Arosa

As the wx fcst was promising excellent conditions, I decided to go to Arosa. But I left my car in Chur as I was hoping to be able to fly away from Arosa...

Just as I was arriving on the Weisshorn, Markus was getting ready to launch his new Advance Epsilon 8. Unfortunately my E8, which I have been triying to sell, was too large for him :-((
(But just 2 days ago the wing could finally be sold.) 

I found some nice thermals near the 'Tschuggen', which got me to >3100m, so I could fly back to launch and take some pictures.

Back to 'Tschuggen' to gain again some hight and then I flew towards 'Langwies (Seta)' where, as usual, some strong thermals could be found. Here already the first pilots, which had launched in 'Fanas', could be seen heading towards Chur. So I decided to follow (or at least try)...

At 'Montalin' (above Chur) I had to decide where to head:
- west, thereby crossing towards Calanda and then direction Flims/ Disentis,
- north towards Landquart/ Fanas
or
- turning around to 'Langwies' and eventually back to Arosa.

crossing towards Calanda

I decided to go for the first option, but I lost too much altidude during the crossing and arrived rather low on the other side. Furthermore I misjudged the valley wind completely: it was blowing much harder than I had expected (thus no thermals on the other side), so that was to be the end of this flight..

Chur, looking towards launch (Weisshorn)

I landed on the 'Rossboden' (wind upon landing > 25kmh), just a few minutes of walking to the bus station, which took me back to my car.
Not really the flight I had hoped to make, but what else could I expect when I misjudged the situation...

Fanas

On the last day of this excellent flying week I visited 'Fanas'.
Unfortuntely a strong westwind bringing the next front was forecast; and above 2500m its influence could be clearly felt :-((  
That was also the reason, why only a few pilots came to fly this site today; but still a nice flight here in the 'Prättigau' valley.

Fanas -Eggli: HG / PG launch (not as free of snow as some said it would be...)

near 'Chrüz', looking back to launch (almost center of pix)

'Chrüz', looking towards 'Klosters' (right side)

Klosters, Gotschna

temporary LZ in Klosters (upper part of this large field)

Arosa at its best

For the last days I stayed in Arosa enjoying the excellent flying conditions. All 3 days permitted good flights with a max altitude of 3380m as well as excellent visibility :-))
This is the time of the year (from end of Febuary until the gondola up to the Weisshorn closes at the end of the winter season) when Arosa normally offers the the best conditions: (mostly) easy take-offs in almost every direction, abundant thermals, high ceilings, easy landing... Even XC is possible.

Of course I was not alone: many fellow pilots came to fly here as well.
A special highlight for me: my friend Oli had 2 days off and came to visit and fly with me.

Erich

Marlies

Looking South on WED: Palü, Bernina, Rosegg

Looking South on THUR: Palü, Bernina, Rosegg

 I was flying the 777 Rook2 and I'm still extremely happy with this gliders TO caracteristics, performance and agility: It's a pure joy to fly it!

Pano from 'Seta (above 'Langwies') looking towards Arosa

Meanwhile, the remains of the 'Posthotel', which had been destroyed by a fire around XMas have almost been cleared away; but I wonder how long it will take until a new project is approved and finally built. (The 'Carmenna Hotel', which had been destroyed by a fire many years ago (7?) is still not rebuilt...)

Morocco -4

Meanwhile, my visit to Moroc draws slowly to an end. It has, as usual, offered many experiences and flights in different regions. After Aguergour we changed to the coast south of Agadir, where we flew at 'Aglou', 'Legzira' and 'Nigel's place'.

Aglou

Legzira

In 'Sidi Ifni' we didn't fly as the status of the site is unclear...

Unfortunately due the very damp and rather cool weather I fell ill (fever/ influenza) and was out for some days (or not very motivated at all) and didn't recover completey until the end of the trip.
For 1 night we changed to 'Tafraoute/ Idikel' an inland site: nice, warm (!) weather and little wind, so we made our best flights there (Hmax 2940m).

Idikel

The next day flying was possible at 'Col du Kerdous' (but I renounced, as launch was a bit too far from the road for me).
Back to our 'base' Aftas Trip at Mirleft, we tried to fly again at 'Aglou', but wind -direction and -speed have not been optimal, so only some groundhandling for me. Only late in the afternoon, I was able to make a (short) flight at 'Legzira-Felsentor'. Here conditions have been perfect for soaring. so perfect actually that too many people have been flying in the rather small space available...

Legzira

Legzira-Felsentor

On the last day 'Chergui', a wind coming from the Sahara started to blow, which prevented any further flying, so we headed back to Marrakesh. Unfortunatley Khalla's Landcruiser broke down shortly before reaching the city, so we had to wait for a replacement car, while his had to be towed for repairs.