conclusion / acknowledgments

Conclusion

It has been a great trip, maybe a bit over-ambitously planned ("weniger wäre mehr"). Except one rainy day (when we visited Crater Lake NP) we always had excellent travel weather. Flying weather unfortunately has not been all to good: many days with 'bad' winds (mostly wrong direction or too strong), which made flying impossible or allowed just short flights. But still we managed to visit 25 different sites and fly 22 of them. But the 'big' XC flights we (of course) had hoped for, haven't been possible...

Acknowledgments

My formost thanks go to Ruth for 'letting' me do this trip. I know that it was not easy for her, therefore I really appreciate it all the more.
Thanks also to Judy for 'letting' Stacy do this trip with me.
My thanks also go to Andy and Stacy, who have been great travel companions. Without them and their assisstance, this trip would not have been possible and/ or only half the fun. I especially appreciated their helping me with small things, which due to my accident in 3/2012, have become difficult to do for me: from carrying my pack/ bagagge to closing zippers on my overall. Thanks also to Jim who offered his assistance on many occasions.
Not to forget: all the great and helpful people/ pilots we've met during these 4 weeks: Lennie, Jeff and Zac in Chelan; Chuck & Mara in Sun Valley; Pine and Pete in Glenwood; Tom in Wolcott - just to name a few.

our actual route/ all sites visited

Here you can find the actual route we have travelled and all the sites we have visited.

some numbers

We travelled with Debbie in 26 days close to 8000km (5000miles); I have no idea how much gas we used. Gas prices ranged between 3.53 and 3.999 USD/ gal.

In total we visited 25 sites in 7 states:

pink = none of us flew there

olive = at least 1 of us flew

And a summary of our flights:

You might wonder why Andy and Stacy have made so much more flights than I have: there has been a number of sites, where I have not been able to launch from due to its uneven/ rocky surfaces in combination with little or no wind (ie Grizzly, Phillips, Lookout Mtn, Gd Targhee etc), on other sites the winds have just been too strong (ie Saddle) or I was too slow in setting up before the winds switched (ie Bellyache, Roan). On some sites (ie Jackson) Andy and Stacy made 2 flights.
Andy didn't join Stacy and me when we visited Goat Peak, Roan and Bellyache Ridge.

Speaking of numbers: last but not least: I have lost 1kg during this trip 

'last supper' or: Stacy at the sushi restaurant

Fri: on the way to DEN airport, we had to stop to get something to eat, as the flight was departing only at 2045 and dinner would probably not be served before 2145. So we stopped at 'Yum Asia and Sushi' restaurant for our last meal on this trip together - well knowing, that Stacy would be hard pressed to find something to his liking there...

...but no worries, he found some nice desserts ;-)

Of course, for Andy and me it was the right place...

We returned Debbie, apparently without problems and checked in.
Then it was time to say good-bye after almost 4 weeks of travelling together.
As Stacy's flight was only the next day, he had to return by public transport to his motel 16miles away - I wonder how his trip was. He had refused to let us rent for him a car for his day in Denver and getting from and to the airport.

Denver: Golden (Mt.Lookout), Boulder

Fri: the last day of our trip. And again no luck with the winds: out of the west, so no flying here on Lookout Mtn (Golden, CO).

LZ at Golden ('this' side of the highway)

We also had a look at the LZ in Boulder, but we have been unable to find the launch there.
So no we're just packing up and getting ready to return Debbie at the airport and checkin for our return flight  (via LHR) to ZRH at 2045.

Skinny Ridge; Wolcott

Thur: finally a promising day! Even with a little north wind in the forecast we decided to 'risk' the drive up to Skinny Ridge. This time some decent cycles came in which permitted a clean launch.

Andy

Vic launched first, then Andy and finally me. Andy flew passed Glenwood Springs (about 32 km), Vic made it to Aspen. I didn't like the winds (N/ 22kmh) and its associated lee thermals very much, so I landed below launch.

Taggi

After having picked up Andy, we drove on I-70 through Glenwood Canyon (Colorado river) towards Denver. 

Glenwood Canyon (Colorado river)

As it looked rather promising, we made a stop at Wolcott. Tom, a local tandem pilot, gave us a ride to launch: Debbie wouldn't have made it: to rough, too steep, too off-road. And anyway, one needs a key to the gate... Unfortunately the conditions have been just a touch too weak.

Stacy landing in Wolcott (launch is just to the left of the white couds)

Then we continued to Lakewood (Denver, CO) for a last night of our trip.

Bellyache Ridge (CO)

Yesterday afternoon, it overdevelloped as forecast and we had a short tunderstorm with soft hail.

No flying in the evening off Lookout Mtn, but a nice sunset...

Stacy invited us to a 'real' American BBQ restaurant - thanks!

