Time to take a deep breath and regroup after one of the most intense weeks of flying I've ever had.
The meet director really didn't want to fly on the last day but the comp had been adevertised as "7 possible flying days" so we all kept after them to let us go up and race. It's not everyday that we're all here in one spot and the weather is cooperating. We have to take advantage of any opportunities we might get to compete on our home turf in the USA. The weather was changing and looked like it could go either way so we finally headed up the hill to check out conditions and see if we could make the week 7 for 7.
When the first wind dummies flew conditions certainly didn't look very good. The valley floor was so hot, and was really hot up on launch so there was almost no lapse rate to help the thermals rise. Then a rep from the FAA called and told the organizers that there had just been a Temporary Flight Ristriction set with a 5 nautical mile radius right in the middle of our task which had been set earlier. This created much anxiety because the winds were strong in some areas so we were limited in which directions we could race. It was eventually decided to call a different task which kept us well to the south of the fire and TFR. The start time was set at 4pm but the race was only 55 kilometers in length so we still had time to pull it off. The finally opened the launch window at 3pm and we all immediatly started launching.
When I launched I flew right into a sink cycle and started plummeting right off launch. I was forced to just take a line out front and turn left and just ridge soar along the spines hoping to find something. The launch at Inspo is not very high above the valley floor so if you don't find a thermal pretty quickly it becomes very difficult to climb out. The comp has positioned retrieve vans down below launch at the landing field every day to bring pilots back up to re-launch and try again.
When I got out front I made the left turn and starting soaring along the various spines and canyons along the way. I didn't find anything for awhile and was starting to get concerned when I flew around a spine and and spied not one but two hawks climbing out strongly, in two different thermals no less. In short order I was climbing with a feathered friend and was soon in good start position 13,500 feet in altitude.
The race was quite fast and really fun as the thermals were some of the nicest we'd had all week. I made it to goal in pretty good position but lost the top three on the last climb coming in under them but finding the thermal no longer there.... I had to stay in the mountains and find one more good climb before I could head to the last turn point which was out on the valley floor, and then made the 12k final glide to goal.
Some pilots were so low on their final glides that they landed short, and a few made it in to the goal field with no extra altitude - just enough to clear the trees and land....
When we got back to headquarters and got out of our vehicles, we were instantly immersed in roast pig aromas from the pit where a whole pig had been buried and cooked throughout the day. The meal was quite good and I really splurged and went for it - rich chocolate cake and all!
The awards ceremony was one to remember as the time was approaching 10pm which I guess is curfew in Utah and strictly enforced. I'm sure the comp was well into the second or third keg of beer by then and I don't think this group was ready to be quiet at 10pm. They started the awards and by the time they were half way through the local police were standing 10 feet from the podium threatening to give everyone a citation. So from that point on we were prohibited from clapping, whistling, yelling, or making any other kind of noise that could put us in jeopordy. It was really funny because with each award the crowd just raised their arms and everyone just went "shhhhhhhush". When they anounced the Nationals champion everyone just busted loose in every kind yelling, clapping, etc.... What were they going to do, give citations to 200 people? Crazy.
I took first place in my class and 4th or 5th overall - don't know the actual results at this time because they didn't announce the top 10 - only the top 3....
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