2 days Arosa

 Wednesday (5.4.)  

I had wanted to make my first flights since my accident in ACE. 

Andrea had joined me; she had wanted to make her first flights this year (with a Leeloo SM)... But conditions on Weisshorn (Scheisshorn!) have been rather tricky (NW-wind); I attempted a few launches, but didn't make it. In the end we rode the gondola back to Arosa (Andrea, Bruno, Björn and me).

Thursday, 6.4.

Initially it looked like yesterday, but luckily the NW-wind weakend more than it had been forecast. Both Andrea and I could make 2 nice flights.

Andrea; Leeloo SM

I had 2 really nice launches with my Leeloo XL Mk3; flying this wing for the first time. Thermals on the first flight above Tschuggen have been pretty rough; but on the second flight they have been much smoother and more abundant. But I had to stop climbing at 3000m, as it became rather cold :-(

Landings: Mittelstation and Golfcourse

First steps ;-)

 ...just some ground handling to see how my rt shoulder/ arm is doing...

(Alp Scheidegg)

> no problems :-))

''Firstly, things turn out differently and secondly, they turn out differently than you think.' - Shoulder (Update)

Most of you I have already informed about the 'state of my shoulder', but to have it all in one place, I'm summarizing it here.

Sun (26.2.) 

Andy and Tom have brought me to ACE for my return flight to ZRH with Edelweiss. I had 'prebooked' assistance in ACE, so helpful people took my by wheel chair (WCHR) to the lounge and later to the gate and in ZRH to the baggage claim and taxi stand. I arrived at home just before midnight.

Already on ACE I had booked a couple of physiotherapy session (twice per week until the end of March). Both therapist have been surprised about the motion range of my left arm (when moved passively). Here my thanks goes to Andy, who during the week on ACE daily moved my arm, so as to minimize any possible damage.

Tue (28.2.) 

A week after my 'mishap' on ACE I went to see my GP (as per request of the doctor in ACE): he confirmed the initial diagnosis: no fracture. Unfortunately he thinks that I have 1 or 2 bruised rips. Only in a CT this could actually be seen/ confirmed; to heal it would/ will take 4-5 weeks... We decided NOT to make a CT, as this wouldn't change anything.

As the moving range of my right arm is still very limited and did not improve much during the first week after the accident, he has ordered also a MRI; this examination takes place FRI (3.3.) and I will be told the results MON (6.3.)...

There is a possibility that tendon(s)/ ligament(s) could be damaged / torn / ruptured. If this should be the case, it would open up a lot of further questions: what to do?/ how long it will take to heal? But it certainly would make my departure on 10.April for Japan more than questionable :-(( 

Meanwhile I've had also time (and the strenght) to unpack the parcel I've received from Profly; in order unpack the rest, my rt arm needs a bit more improving...

new risers

Mon (6.3.)

As mentioned, the MRI has been done last Friday and today I had it reviewed with my GP.

He called it 'good news' - but the result is not what anyone has been expecting: the shoulder actually has been broken (!) during the impact 2 weeks ago; BUT it seems that no tendons / ligaments are affected :-) But on the angle the xray in ACE had been taken, the fracture didn't show up. They had wanted to xray from another angle, but as I couldn't move my arm at all at that time, they didn't...

And then there are the ribs (1 or 2), which are kind of 'neglectable', as they are supposed to heal within the next 2 or 3 weeks...

The shoulder fracture should heal within 4 to 6 weeks (after the fact); so the question remains how quickly I can have my right arm mobilized to its former movement range/ strenght (meaning: moving the arm actively/ by myself).

All I can say at the moment: the departure to JPN on 10.4. is not (yet) cancelled - but it will be touch and go...

My friend Hart is telling me almost daily (in capital letters): 'you will travel to Japan!' - after todays visit at my GP I'm a (little) bit more optimistic that this actually could be true; at least more than just a few days ago ;-)

What about pain?: of course pain is an issue, but fortunately it is usually bearable and I only have to take something additional only now and then (not every day)....

>>  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have contacted me in the meantime, have enquired about my condition, have told me of their experiences/ how to 'get back' and who have sent me their good wishes!

Lanzarote (ACE)

Sun (19.2.)  transfer from Tenerife to Lanzarote (TFN-ACE), where Andy and his friend Tom have been  ready to pick me up. We drove straight away to ‘Mala’ for a first, later in the afternoon to ‘Macher’ for a second flight

At Mala I had to hike up to the upper launch, as the wind seemed to be a bit weak to me, Andy instead launched from the lower TO and managed to soar up :-))

Macher: nice conditions for ridge soaring with some thermals thrown in...

