[Amigo] > [Andy Palmer flight index]

Andy Palmer
Owens Valley Weekend [Saturday] [Sunday] [Monday]

Sunday, 9/24/06
Horseshoe (Walts) to North side of Bishop
62 miles

Sunday and we flew horseshoe (Walts), Kari and her clients and a couple of OV locals, and a HG from OR, 7 total.  Launched at 11:30 in good cycles and the light SSE, no west up top.  I went first and immediately climbed to 11.5 and waited for the rest, after they launched I headed out with 12.4.  It was a little stronger S up high but only about 8-10mph.  Everything was working the points high and the points out front with pretty easy climbs and surprisingly soft edges for a HP day-no clouds anywhere but a layer of smoke to the east marking the boundary.

Kari, Steve and I hooked up on the second crossing and basically stayed together until Onion Valley.  Climbing to 12 and change before going.  Kari kind of got low at onion but kept charging on the low points until she glided over me 4k higher at big pine creek.  It was here that things started to slow down and lift was harder to find and I had got low and was working the ridges out to Big Pine thinking my day was over, but I kept hitting little triggers that were in the afternoon sun until one of them released and it was back in the ball game.

I was hoping to make Bishop and catch up to Kari-everybody else had dirted already- I had the golf course on glide, and Kari had already landed there, when I connected with a boomer out over the flats and it was back up to 11k.  I contemplated going over to Flynns and try to connect on the Whites, but retrieve was tired and I didn't want to dirt out in hitch-hike country so I landed North of Bishop 62 miles from launch.

Time 4:40, max climb 1300fpm, max alt 12.7