Blog
2009-09-06 10:20:17
Another evening flight
The other day was another epic flight here in the valley. Because of the ongoing construction work on the road to Gaustablikk, launching from the ski center is a bit of a hassle. The road has been open during the tourist season, which is now officially over here apparently. I picked up my buddy Ove from his house at 6 pm, we packed the gliders and headed for the ski slope at Gaustablikk. Weather this summer has been the worst for as far back as I can remember and the amount of hours in the air this season has been few, and this added to my frustration when we realized that the road up to Gaustablikk was closed and wasn't going to open until 8.00 pm. One major issue with this road construction business is that even if you get up to the ski center you have to wait hours before they open the road again, so that you can get your car back. If you miss the opening, you would have to wait even longer before they open the road the next time. All this makes flying from the ski center pretty much a full day project and very unconvenient for anyone who want to have an after work flight in the afternoon. The best solution is if you can get a ride with someone up to the hotel and hike to the launch from there, as long as you are prepared to spend an hour walking back to town if you find out that you have a tail wind in the ski slope.
Conditions this evening seemed perfect so we waited for the 8.00 pm opening and got a ride with one of the hotel employees, hoping we would have enough time to launch before the catabatic winds from the mountain kicked in. In June and July you can fly really late in the evening, but autumn comes early in Norway, and by the end of August it's best to launch early.
We rushed to the north facing slope as fast as we could and by the time we were all set up, the sun was gone. It was completely calm that evening with no wind at all and the weather forecast had predicted 3 m/s earlier in the afternoon. I launched first and after only a few hundred meters I realized that it actually was pretty windy. By the time I got out above the valley the gps showed between 0 and 3 km/h. I fly a DHV 1.2 Ozone Buzz Z which isn't exactly built for speed but this was a bit of a surprise to me. I looked over my should to look where Ove was, and in the corner of my eye I could see him tangled up in his glider below the launch. It seemed like I had managed to get off just before the cold air started to sink down from the mountain and now Ove had to fight a tail wind to get off the mountain.
Above the valley I had perfect smooth magic air and I could climb from 800 meters to 1200 meters in no time. I stepped on the speed bar and enjoyed life and after a while Ove managed to launch his glider off the ski slope. He was caught in the sinking air and never managed to get above the valley high enough to catch the magic air, and he actually struggled a bit to get to the landing field where we had parked the car.
I enjoyed a fantastic flight for about 45 minutes, then it started to get real dark and when the road lights turned on, I figured it would be a good idea to land, while I could still see the landing field. However, it was still a pretty strong lift all over the valley and my vario kept beeping. I flew as close to the south face above Dale as I dared, where I figured the lift would be weakest, but in the fading light it was hard to tell the distance from the trees. I stepped on the speed bar and pulled big ears just to reduce the lift, but it was not helping much. I just wished I had had more light because the flying was amazing, but instead I had to spend the next 20 minutes to really try to loose altitude as fast as I could.. Bummer.
When I finally had managed to descend to below 500 meters, I was out of the magic air. By then it was really dark but thanks to Ove, who flashed his head lamp on the landing field, I was able to land without problems.
Rjukan is a pretty special place for flying and I have a lot of respect for the conditions in this narrow valley. I've been flying here a lot for the last three years and I learn a lot every season. Yes, weather this summer has been shit, but I have to say I have had some pretty amazing flights :)
The other day was another epic flight here in the valley. Because of the ongoing construction work on the road to Gaustablikk, launching from the ski center is a bit of a hassle. The road has been open during the tourist season, which is now officially over here apparently. I picked up my buddy Ove from his house at 6 pm, we packed the gliders and headed for the ski slope at Gaustablikk. Weather this summer has been the worst for as far back as I can remember and the amount of hours in the air this season has been few, and this added to my frustration when we realized that the road up to Gaustablikk was closed and wasn't going to open until 8.00 pm. One major issue with this road construction business is that even if you get up to the ski center you have to wait hours before they open the road again, so that you can get your car back. If you miss the opening, you would have to wait even longer before they open the road the next time. All this makes flying from the ski center pretty much a full day project and very unconvenient for anyone who want to have an after work flight in the afternoon. The best solution is if you can get a ride with someone up to the hotel and hike to the launch from there, as long as you are prepared to spend an hour walking back to town if you find out that you have a tail wind in the ski slope.
