Today looked like quite a good day but once I launched I wasn't enjoying the air. It felt very rough and I didn't feel like putting up with that for an entire flight (and was still feeling a bit tired after yesterday's long day) so after climbing above Mt. 7 I decided to head out to land and have a slow and relaxing afternoon.
Those that rode it out reported that it actually got better later on (maybe I just launched too early) and enjoyed climbs to 4000+ m. A whole bunch of pilots turned around at Spillimacheen and made it back for a 100 km out-and-return, while a few others opted to continue south to Radium or Invermere before turning around. Martin N made it to Invermere airport for a new PB of ~102 km!
Of those that flew onwards to the turnaround point for the 200 km out-and-return, nobody made it fully back to the Muller Flight Park. Peter and Andrew came up short a few kms, landing just north of Pagliaro for ~190 km. Al made it back to Parson for ~165 km out-and-return.
Others flew north to Moberly and back to get some extra distance; Garth landed in the Blaeberry Valley next to his house and rode his bike back to Golden to get to his ATV parked at the bottom so he could retrieve his truck (a 3-vehicle endeavour apparently!).
The rest of this week is continuing to look epic, so hopefully tomorrow will feel less rough (at least to me) and I can get a nice out-and-return flight in. At some point this week cloudbase is going to rise so high that busting airspace may actually become an issue! One potential issue is a new fire (we spotted it yesterday, very small and on a steep hillside so we suspect it's lightening-induced) up one of the side valleys west of Parson...today the fire has grown and the smoke is now spreading into the main valley.
Results at http://thewillixc.com/
I think you forgot Ross Hunter. He flew down to invermere in his hang glider and turned around just north of Mount Swansea. He made it all the way back to Nicholson. His total distance is right around 200 kilometers.
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