Hagelstein (Upper Klamath Lake) (OR)

Friday: travelling from Klamath Falls North towards Bend, OR. According to the forecast, the winds at Pine Mountain (near Bend) should die down in the late afternoon, so we headed North in no hurry.
But already after less than half an hour driving there was this nice ridge which even seemed to have a paved road leading up to possible TO's. As the wind came in perfectley from the lake, of course we couldn't resit exploring a possible flying site.

Just 30 metres of the paved road we found a TO, albeit rather small, it was facing perfectly into the wind.

Andy getting ready

Stacy

LZ at Hagelstein Park

According to the Nat.Forest Ranger Jim we had met on launch, nobody has ever flown here before,so we decided to name the site 'Hagelstein' after the park near the LZ.
I didn't fly, as the wind was at the upper limit for my present training state and it was increasing steadily as well...

Then we continued towards Bend, mostly through huge forests. Bend (OR) proved to be a really nice lttle town: very well mantained, lots of trees and green. 

near Mt.Bachelor/ Bend

cloud street at Pine Mountain

Of course we also needed to check out Pine Mountain, the flying site near Bend. It's basically the only site in Central Oregon and it certainly looks promising, but the winds were pretty strong and we didn't expect them to die down in the evening, so we continued.

our motel at Prineville

Finding a decent priced room provd to be a bit of a problem; Bend is very touristy and rather 'high end', so the prices quoted to us were pretty expensive ans many motels also booked out. But we found a really nice place to stay in nearby Prineville (Rustlers Inn).

Crater Lake National Park (OR)

Unfortunately, the day started with light drizzle, so no chance of flying. Therefore we decided to do a little sightseeing.

Crater Lake 

Crater Lake NP is only about 2 hours away from Medford (where we stayed for the night). It was a nice drive along the Rogue River and its Gorge with its forest full with large trees. Crater Lake was formed (only) 7700 years ago by a vulcanic eruption.The lake is with 590m the deepest lake in the US and ranks 9th in the world.
Some parts of the rim road where fogged in and some are still closed due to snow (at 2400m/ asl)

As we hope that toworrow the wx will allow flying at Woodrat, we returned to Medford.

Woodrat (OR)

We stayed overnight in Vancouver (OR, not CDN), just passed the WO-OR state line.
The desicion to head south to Woodrat Mtn (in the Rogue Valley) was absolutey correct. They pronounce 'Rogue' like 'rouge' in French; it's sometimes also written as 'Ruch'. 

Apparently yesterday has been of the best flying days here in quite a while :-))
When we finally had done the paperwork, check-out the LZ's we got to fly around 1400: just a little cirrus covering the sky, otherwise strong and abundant thermals with a top of ca 3000m. Without these cirrus clouds the thermas probably would have very strong.

looking east

looking west

At the moment here at Woodrat a competition is going on, so I got to meet a few old friends: Arnie, Ken (from SLC); Karie (Castle) should also be around somewhere.

Most amazing: there is an elderly lady taking part in the (low lovel) comp: she is close to 80 (!!) years old, but she finished yesterday's task... 

Flying has been really great, but as I had not yet completely recovered from my jetlag, I decided to land after 1.3hrs.

A video by Andy can be found here.
 

Unfortunately, the outlook for the next few days is not very promising - but we shall see...

LHR-SEA

B777-300

Luckily, the onward flight to Seattle was uneventful; a late departure due to some missing pax (whose luggage had to be unloaded), but with a short flight time of only 9 hrs arrival still almost  on schedule.

my seat :-))

Ireland (?)

Unfortunately, the flight information part of the inflight entertainement system was not working, so I was unable to located our position when taking pictures (therefore the '?').

Main course

Canada -plaines (?)

Mt.Rainier (descending into SEA)

We met Stacy at the National rental car counter in SEA and after waiting a while for our car to be ready, we started driving South: the forcast shows the best chances for flying on Tue, Wed in Woodrat (near Medford, OR, just north of the CA border). Thu, Fri look unpromising everywhere, so we'll use these dyas for travelling north again to Chelan for the XC Country Classic starting next Sun.

