Ed Levin 1/9/2011

After setting up the course, Chris, Wayne and I headed up the hill on Sunday morning to take a practice run.

We setup in the high fog which was just barely covering launch, and waited. Winds were light and things looked perfect. The fog began to clear and then it started blowing NE, over the back. We went over to the backside launch, but decided it was too cross and too difficult to see if the front side of the hill was clear or not.

After about 20 minutes, the wind died again and the front side was launchable, but now the fog came back. This cycle continued and we decided to wait on the West side and go for a no wind launch. What I thought was a no wind launch felt more like a slight downwind. Despite using the steepest launch available, I ran and ran and ran. I was amazed at how fast I was going before the glider finally started lifting off my shoulders.

Once in the air it was easily soarable, despite not having a vario. I knew right away that it was not a good day to be flying close to the terrain, so scratched to speed gliding. I soared for a short while and was freezing. I hadn't planned on spending more than 5 minutes in the air, and I wasn't dressed properly.

When I decided to come down, I had to search for sink, which was hard to do without a vario.

After flying, Chris and I made a final tweak to the course and called it a day.