X-C Team Work

From: T. Pipkin
Activity_Date: 1/18/02
Remote Name: 216.244.19.193

Comments

Zvi, Brendan & I launched late (after 1pm)on Friday from the Nuthouse. The winds aloft forecast called for east-northeast at 6k so our tentative plan was to head southwest towards White Ledge & hopefully on to Carpinteria. Brendan was 2nd off & immediately found lift & climbed out. I saw what worked for him & followed. Zvi was last to launch in weak cycles & paid the price. He managed to hang on for 20 minutes, but eventually flushed.

At the top of the back ridge, Brendan took the high road. Knowing a consistent house thermal on Spine One would be the quickest way out of the canyon, I took the low road. Brendan saw me climb to 4k & followed. To make the jump over the river, we needed another grand, so we headed east for higher ground. It appeared that the day would not allow enough altitude to jump the gap so we continued east. While Brendan worked the pyramid, I pushed on to Nordhoff ridge.

Below 4500' we had a tail wind from the canyon draw, above 4500' L&V (no wind direction at all). Topped out at 5k & now too far east to run for WL. Headed for Twin Peaks & arrived low. Worked weak lift back to 5200'. From here Brendan went to West Repeater while I climbed the spine to the Chief Launch. On 1/16 Bruce reported flying over the Topa Bluffs, "I've always wanted to do that"! Unable to get above 5k, I soon joined Brendan & came into WR at 2400'. Scratching low for a good 10 min., a red tail hawk marked a thermal, & back to 4500'.

By now it's 3pm & the day is quickly shutting down. went on glide to an empty field behind St. Thomas Aquinas College. Brendan followed 5 min later. Chris arrived shortly after we landed. Thank You Chris. 12.3 miles, 1hr 52min.