Excellent (!!) dinner at the Italian restaurant Casa Morelino - we plan to go there at least 2 or 3 more times.

our Villa at 'la Islote'

'Mala' -upper launches

Macher

Mon: very strange weather situation: the wind seemed to be coming from every direction possible. We‘ve tried Orzola, where Andy could make a short sledder (wind too weak),

Andy hiking up at Orzola

then we checked out Mala (wind too strong).

Mala

Later in the afternoon we drove to Famara (without Tom, who went running). Here the wind seemed to be ok, so Andy launched quickly.

Famara (Andy on the left)

Unfortunaltely, I’ve been levered out during Gndhandling/ reverse inflation and while being pulled across the ground, the rt shoulder 'collided' with a rock :-(((((

Immediately 2 pilots came to help, secured the glider and took it to the car, as well as 'freeing' me from my harness.

Andy first took me back to our villa where Tom (a paramedic by profession!) helped me out of overall etc; then we drove to ACE to Hospital General for an X-ray.>>>.

>>> NO fracture, only a severe bruise!  :-))))  

Heartfelt thanks to all (also to my guardina angel) who have helped/ assisted and even 'cancelled' or have cut short their flights!

We got back to the villa around 2100: I took some Tramal (a pain killer) and Arnica C200 (a homeopathic medication against bruises); later 1x Zoldorm (a sleeping pill). So I had a pretty good/ pain-free sleep until 0430, then dozing until 0730.

Almost no pain when lying down/ standing; only when changing position like standing up/ sitting down…

Now I’m ‘grounded’ until my return flight on Sunday (26.2.) while my friends Andy and Tom (hopefully!) can continue to make some more nice flights.

Bruises should normally heal within 3 to 4 weeks, so I don’t think I will have to cancel my departure on 10.4. ;-)

(Tue / Thur/ Sat: going again to Casa Morelino for dinner.)

el Hierro (VDE) / Tenerife (TFS)

Mon: in retrospect by far the nicest day here on el Hierro. Flying twice from Dos Hermanas (highest launch with 1365m): very large, fine gravel, Holfuy wind station...

Dos Hermanas, looking NNE

As usual, a layer of clouds started forming below/ at launch, but normally it's not very thick....

...so flying through it (with a compass or a flight instrument showing your heading!) poses no problem.

LZ 'los Sargos' -looking back to launch (about middle of pix)
> that's actually what it is supposed to look like on a 'normal' (good) flying day ;-)

'Estacion'

I flew twice, landing at 'Estacion' on the second flight.

For dinner we visited 'Bodeguita del Fa', a restaurant we knew from last year's stay here.

Tue: the day started very wet with high humidity and reduced visibility. Some people have been speaking of 'Calima', but we were not convinced as the wind direction throughout the day remained North...

Mirador de la Pena - looking South towards Frontera

In the late afternoon we headed up to 'Salida 600', hoping for an extended sledder.

'Saida 600' (pix taken the day before)

Contrary to my expectations it turned out to be a very nice flight in smooth conditions. Here the Leeloo showed one of its strong points: climbing well in (very) weak conditions :-))

very hazy during the flight

landing at Los Sargos as the sun was about to set...

Wed: unfortunately too windy for the whole day; even at the lowest launch ('Salida 600') it felt too strong/ gusty for us. There might have been a chance to fly at 'Tacoron', but the chance to do so seemed to small to us to go for a 38km drive (each way).

But 3 acro pilots with their small wings enjoyed flying at 'Sabinosa'.

Sabinosa, looking NE

To 'compensate' for the day we had an excellent (!) dinner at 'Con Fusion' in las Puntas.

Thur: last flying day on VDE: I made 2 flights: 1) around 1230 from Dos Hermanas, where we hit the perfect launch window when the wind has been at its lowest for the whole day.

2) I went for another flight later in the afternoon, this time from 'El Golfo -600' with nice climbs. Unfortunately upcoming rain forced me to outland in the 'pampa' and I had to walk 3.5km before Gaby could pick me up (- short version). Again dinner at Bodeguita del Fa'.

Sunset over Frontera (seen from 'Salida 800')

Fri: too windy for a late morning flight. We returned to los Christianos (TFS) by ferry at 1400; but at least I could do a short sledder from Taucho.

 

>> Many thanks to Alvaro from the local club on VDE for his assistance, hints and tips!!

Sat: last day on this trip together with Gaby and Hartmut. We headed up to Taucho, but when we began to prepare a light drizzle started. After it had stopped, a sledder to the beach would have been possible, but neither Hartmut nor I felt 'tempted'

Tenerife (TFS) -2

4 more days on TFS - flying on 3 of them: twice at Taucho, once at Arafo.

