Marshall, Sunday

From: Matthew Carter
Activity_Date: 9/30/01
Remote Name: 12.44.115.28

Comments

Sunday September 30th.

Saw the potential and seized at it on my day off on Sunday. 10 a.m. from home was looking amazing, but as I was gearing up on launch, the clouds came over and the mountains were blanketed underneath a big wedge of OD. Launched at 11 at Marshall, facing East. Kited down to the flagpole and hopped off the back. Despite the hard east, the shade killed any trace of lift including ridge lift, and I hit the deck by the reservoir within a couple of minutes. 5 minutes too late! Curses.

Quickly up to launch for a 12.30 takeoff. Drift not as favorable, but at least I was a little better in sync with the pulsing sun/shade cycles. Got to 8 above Marshall, and left the front of Pine with 11,340 ft. after the rain drops started getting persistent and cold, although cloudbase was still a little ways up there. Anyone get above 12?

Drift was good, I thought this was going to be a good run. Lots of shade ahead but hey, the clouds are still working! This is when I made my first mistake. With the moist flow aloft, and a pretty undefined wedge up above me. I mistook the line of Cu’s sloughing off from the main N/S seam for the main convergence line. {It could have been altocu’s given the upper level instability} My mistake became clear as I pulled in front of Cucamonga and Ontario Peak with 7.5K, as my crab angle swung around to facing the big and hospitable rock walls of “Cuc” The best line had obviously been behind Cuc, and I was never to get the kind of vario shattering climbs that Jim Macklow was reporting behind Lukens to over 12. At this stage we were on target to cross paths, as had been the plan. Me going to Kagel, him to Marshall. Instead I was left partying in the lee, having to work pretty hard to keep the glider flying in a straight line. No real climbs, as the orographic and convergence support was all over on the north side.

2 factors encouraged me to accelerate at this point. A couple of big gust front lines were racing west after me from Fontana, and the phase of sunlight that I was trying to catch was still about 8-10 km’s ahead of me. Came in level with Sunset Peak in front of Baldy at about 6000. No sunlight. Where a patch of sun peeked through from this stage on, little 10 second bubbles would pull off immediately in the unstable air. No time to cook any real climbs. Nothing you could core for more than a couple of turns. Meanwhile the object of my desire, the big line to the north was shading and dumping in equal measure. Got lower and lower over Glendora down to 3500, working some very flat relief in the hills and having to scoot and fly out to freedom between and under two radio masts in a little “arête” with about 6 ft clearance per wing tip. Low level headwind, shade and persistent rain, now running off the trailing edge in little streaks. Not a happy combination. Kagel was now a pretty distant dream with shade all the way to Wilson and beyond. Passed a certain secret site and set down in Azusa behind Sierra Madre, 54.7 km’s or 34 miles. Dried out my wing, and needless to say 30 minutes later the next phase of light had arrived from the East and the birds were singing in the sunshine.

Mistake number 1. Not launching ten minutes earlier on my first flight at 11 a.m. before the OD raced through from the east. That was the train to catch.

Mistake number 2. Not seeing the best line of the convergence as running behind Cucamonga until it was too late and I was stuck down to the south. The “low-country” near La Verne, Glendora and the beginnings of Azusa are pretty tricky. You need some altitude to keep above the poor lift and canyon winds that will slow you down something chronic.

Mistake number 3. Wasting the best day I think I have seen in three years to fly this succulent route. The problem being that when we have SE we normally have some moisture or frontal activity that will shade the route with either Cu or Ci. Still, a line behind Cuc, over Baldy and through to the Mendenhall Ridge would have been the way to go.

Perhaps will try this the other way round next time… Jim made a valiant effort to, we almost crossed paths as he went down a few miles west in Monrovia.

Matthew Carter
apcobagheera@hotmail.com
http://www.angelfire.com/in3/paraglidingpics

Note: The above article was copied from:
http://www.crestlinesoaring.org/cyphor/show.php?fid=1&id=706
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