Sunset (driving towards Portland)

At 2330lt (0830SLT) we finally checked into a motel just south of the WA border (Vancouver, OR). I was glad Stacy had been driving: I had to catch some sleep during the drive (Andy as well)...

...on the road... ZRH-LHR

Departure ZRH (Katzensee)

Arrival LHR

LHR: Security was 'hell' today: roughly 1 (!) hour in the fast lane :-(((

...on the road...

Finally, after planning and preparing for the last 6 month, departure day has arrived!

Today Andy and I leave ZRH via LHR to SEA, where we'll meet my friend (and our guide) Stacy. My PG bag weighs exactly 23kgs (max allowed weight per bag)...

Stacy has guided me during all my trips to the US (2008, 2009 and 2011). This time it's more of a challenge for him, as we're not going to fly in his home state (UT), but in WA, OR, ID and CO, so most of the sites are new for him as well. Furthermore - at least to the wx fcst I have seen so far - we probably need to change our plans for the first week (ie flying in/ near SEA: Tiger Mtn etc) as it does not look very promising  :-((   In this case we would head south to Portland or even further to Medford (Woodrat) and try to fly there. Hopefully as of coming Saturday we'll be able to 'connect' to the original schedule and head for Chelan in order to take part in the Chelan XC Classic for a few days.

Büelen

Just one last (short) flight before departing on monday: Büelen in the Engelberg Valley.
I have chosen this site, as I needed to visit André at Flugsau in order to make some minor modifications at my harness. Flugsau is THE place to go if you have some special requirements regarding harnesses etc. André is the 'master of the sewing machine' and so far has always come up with clever solutions to my 'problems' and questions.
Btw: this is the company that constructed/ built Chrigel Maurer's harness for the 2013 X-Alps.

Büelen

Ebenalp & USA

After having come back from SCO just a few days ago, now the time to prepare for the upcoming (PG) trip to the US has come. I took also advantage of a flyable morning to get airborne after 'being abstinent' for almost 6 weeks and to check my equipment. I was able to fly at 'Ebenalp' for almost an hour before it started getting dark and I couldn't tell for sure anymore if there were CBs develloping or not.

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PG USA 2014, 23.6. - 18.7.  Seattle to Denver

This map shows the approximative itinerary we have planned. Of course it all depends on the weather and is therefore subject to modification(s).
I'm travelling with my friend Andy (Schumacher) and Stacy (Whitmore from UT), which has guided me on my previous trips to UT in '08, '09 and '11, agreed to be our guide.
Along the roag from SEA (Seattle) to DEN (Denver) there are some of the best flying sites of the west: Tiger Mtn, Chelan (we'll take part in the XC Classic), Mt.Baldy (Sun Valley), King Mtn and Jackson just to name the most prominent.
Departure is set for MON, 23.June, with British (BA): ZRH-LHR-SEA, where we're sopposed to arrive in late afternoon and hook up with Stacy at the car rental agency. For the first few days we'll stay in SEA to acclimate and get over the jet lag...

Pictures (as usual) can be found on my flickr account: https://www.flickr.com/photos/taggi/sets/72157645161192345/
The links for the tracks (InReach) you'll find on the right side.

SCO

After almost 5 weeks in Schottland I returned home by car on Wednesday.
All in all we have been realy lucky regarding weather: just 2 (!) real rainy days without no sun, otherwise at least sunny for part of the day (if not for the whole day).

Even though so far I never brought Scoth Whisky back from these trips to SCO; this time I couldn't resist as I have found a bottle of 'Balblair 03', about which I had read some good reviews.
We shall see when we finally get around to tasting it...

Scotland : Golf (alone), sightseeing and boating with Ruth

As this is in principle a paragliding blog, I make just one post regarding my/ our trip to Scotland.

On May, 9. I departed by car via Essen (DE) - IJmuiden (NL), from where I took the overnight ferry to Newcastle (UK), to Scotland.