Thur: Taucho

gliding out to la Caleta/ Playa Enramada

Fri: (Taucho) flying would have been possible, but we didn't like the wind direction. Furthermore cloud base was only at 1000m. So I did some exploring: checking out the site at los Gigantes: 'Tamaimo' and its possible LZs.

Tamaimo (Los Gigantes)

Sat: Taucho: during the night it had rained heavily and parking and launch have been extremely muddy; but nice flying conditions.

Parking at Leroy Merlin

Sun: a very nice looking day with virtually no clouds in the morning. We decided to drive up to NP Teide, hoping to fly from Izana. It seemed that very biker on TFS was heading up to the NP ;-) As today has been our check-out, we left (unfortunately) rather late...

Pico del Teide

Izana -South

Conditions (windwise) would have been perfect for launching towards Güimar, but the cloud layer, which had formed in the mean time, had become too thick to permit a safe flight. To have a reasonable chance for flying from Izana (be it North or South) one has to leave at 0730 or 0800, as around 1000 the cloud layer starts building up. Very rare are the days at this time of the year without clouds later in the day...

Izana -North (launch on very left)

From a visit in 2002, I remembered another launch much lower, so that's where we went : Arafo

Arafo - looking towards Las Caletillas/ Candelaria

After a guided group had taken off, we had the launch for ourselves :-) Perfect conditions: light winds with nice (sometimes also strong) thermals and a cloud base at around 2000m.

Launch

las Caletillas

We both landed al Las Caletillas. There are several options: at the beach, near the highway or a bit further at Candelaria.

Later we boarded the ferry from Los Cristianos to Valverde (VDE - el Hierro), arriving at 2200 and finally reaching our accommodation at Frontera around 2245. We'll be staying for 5 days, returning to TFS on Friday.

Tenerife (TFS) -1

 As mentioned earlier; Ive spent the last two weeks on SPC and ACE without flying.

Here on TFS the 'paragliding part' of my trip to the Canary Islands started. On the first 2 days (Mon, Tue) I have only been able to make 2 (short) flights from Taucho, as on both days a shower zone to the south (los Christianos) made judging the wx situation for me difficult. Afterwards it turned out, that the showers 'remained' there and the a landing due to the wx would not have been necessary. But how would I know if there are some drops of rain at launch and in the air?  ( > 'better safe than sorry'...)

Otherwise conditions have been rather nice and smooth :-))

Showers... (looking South towards Los Christianos)

Taucho launch

Wed: a completely different situation with a fcst of light (?) winds and thermal tops around 2000m. The visibilty has been exceptional: la Gomera could be seen very clearly and even el Hierro could be glimpsed in the distance - something I've never been able to do in all my visits since I came here for the first time in 1997. 

La Gomera - El Hierro would be at 11o'clock

looking towards Pico del  Teide (3715m)

I made 2 flights, as on the first flight I didn't really 'make it', landing near our apartment (Sunset Villas). I would have said, that I launched too early...

...but on the other hand, PierAndrea Patrucco, which had launched at the same time (!) flew with his tandem a 62km flat triangle in 3:45... The second flight then turned out to be very nice with a max altitude of almost 1900m by Ifonche :-) Condition at times have been pretty strong... This time I landed near Playa Enramada...

Playa Enramada / La Caleta

And just to proof that the name of our apartement is appropriate:

La Gomera (behind the palm tree on the right)

Canary Islands - info about flying la Palma

After having spent the last two weeks on la Palma (SPC) and Lanzarote (ACE) with my wife. (> Pix can be found HERE) I arrived on Tenerife last Sunday (5.2.); at the same time Ruth has been flying back home. Earlier in the afternoon my friends Gaby and Hartmut had arrived from DUS and we'll be spending the next two weeks together here on Tenerife (TFS) and also on el Hierro (VDE).

I did not fly during these two weeks, but I'd like to give an update about the situation (regarding paragliding) on la Palma.

Basically, the island is (more or less) 'back to normal' after the volcano eruption.

Unfortunately the main flight area (Puerto Naos) remains closed :-( (Feb'23)

The whole village had been evacuated and is fenced off (including the LZ!). Not due to direct lava damage or so, but due to (too) high levels of carbon dioxide! 

Further more a no-fly zone has been declared (see pix) and this includes the launch above Pto. Naos (which could be otherwise reached as usual).

The launch at el Gallo has been completely destroyed.

pix provided by Palmaclub - thanks!

But all the rest (launches and LZs) are open for flying! Campanarios can be reached as usual, but one has to land at either Charco Verde or le Remo; both of which are NOT suited for beginners!

With regard to the no-fly zone: this means that launching at Campanarios is possible, but flying north of launch and over the lava fields/ new volcano is NOT permitted.

More detailed info can be found here or contact the Palmaclub.