Sunset in Glenwood Springs

Wed: even if it didn't look very promising, we (Stacy and I) left early for Bellyache Ridge near Vail. Andy was going to fly Red Mtn here in Glenwood Springs.
Without any (!) paperwork we got a ride up to launch, but the winds were already out of the west. After a while all tandem pilots packed up.

looking east towards Vail

LZ (seen from launch)

So only Jim, Stacy and I were left. After about 30min, there were a few short cycles, which permitted Jim and Stacy to launch, When I was finally ready to go, only increasing tailwind...
TS in the afternoon.

Holiday home on Bellyache ridge

Tomorrow is supposed to look better - at last on paper...

Roan (Rifle, CO)

Tue: the forecast showed OD starting at 1300, so at 0830 we (without Andy) left for Roan, near Riflle, CO. We had been told that this site would probably offer the best chances for a flight before it started to OD (= overdevellop). The road turned out in a much worse state than we had been told: certainly no sedan access on this 'road'...

Roan Cliff seen from near primary LZ

We got there around 1000 and it actually looked perfect: some cycles coming straight in. Also for once a halfway decent place to lay out the wings: spacy, no sage etc, no big stones/ rocks.

Stacy launched quickly and as it turned aut, got off in the last good cycle coming in. After that only switchy winds, some dusties (dustdevils), so Theo and I had to leave Roan without having flown.

looking out towards LZ and Rifle; center of pix: firepit 'LZ'

primary LZ; 1:6.3 glide required

Stacy

Debbie

I think it is time to tell you something about our friend "Debbie".
She has been with us right from the start of our trip in SEA and she will accompany us hopefully right to the end in DEN.
Debbie is our rental car, named so after her licence plates "7DEB734". 

She's a Chevvy Tahoe, but not as we had expected a 4WD drive vehicle, only 2WD - rear wheel drive. Everyone we have told this was very much surprised, as no one had ever seen a Tahoe with 2WD only. We had rented a SUV and the questions is: can a SUV be "2WD" only? I admit, that we didn't check if the car had 4WD, when we rented it, because nobody was expecting a 2WD "SUV". On the other hand it saves us probably some gas on those long highway trips between sites.
But I have to say that (so far) she got us to all the places we had wanted to go; especially up to King Mountain, to Mt. Baldy for the evening flights and to Phillips Ridge.

Debbie on Coyote (King Mtn)

But at times she was 'bitching' around a bit by loosing air in some tires; so far we had to get 2 tires fixed...
And she can also be pretty thirsty on those steep mountain tracks.
But she holds all our luggage easily, is pretty comfy and at times takes Jim with his glider as well.
Additionally we also call our GPS "Debbie": it's quite knowledgable; knows most tracks we use to get to launches, all of our hotels and much more (ie tire shops...).

On Sat, 12.July, she was in a particularily bad mood: so far we always had been able to reach a tire shop before we had to change the tire ourselves, but today Stacy got a flat tire while driving down from Crawford Ridge.The tire had lost too much air in order to be safely driven to the next tire shop, so Stacy and  Jim put on the spare tire. Luckily we could get it fixed in Randolph.

late saturday afternoon repairs in Randolph (UT)

Sun, 13.July: on top of Lookout Mtn (Glenwood Springs, CO) another spell of bad mood: she doesn't seem to like it, when we 'beat' her up these steep mountain tracks... Stacy and Jim, having by now learned how to do it quickly, changed the tire in about 20 minutes - thanks guys!

...of course she's also an 'official' PG carrier...

Red Mountain, Skinny Ridge, Lookout Mountain

Mon: Early in the morning Stacy had Debbie's tire fixed at "Big O Tires", but we need to go back, as they didnt't do a proper job (putting the spare on instead of the repaired one)
We met Pine and his pilots at 0830 and got a ride to ride Red Mountain, the early morning site in Glenwood Springs. 

Red Mountain: looking at LZ

Just a slidride only, and then we were packing to head out to Skinny Ridge, the local XC-launch.
On the way up Pete gave us some 'insider' info about flying this site. But as it turned out, the winds at launch were nowhere near 'normal' (slightly out of the north).

Skinny Ridge (Pete ready to launch)

Pete was the only one to get up and disappeard quickly towards Glenwood. I wonder how far he got... (> ca 48km)

Pete

About 2 hours later Stacy gave it also a try, but it (still) didn't look very nice out there.
So all the remaining pilots packed up and headed down the mountain.
I hope there will be another chance to fly here during our stay: may Thursday?

Theo, Stacy, Jim and I drove up to Lookout Mtn in the late afternoon. Jim was the only one to get out in a decent cycle; for the rest of us it was like yesterday: too weak and over the back :-((

Thio trying to launch (Lookout Mtn)

Glenwood Springs (CO)

Sun (afternoon): at 1700 we met the local pilots (Pete, AJ, Pine), after having done the necessary paperwork, we drove up to Lookout Mtn, their afternoon/ evening site
We got there without problems, but on the last few meters before turning around, we blew another tire :-((
Unfortunately, the winds (slightly from the north (= back)), wouldn't allow a TO on the short, uneven slope; furthermore Pine had suggested not to launch in such conditions.

what a cloud street at 1900lt!

looking towards Glenwood Springs

Dinosaur (UT)

Sun: after a short night in Vernal (UT) we left for Dinosaur. Actually the (pretty run down) town of Dinosaur lies in Colorado, but the flying site (TO, LZ) is in UT. We easily found the LZ and also the way to launch, but unfortunately that gate was closed.

