum and thereafter the hassle subsides...
Biggest thermal experience of my life as I get established in a decent one over the fort and at least 50 gliders come to join me.... Perhaps 10 of them at same level as me. After 15 minutes we are high and my mouth is as dry.. I am still mid gaggle.... but have been flying gliders way more than my vario. I decide to go for some chill time and leave the thermal earlier than some others to glide over to St Vincent mountain... Up again and I get to about 2100 metres and fly the 4k or so over to the start gate and watch my gps click on to the next waypoint (for the first time ever). Unfortunately the first leg is into wind and only 2 of our gaggle of 8 get over a small ridge the windward side of which would give an easy route down to the first turnpoint - we are stuck in the lee without a great place to look for a thermal and go down.
after the task going across the lake for some mellow evening soaring
I get picked up promptly and zoom back to TO where i meet David who had had a similar fate. Gordon is still flying having been trying desperately for the previous 2 hours to get away from the TO ridge... We both want to go for a chill but not sure if in the air or on the ground will be more relaxed! Both of us fly however, and it turns out to be one to remember... Opposite St V and over the lake is a huge bowl of exposed rock reaching up to 2200m. Even better its facing both the mild valley breeze and the lowering setting sun... We had heard you need 300m above to TO to cross the lake but get 280 and go for it with Gordon giving up on the task (he has missed the start window anyway) and joining us. The next half hour is dream flying.... lift is mild and friendly. We fly in close to the rock elevators and complex bowls and spires and cliffs and work our way up to the summit of the mountain with S turns as much as circles. The lift starts to die as I approach the rim of red rocks on the summit ridge (raven squawking) and we float back across to join the crowd of gliders above TO feeling like winners (having the most fun!). When gordon lands he gets hassle for not checking in as its now after the "land by" time!
Bruce G wins with 24k.
Day 4 - Wednesday
MISTRAL howling last night and this morning. However, we are more cheerful knowing that St Vincent holds an option.... We get there a bit early and David T goes for a fly before the task. In the distance the lenticulars and wave cloud are not so pronounced today. Stronger wind at TO than yesterday but he hops back onto the mountain to check things out with about half a dozen other pilots. Suddenly there are white horses on the lake 500m below launch and the gliders in the air are gale hanging.
Gradually, gradually they push out towards the many bottom landing fields... a big crowd of pilots gather at the front of TO all wishing that they get down safely....all the wings are going backwards during 5 minute long strong periods. All but the slowest glider a local student on an atom managed to make it forward and land (getting rounds of applause from the assembled pilots) but the atom is blown backwards over the takeoff spur and a big posse of pilots run over the back of the hill to try and help. Its very steep and we are fully expecting a nasty rotor event but arrive at the lip to see a little yellow atom landing with big ears still on about 400m below us down by the river. Woo hoo!
The wind calms and Bruce G and others go for test flies but the task committee cans the day. A later survey of hands reveals the vast majority as "don't knows" but those who voted agreed with the committee. You can tell the comp panel want to move to Gourdon to escape the strong winds but for those who have booked gites rather than brought tents this is hardly fair.
Day 5 - Thursday
Back at St Vincent and there is optimistic talk because the winds were lighter overnight back in Laragne. A 60k task is called from St Vincent S about 20k to a turnpoint on the Dormillouse chain (should be a ridge run?) back past TO to a turnpoint over the lake (near where we were 2 days ago) and then back to the main landing field. I feel excited - maybe we can get to goal today.
It turns out to be a bad day for everybody. Its a more stable day and this has a dramatic contribution to events. Its much harder to climb out from TO and when the thermal cycle weakens a bit everybody drops down into a compressed volume of air to soar above the village and the fort. The strong inversion at 2200m means that the strong afternoon anabatic flow up the W facing side of the mountain which is expected fails to materialise. In fact, instead of nice thermals next to the mountain on this side there will be horrible rotor due to the met wind (NE) coming over and down - especially next to low points/cols on the main ridge.
While David and I are fighting to climb through the inversion (about a 2 hour fight!) on the lower slopes of Dormillouse and Gordon is over TO we hear on the radio of a mid-air PG/HG above TO. The PGer is Vivian (not flying in the comp but friend of many here) and the HGer is a local pilot. We hear later that Vivian crash landed on the top of the fort while the the HG, still suspended in her lines, dangled over the E wall. Vivian got broken bits (legs, ribs) but the HGer died. We continue to fly as helicopters are going to be buzzing TO soon anyway. Eventually we give up fighting the inversion (I had a 3.5m/s on the averager stop dead) and work round the mountain low on the W side. We work hard in lumpy lift over trees at the margins of "easy glide" to landing fields lower in the valley and get about 10k down the course. Later we hear that Natalia (a Venuzuelan girl in the comp) is unconcious and needs heli rescue from near the first turnpoint. When they got there she was dead too and was found dangling over a cliff face with trees at the top (tucking in too close and caught a wing tip on a tree perhaps? Don't know)
Many people get caught by strong and turbulent winds near the first turnpoint and land out in gullies high above the treeline. 6 are still out when we check in at Laragne but all are back by 4am. "worst flying conditions of my life" type comments float around that evening.
5 make goal. 1st in Mark Watts - the guys who got really high above the ridge had a smooth run.
Day 6 - Friday
chabre N side
No task. An explanation of the task and meteo by BD - CB was still giving statements to the police. We free fly from Laragne about 3pm in the afternoon in the handsome conditions (blue) getting down to Sisteron in a Northerly drift (about 20k).
Day 7 - Saturday
The sky looks even better than yesterday with some Cu popping by 12 but we have to leave to get our plane at 2pm sharp. We launch about 1pm and at 2pm sharp I'm at 1800m (above Gordon who has just landed in a field near Sisteron) and am wondering how tight our time limit is. Sigh, spiral dive, wing over, spiral dive.
Actually the description above was for Sunday which means I've lost a day.... Worrying how the memory goes .... Overall impression of competition flying is that its stressful for early xc pilots like me.... and this comp was tricky. Going free flying xc on the last two days felt like evening floating by comparison...
EDIT: reading this report again many years later it doesn't seem to treat the events that happened with the right tone or respect. Perhaps a sudden bereavement in my own family earlier in 2003 explains that in part.
