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I think a few people had their eye on Saturday with forecast warm weather and clear skies to enjoy the mountains and it really delivered.
As we had a fair amount of rain in the week previous to Saturday, I really expected cloud to be an issue in the morning and expected to arrive to a dull valley but this was not the case. As the sounding promised good separation between the dewpoint and lapse rate it was dry with a base predicted to rise as the temperature increased through the day.
With a west facing hill and a rising inversion which started at or perhaps below hill top, I didn’t see any hurry to arrive early so I planned to be at the top for 12 noon and predicted 2 hours to walk up giving a desired arrival time at the bridge of orchy of 10am. As the whole of Scotland was out with maybe some of England too, the roads were unusually busy, everyone had the same idea and hope’s to enjoy the stunning day ahead. So my arrival time was slightly compromised. This was not an issue as the day was set to improve as time went on and I don’t think anyone expected the conditions to be booming and big distance as you might expect in May. It was August after all.
Strategy was also a question mark as retrieves and certainly hitch hiking was out of the question due to Covid-19. It was each man for himself and everyone travelled in their own cars all planning very conservative flights. My plan was a small triangle into wind perhaps or if that didn’t work, a ridge run along the face.
The walk up Beinn Dorain is a long hard slog but the effort is always rewarded. As we climbed up we watched the base lift and felt nice light cycles coming through with very light met wind felt at the col before the final hike up to the shoulder to launch.
It was a great turn out for August with 20+ pilots on launch all waiting for the first one to launch and see if it was working yet…..After a long climb up and not peak fitness, nobody wanted to risk launching too early and landing to see others with better success later in the day. With cycles coming through, it wasn’t long before a few gliders were in the air and climbing out above the summit showing the day was working. Time to get going and stop chatting!
Pre flight checks and waited for a cycle before launching and turning south where the previous gliders had found lift. It was really important to concentrate at this stage as a few mistakes and bad judgement would see the flight be cut short. I used every little bubble I could find, sometimes doing very careful and gentle turns in weaker lift, tightening up in the stronger and smaller areas of lift. Having flown quite recently helped in confidence and coordination to use the weak conditions to get up. I knew I wanted to be as high as possible as quickly as possible to give me a chance at staying up and making a plan. Soon I was above the top and able to see other gliders who had moved on to the south. I was in no rush.
I wanted to explore into wind as I saw lovely Cu upwind which I thought had to work and not very inspiring results from others to the S. I thought too, with the into wind option, I could easily keep it local and have the option of returning to the hill where there were plenty of thermal markers and known lift.
I pushed out into very smooth air and then, classic sink before entering a thermal so pushed on and found a weak but beautifully smooth climb. I was able to get my camera out and take photos as I went round, it was just lovely. Soon Steve H followed and we climbed and explored together, not really finding much to inspire us further into wind so we agreed over the radio to return and top up our height and reassess.
Once high again and in fact I topped out at cloudbase 4432ft I thought I might have better luck upwind so put on some bar aiming for Beinn Bhreac - liath. The glide over was smooth and not a bad line but the closer to the hills I got the more sink I found. I just wasn’t high enough on arrival to make it over and connect as I had hoped. Back to Dorain finding nothing on the way but with good ground speed made for good progress. I arrived low over the valley where there was more north pushing me towards Beinn Odah so I decided to increase my searching capability and head for the foot hoping for a low save! I made it over the train track which runs around the northern edge of the hill and found some buzzards soaring the lower slopes. I tried to join them but my averager showed the reality was time to think about sensible landing options.
There were many hazards which I had observed on the glide over which I had to have the height to make it over If I was to reach an ideal area to land. With one final attempt to find a climb, I headed out over the valley monitoring my groundspeed making sure I was setting up my approach correctly with power lines, fences etc considered! I had picked a field free of stock right next to the West highland way which would conveniently take me back to the Bridge of Orchy. However, shortly after walking along and watching folk climbing out above and receiving a call from Steve H, I was inspired to climb up for another shot! This time there was no path so it was tough going trying to climb the face having already climbed up the path to launch initially! It was a hard slog but eventually I reached the scree line and found a level platform to set up and launch. The day was starting to slow down and I had been watching folk maintaining in the valley in restitution. I kept feeling cycles coming up this steep slope so I thought there may still be a chance to climb and maintain before following over the valley to hopefully also connect with the “magic lift”. It was a very committing takeoff but with a gentle breeze I was able to reverse launch and be sure my glider and lines were good before taking off. However, as I tried to get into my pod, I got my right foot tangled in the speed bar lines in the pod so became concerned about my position so close to the hill! I pushed out and solved the problem but now at 200ft lower my ability to connect was reduced. Again confirmed by my averager, although my vario was telling me there was lift around, it was not worth being there so I pushed out over the valley and landing area hoping for the buoyant air I had seen others connect with. I think I may have been half an hour too late as I found zeros and reduced sink and no more.
I landed exhausted but elated after such a great day in the sunshine and beautiful mountains.
You can see my track here
https://ayvri.com/scene/095mr9dmjz/ckdodg5yo0001276lgq3zki4o