Conditions this evening seemed perfect so we waited for the 8.00 pm opening and got a ride with one of the hotel employees, hoping we would have enough time to launch before the catabatic winds from the mountain kicked in. In June and July you can fly really late in the evening, but autumn comes early in Norway, and by the end of August it's best to launch early.
We rushed to the north facing slope as fast as we could and by the time we were all set up, the sun was gone. It was completely calm that evening with no wind at all and the weather forecast had predicted 3 m/s earlier in the afternoon. I launched first and after only a few hundred meters I realized that it actually was pretty windy. By the time I got out above the valley the gps showed between 0 and 3 km/h. I fly a DHV 1.2 Ozone Buzz Z which isn't exactly built for speed but this was a bit of a surprise to me. I looked over my should to look where Ove was, and in the corner of my eye I could see him tangled up in his glider below the launch. It seemed like I had managed to get off just before the cold air started to sink down from the mountain and now Ove had to fight a tail wind to get off the mountain.
Above the valley I had perfect smooth magic air and I could climb from 800 meters to 1200 meters in no time. I stepped on the speed bar and enjoyed life and after a while Ove managed to launch his glider off the ski slope. He was caught in the sinking air and never managed to get above the valley high enough to catch the magic air, and he actually struggled a bit to get to the landing field where we had parked the car.
I enjoyed a fantastic flight for about 45 minutes, then it started to get real dark and when the road lights turned on, I figured it would be a good idea to land, while I could still see the landing field. However, it was still a pretty strong lift all over the valley and my vario kept beeping. I flew as close to the south face above Dale as I dared, where I figured the lift would be weakest, but in the fading light it was hard to tell the distance from the trees. I stepped on the speed bar and pulled big ears just to reduce the lift, but it was not helping much. I just wished I had had more light because the flying was amazing, but instead I had to spend the next 20 minutes to really try to loose altitude as fast as I could.. Bummer.
When I finally had managed to descend to below 500 meters, I was out of the magic air. By then it was really dark but thanks to Ove, who flashed his head lamp on the landing field, I was able to land without problems.
Rjukan is a pretty special place for flying and I have a lot of respect for the conditions in this narrow valley. I've been flying here a lot for the last three years and I learn a lot every season. Yes, weather this summer has been shit, but I have to say I have had some pretty amazing flights :)
2009-08-23 10:55:13
Epic flying!
When conditions are good there is nothing that beats paragliding!
A few days ago I hooked up with two other local pilots to do an evening launch from the ski center. I didn't really have any hopes of anything else than a quick glide down to the valley, unless we could find soaring wind on the North-west face or some weak thermals from the rock slopes low in the valley. No matter what, we were out to have a good time and to get our gliders in the air after a few weeks with rain and/or strong winds.
We arrived to the launch with only a few hours of daylight left, and within 15 minutes the last wind gusts of the day died out. I was the last one to get my glider in the air and as I flew out over the ski slope, towards the North facing ridge, I expected to see the others somewhere lower in the valley, but I couldn't spot them anywhere. I thought that was a bit weird but didn't think to much about it. As i flew out above the North facing ridge I aimed for a rocky cliff section low down in the valley. On a good afternoon these rocks can generate decent thermals if you are able to catch them.
Just as I flew out over the valley the vario went crazy and I found myself climbing in a really strong lift. I had only my helmet vario on so I don't know my climb ratio but it was rough, no doubt. It soon became clear to me that this was a rare case of crazy strong magic air, the lift was everywhere, and I realized that I didn't see my friends earlier, because by the time I launched they were already thermalling way above me. It didn't take long to climb from about 700 meters to at least 1600 meters (I didn't have any instruments with me but it's pretty easy to use Gaustatoppen as reference point when flying here). I could easily have climbed higher but the turbulence was strong and my glider collapsed pretty hard several times, and this made me sick to the point that I actually had to throw up. This was the first time I have been really sick from flying :)
Magic air is a phenomenon that occurs when warm air in a valley is triggered by cold air that sinks down from the surrounding mountains. This happens in the evening, when the sun no longer heat up the valley sides and if you can catch it, this can often give you another hour or so in the air before the thermal activity eventually die out. Magic air is normally pretty nice to fly in, with little turbulence, but this particular day was different. We had hit the motherload of heated air rising up from the fields at the bottom of the valley and it didn't seem to die out anytime soon. This is what makes the game of paragliding so interesting and complicated, those perfect days depend on many variables such as air pressure, winds and temperature.