Dinosaur

launch (and there seem to be other options...)

So (once more) we tried to call Mike, who is supposed to be the local pilot here. But again the fone remained unanswered and even a personal visit to his house (the dilapidated and now closed 'Hi Vu' motel in Dinosaur) didnt't help. So we had to leave behind this site unflown, even though the cumuli started growing nicely above the ridge and the winds seemed rather weak :-((

So 2.5 hours driving brought us to Glenwood Springs (CO); we'll stay here for the next 4 nights.

...promising...

along ID-WY border to Randolph (UT), then further on to Vernal (UT)

Sat: another long (travelling) day, broken up by a short flight on Crawford Ridge (Randolph), then further on to Vernal (UT).

Palisades Reservoir

We left Driggs heading south, through the Swan Valley (along the Snake River/ Palisades reservoir), crossing the ID - WY border a couple of times, before entering Utah: again those endless green (= watered) fields and lots of interesting cumuli popping up on the ridges

near Afton (WY)

At Randolph we drove up to Crawford Ridge: Andy launched first, but unfortunately didn't find anything worthwhile; then it was Jim's turn and finally mine. I could climb up (once) to TO height, but the thermals have been very small and (too) close to the ridge for my liking.

Andy launching at Crawford Ridge

Unfortunately we couldn't go up for a second flight in the increasingly better looking conditions, as Stacy got a flat tire while driving down from Crawford. This had to be attended first, as we didn't want to continue driving on those dirt roads without a spare tire in good condition...

Luckily Kelly in Randolph came back to his shop and repaired the damaged tire: just a plug wasn't enough; the tire had to be dismounted from the rim and the hole repaired with a patch on the inside.

As we knew that there was still about 4 hours driving ahead of us, we decided to continue.

...another flat tire...

Once more our trip continued through very different, interesting and vast landscapes, which changed about every 30 to 60 minutes.

I-80 east of Evanston

on WY 414 near Lookout (WY)

moon rise near Vernal

After about 625 km we finally reached Vernal at 2130...

Jackson: Teton Village / JHM

Jim had stayed overnight at Curtis Canyon and sent me some nice sunrise-pix - thanks!

Sunrise over the Teton Range

Fri: another day with better than actual forecasts... At 0900 we arrived in Teton Village in order to (finally) do the paperwork needed to fly the sites here in Jackson (WY). After having signed papers, showed licences, paid some bucks and having been told all the "no-no's", we could finally ride the tram to 3165m.
Although the sky was a bit clouded, the views have been spectacular.

looking north towards Tetons (just rt of brake lines)

again looking north towards Tetons

looking south

First all the TOs were done towards the W/ NW.The tandem pilots have been rather busy and flew lots of pax, among them an 84 yr old grandmother. Very slowly the partially obscured sun begann heating up the SW face and launches were switched. At 1200 I launched as well in these weak conditions and was on the ground within 15 mins :-((
Stacy, Andy and Jim decided to fly again (I wouldn't due to pain in my lh shoulder). Stacy had a sledder, Jim declined to launch in the increasing gusty conditions. Andy- expecting another sled ride, had put all his instruments etc into the back pocket of his glider. He was the only one we saw who really could climb well above launch. He decided to fly S towards Jackson, but without his instruments he couln'd optimize his flight; but still managed to cross the Snake river near the highway bridge before landing: regards from his "friend" Murphy ;-)

On the way back, Jim and Stacy made a sledder from Phillips Ridge, flying each other's glider.

Stacy flying Jim's glider

Grand Targhee

Thur: as the pix from yesterday's sunset seemed to indicate, the cloud cover had increased during the night and there was (unfortunately) no need to head out early to Teton Village for a flight  :-(
In the afternoon it started clearing up and we headed for Grand Targhee, on the west side of the Tetons, still in ID. At first they sold us tickets and said it's ok to fly, but a few minutes and telefone calls later, we were told, that thier policy regarding paragliding had recently been changed and that we coulnd't fly - Andy was quite pissed...

On the way back we saw a small ridge, where Stacy tried to fly: the wind was just a bit too cross, otherwise he could have stayed up. We still think that this would have been the best place to fly yesterday...

Later then we tried to fly Philips Rigde: quite promising, but best in the early afternoon.

Philips Ridge: Stacy ready to launch my wing

After 3 launch attempts on the rocky slope with almost no wind anymore, I gave up and let Stacy fly my wing down. This was done so fast, that the car key flew along with Stacy... Jim hitched a ride back to his car and then brought me the key.

Sunset / Tetons