The first part of the trip I'm alone, golfing in the Inverness region: Strathlene, Buckpool, Hopeman, Kinloss, Dufftown. One more round of golf this Sunday near St.Andrews: Lundin Ladies with Ron. In Cullen I had the pleasure to stay with Alastair's mum, in Nairn, Fiona & Jim were most generous hosts - many thanks again to all of you!

GC Hopeman, H12

On Monday (19.5.) I will pick up Ruth at EDI airport and we will tour a part of the west of Scotland for 12 days: Arran Island, Isle of Mull, Isle of Skye, Loch Ness and the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
On 28.5. we'll be at Falkirk getting our boat for 10 days of cruising on the Grand and Clyde&Forth canals to Glasgow, Edinburgh and back. Ruth will fly home from MAN on 10.6., I'll be driving home and expect to be back on 11. or 12.June... (and on 23.June I'll be departing for the 'ultimate' PG trip in the US with Andy and Stacy.)

But you can find pictures of this trip here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/taggi/collections/72157644648199452/

Arosa -2

Again a few days in Arosa with 2 flights; on Saturay the 'Föhn' was simply too strong to permit a PG-flight. On both days I was able to climb above 3000m with excellent visibility on Friday.

3040m: looking towards 'Bernina'

Kiwi + Pax: 'Medergerflue' (left), 'Tiejer Flue' (right)

Arosa

Arosa -1

Finally 2 good days with great flights in Arosa! Even though that in the beginning (both flights) it was much harder 'work' than expected (weak thermals). Also the thermals didn't get much above 2700m. On the 2nd flight (FRI), on the 'Seta' (above 'Langwies') there was finally a real good thermal which took me from 1920m to 2750m with good climb rates :-)

Arosa (seen from above Langwies)

looking towards the Bernina group (on the horizon)

Medergen

Abdalajis

Finally! After not having been able to fly so far this year in Arosa and now being here already 4 days, I have been able to fly in 'la Capilla'. It was a nice flight, not really good -too much clouds and rather windy (25+kmh).

...and much windier higher up...

Austria: TMZ planned ?? (Transponder Mandatory Zone)

There are rumors that Austria is planning so called TMZ's (Transponder Mandatory Zones) applying to ALL aircraft (including HG, PG, Sailplanes).

There is also a petition in the internet against this.
If you want to sign the petition, follow this link (in German).

Here is some info (in German only -sorry).

Durch eine Weisung des Bundesministeriums für Verkehr, Innovation und Technologie (bmvit) an die Austro Control (ACG) ist bekannt geworden, dass in Österreich eine generelle Transponderpflicht im Luftraum E ab 5500FT bzw. ab 7500FT geplant ist.Bisher waren Paragleiter, Hängegleiter und Segelflieger von dieser Transponderpflicht explizit ausgenommen. Das Ministerium argumentiert, dass mit der Einführung von SERA (Standardised European Rules of the Air) dies in Österreich notwendig geworden ist. Das deutsche Verkehrsministerium sieht diese Notwendigkeit nicht und wird trotz Einführung von SERA eine Ausnahme für Para-, Hängegleiter und Segelflieger vorsehen.
Wird diese Verordnung wie geplant umgesetzt, ist dies quasi der Tot für den Streckenflug mit Para- und Hängegleitern in Österreich. Der Betrieb eines Transponders ist für Para- und Hängegleiter aus rechtlichen, technischen und finanziellen Gründen praktisch unmöglich. Wir fordern daher:
„Keine generelle Transponderpflicht für Para- und Hängegleiter in Österreich!“ (nach dem Vorbild der Bundesrepublik Deutschland)
Eine Durchführung der RedBull X-Alps 2015 wäre mit diesen Beschränkungen wahrscheinlich nur mit umfangreichen Ausnahmegenehmigungen oder gar nicht durchführbar. Das Inkrafttreten der neuen Luftraumstruktur ist für Anfang 2015 geplant.