We stayed in the air for more than 1,5 hours, and we landed before it got too dark. Getting down was a bit of a struggle, because it was still strong lift in the middle of the valley and I could easily climb back up from 100 meters above the landing field.
Epic!!
When conditions are good there is nothing that beats paragliding!
A few days ago I hooked up with two other local pilots to do an evening launch from the ski center. I didn't really have any hopes of anything else than a quick glide down to the valley, unless we could find soaring wind on the North-west face or some weak thermals from the rock slopes low in the valley. No matter what, we were out to have a good time and to get our gliders in the air after a few weeks with rain and/or strong winds.
We arrived to the launch with only a few hours of daylight left, and within 15 minutes the last wind gusts of the day died out. I was the last one to get my glider in the air and as I flew out over the ski slope, towards the North facing ridge, I expected to see the others somewhere lower in the valley, but I couldn't spot them anywhere. I thought that was a bit weird but didn't think to much about it. As i flew out above the North facing ridge I aimed for a rocky cliff section low down in the valley. On a good afternoon these rocks can generate decent thermals if you are able to catch them.
Just as I flew out over the valley the vario went crazy and I found myself climbing in a really strong lift. I had only my helmet vario on so I don't know my climb ratio but it was rough, no doubt. It soon became clear to me that this was a rare case of crazy strong magic air, the lift was everywhere, and I realized that I didn't see my friends earlier, because by the time I launched they were already thermalling way above me. It didn't take long to climb from about 700 meters to at least 1600 meters (I didn't have any instruments with me but it's pretty easy to use Gaustatoppen as reference point when flying here). I could easily have climbed higher but the turbulence was strong and my glider collapsed pretty hard several times, and this made me sick to the point that I actually had to throw up. This was the first time I have been really sick from flying :)
Magic air is a phenomenon that occurs when warm air in a valley is triggered by cold air that sinks down from the surrounding mountains. This happens in the evening, when the sun no longer heat up the valley sides and if you can catch it, this can often give you another hour or so in the air before the thermal activity eventually die out. Magic air is normally pretty nice to fly in, with little turbulence, but this particular day was different. We had hit the motherload of heated air rising up from the fields at the bottom of the valley and it didn't seem to die out anytime soon. This is what makes the game of paragliding so interesting and complicated, those perfect days depend on many variables such as air pressure, winds and temperature.
We stayed in the air for more than 1,5 hours, and we landed before it got too dark. Getting down was a bit of a struggle, because it was still strong lift in the middle of the valley and I could easily climb back up from 100 meters above the landing field.
Epic!!
2009-08-21 11:38:23
On the trail!
I've been doing a lot of Mountain Biking lately, much since I'm now officially in the Mountain Bike business. Mountain Bike is fun, one of my favourite sports these days, it gives you both aerobic training and action, if it's a technical trail. And, it's not excessively dangerous like some of the other mountain sports I'm into. Sure, I've taken some beating this summer, my elbow still hurts after a fall 2 months ago, but the risk of dying is rarely present.
Most of the good Mountain Bike terrain in Rjukan has been discovered during the last two years and we have done a pretty good job documenting most of the quality trails in the area. Exploring new trails with the bike is an interesting game, you never know what to expect, and it can easily turn into a 3 hour walking mission.
A week ago I hooked up with my friend Øystein to try a new trail from Karlebu to Håkådalen. Despite a bit of rain and some problems finding the trail from time to time, it turned out to be a super fun ride down from about 1200 meters asl, to the bottom Håkådalen valley. I was wearing my headcam so you can watch a short video from this trip here.
