Dave Cutter predicted that the winds would blow in and a max altitude of 9,000’.
Our own Malury chose this day (of all days) to “play� undercover cop. He was watching to see if he could catch the %^&#$#* vandals that have been breaking the lock on the Kagel Road gate. Malury, your efforts are appreciated – you just picked the WRONG day.
I was about the 5th to launch at about 1 PM. I found some minor lift along the ridge but nothing special. Eleven minutes into the flight I was at 2,400’ and above the foothills near the Northern most houses. I heard Dave Cutter say he was at 5,500’ and was going East. The radio chatter was making me depressed.
I was unzipped thinking about rushing to make Andy Beem’s next truck. I found some light lift, turned down the radio to eliminate the distraction and started to work it. Forty two turns later I was at 5K msl and above launch.Dave, Vresh, Sea Bass, and a few others were well on their way to points East. I believe Dave and Vresh made Crestline/Marshall. Don’t know about the others – they can fill in the details.
Jeff Craig launched about 30 minutes after I did and had the same experience. A few minutes into the flight he was at 3,000’ over Volcano looking for salvation. In the mean time I had headed to Trash then on to Lances and Little T. On the return I found strong lift (600+) at Lances – how often does this happen? This was the first clue that today was going to be GOOD! OK, I’m a little slow.
By this time Jeff had worked his way back up and was headed to Locals. I followed behind and a little higher. At first the lift at Locals/Towers was a little elusive but we finally found it. Jeff left early and again I followed about 1,000’ higher – about 6,700’. I stopped at the 2200 for a few turns and headed on to West Towers – the actual towers. As I approached, Jeff again was ahead of me and lower. About a mile West of West Towers Jeff found the lift yet again. I heard “I got 600�, then a moment later “I got 800�, then another short moment later “my vario is maxed out�. I didn’t hesitate! I hit the lift at 8,000’ and in a little more than 2 minutes and seven turns I was at 10,000’. My averager was pegged at 800’ and the lift was smooth. My vario said it was 53 degrees. I started to think of what the conditions might be like at the top and decided to pull out and continue heading West towards the I-5 / 14 split. We were both at about the same altitude, hit the junction then turned back.
To say that lift was abundant would be an understatement! This was by far the best day at Kagel for myself and Jeff. Our max altitude was 10,200’ and who knows what the ceiling really was.