Anfänglicher Petitionstext (wurde am 02.Feb.2014 durch den oben angeführten Text korrigiert)
Konkret geht es nicht um die Transponderpflicht selbst, es geht um das ABSENKEN von Luftraumuntergrenzen des kontrollierten Luftraums, denn in einen kontrollierten Luftraum darf man OHNE Transponder nicht einfliegen. Die Transponderpflicht entsteht implizit durch das Absenken der Lufträume, eine Transponderpdlicht per se ist nicht geplant.
Die Austro Control plant, für ganz Österreich die Luftraumgrenzen abzusenken und somit wird eine Transponderpflicht für jedens Luftfahrzeug einzuführen. Transponder sind jene Signalgeräte, mithilfe derer Flugzeuge im Luftraum geortet und identifiziert werden können. Bislang waren hauptsächlich Verkehrsmaschinen mit solchen Geräten ausgestattet. Die nun angedachte Ausweitung des kontrollierten Luftraumes passiert vor dem Hintergrund der von Brüssel betriebenen Harmonisierung der europäischen Lufträume und soll auch für jene Gebiete gelten, die der nicht-gewerblichen Fliegerei bisher frei zur Verfügung standen. Jedes Fluggerät, das höher als 5500 Fuß (rund 1700 Meter) aufsteigt, müsste demnach mit Transponder ausgerüstet sein.
Erfasst wären damit auch Drachenflieger und Paragleiter. "Einen Transponder mitzuführen, ist für sie aber schon rein logistisch kaum bzw. technisch und gesetzlich UNmöglich". Auch die Segelflieger könnten ein Problem bekommen. "Erstens kosten diese Geräte zwischen 1200 und 2000 Euro, zweitens brauchen sie nicht wenig Strom, den es an Bord eines Segelflugzeugs nicht gibt", sagt Gaisbacher. Sein Fazit: "Die Austro Control macht sich das Leben mit dieser Vorgangsweise möglichst einfach. Es gäbe andere Wege, den EU-Vorgaben gerecht zu werden."
Möglicher Kompromiss

Bei der Austro Control bestätigt man, dass die Ausweitung der Luftraumgrenzen und somit der Transponderpflicht ins Auge gefasst würde. "Allerdings laufen derzeit Verhandlungen mit den Betroffenen, denen wir nicht vorgreifen wollen", sagt ein Sprecher. Solche Gespräche haben etwa in Innsbruck bereits dazu geführt, dass die Höhe, ab der Transponder künftig allgemein verpflichtend sind, auf 12.500 Fuß (rund 3800 Meter) angehoben werden soll.

In Deutschland ist es so geregelt, dass Hänge und Paragleiter von der Transponderpflicht ausgenommen sind. Warum so etwas dann in Österreich einführen?!

There is also a petition in the internet against this.
If you want to sign the petition, follow this link (in German).

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DHV has also published some info concerning this subject: see here .

Happy Landings!

What an amazing year! 

My thanks go to all who have helped me get back into the air.

Special thanks to Ruth for accepting that I cannot be without it, even though I 'promised' in march'12 after my accident, that I wouldn't fly any more. But who have guessed that my recovery would be so well and complete - it couldn't to be even dreamed of at that time.

Many happy landings to all of you!

And thanks for dropping in on my blog.

Arosa -Isla

Snow Art

WOW!!

The link to the story (and more pictures) can be found 

here.

© TagesAnzeiger 27.12.13

Arosa -Wind

Beautiful day: sunshine, fresh snow, but a little (too) windy (for me)...

Pano from 'Arosa Weisshorn' looking SW towards 'Aroser Rothorn' (rt), 'Piz Ela' (lt)

Season's Greetings!

My best wishes to you all, may you have great and safe flights!

BRgds

Taggi

Chasing Summits

Flying in Pakistan/ Karakorum

"Chasing Summits"

Unfortunately, I couldn't upload the video -you'll have to use this link here.

Arosa

Finally, a (short) winter flight. Just a sled ride from Arosa to Chur (25min) - but better than nothing  ;-)
Unfortunately later this evening the conditions have not been good enough for me for a 'full moon flight' (wind direction on launch and limited landing space near the not yet completely frozen lake in Arosa...)

Arosa Weisshorn, looking West

 

 Weisshorn

 looking towards Chur/ Calanda

Chur, the old city center (cathedral)