(Right click and "save link as" to download this clip)
I've been doing a lot of Mountain Biking lately, much since I'm now officially in the Mountain Bike business. Mountain Bike is fun, one of my favourite sports these days, it gives you both aerobic training and action, if it's a technical trail. And, it's not excessively dangerous like some of the other mountain sports I'm into. Sure, I've taken some beating this summer, my elbow still hurts after a fall 2 months ago, but the risk of dying is rarely present.
Most of the good Mountain Bike terrain in Rjukan has been discovered during the last two years and we have done a pretty good job documenting most of the quality trails in the area. Exploring new trails with the bike is an interesting game, you never know what to expect, and it can easily turn into a 3 hour walking mission.
A week ago I hooked up with my friend Øystein to try a new trail from Karlebu to Håkådalen. Despite a bit of rain and some problems finding the trail from time to time, it turned out to be a super fun ride down from about 1200 meters asl, to the bottom Håkådalen valley. I was wearing my headcam so you can watch a short video from this trip here.
(Right click and "save link as" to download this clip)
2009-04-24 09:38:11
Flying season starts now!
We have had a week of amazing weather here, sunny and temps up to 20 C (yeah, it's pretty good for Norway in April). I took my glider out for some ground handling yesterday, since I haven't been in the air at all this winter. Yesterday was a little bit too windy for my taste, but it's always like that in this valley, either the wind is strong and turbulent or there is no wind at all.
I had a pretty hard time getting the glider out between the gusts, but with some help from my 2 year old son (he was sitting on the glider while I was getting ready) I finally managed to get it above my head for a few seconds, before the turbulence collapsed the wing, and smashed it to the ground. Another try, with the same result, but this time I was dragged across the field, before I got control of the wing. I launched it again and managed to keep it above my head for at least 10 seconds before a strong gust collapsed it again. By then I had enough and with a little help from my son again, I put the glider in the car and went to buy ice cream.
As soon as it gets a little less windy here, I'll go flying, can't wait!
Erlier this winter, my friend Will Gadd from Canada climbed this amazing ice route called Hunlen Falls. Apparently it's kind of a suffer mission, involving flying, skiing and camping, but Will, together with two other Canmore climbers, EJ and Scott, sent it. There is a short video clip of the climb on Discovery, click here to check it out!
We have had a week of amazing weather here, sunny and temps up to 20 C (yeah, it's pretty good for Norway in April). I took my glider out for some ground handling yesterday, since I haven't been in the air at all this winter. Yesterday was a little bit too windy for my taste, but it's always like that in this valley, either the wind is strong and turbulent or there is no wind at all.
I had a pretty hard time getting the glider out between the gusts, but with some help from my 2 year old son (he was sitting on the glider while I was getting ready) I finally managed to get it above my head for a few seconds, before the turbulence collapsed the wing, and smashed it to the ground. Another try, with the same result, but this time I was dragged across the field, before I got control of the wing. I launched it again and managed to keep it above my head for at least 10 seconds before a strong gust collapsed it again. By then I had enough and with a little help from my son again, I put the glider in the car and went to buy ice cream.
As soon as it gets a little less windy here, I'll go flying, can't wait!
Erlier this winter, my friend Will Gadd from Canada climbed this amazing ice route called Hunlen Falls. Apparently it's kind of a suffer mission, involving flying, skiing and camping, but Will, together with two other Canmore climbers, EJ and Scott, sent it. There is a short video clip of the climb on Discovery, click here to check it out!
2009-03-29 10:35:12
Perfect spring conditions!
Ice conditions in the valley is still good and most classics are in perfect shape. Night temps at down to -5 C and considerably warmer temperatures during the day, means that most routes are still building. This been one legendary ice season in Norway and it looks like it's going to be a long one.
March is the best month for climbing here, by far, and it's a lot more quite here now than earlier in the winter.
Ice conditions in the valley is still good and most classics are in perfect shape. Night temps at down to -5 C and considerably warmer temperatures during the day, means that most routes are still building. This been one legendary ice season in Norway and it looks like it's going to be a long one.
March is the best month for climbing here, by far, and it's a lot more quite here now than earlier in the winter.
