Tamaro, at last

Tamaro, at last. Only took four years.

The forecast was right. But then it should have been, this was April. [Click images to get full size]

Up with Dave to Sasso TO and to find it crowded, of course, even though we weren't late - 1.30 at the top. Olly and Nick were just going off, it was still marginal but after a few hesitations they left and we got their space next to the ramp. I rigged impatiently as usual, checking the glider thoroughly though after the last flight's whack, and then waited for Dave to go so I could check out his launch technique (nose too high, incidentally, for this ramp).

Even though I went maybe 2mins later, he was skying out by the time I was airborne. I just got the tail-end of the cycle, and was left to see him spiraling up to may 1800m or so with a bunch of PGs, drifting way North over the back. I turned to look for the next thermal which I get after 5mins and climb out to around 1700m - and Dave is gone by the time I get up, and the PGs who were with him are heading East. I too turn for Nudo, and arrive at 1450m before climbing out to 1800m and then race for Colonna - is he there?

At Colonna, there's again a whole load of PGs and HGs milling around, but nothing looks solid. I move across to San Martino where there are a few others climbing out in the valley: looks too risky as I get down to 1350m so I start to stay in whatever I can get, about 1km short of the chapel. After a few minutes it turns on and I climb out to around 2200m under a forming cloud, again the vario is averaging +4m/s at times: it's obviously a good day...

The drift is NE, so Sette Termine is the next step (seems my suggestion to go for Campo dei Fiori is way wrong, and Dave in fact goes down at Mascioni trying to cross over). A green Laminar ST goes for it, 20 secs ahead and 50m lower. I follow, he picks a route more North where there are at first some clouds, I stay to his East/right a bit behind, but we stay at a pretty constant glide, averaging 60kph and nearly 16:1 glide. On the last km he makes a strange choice and goes for the terrain trigger as we approach Sette Termine, but it's obvious we're too high (I'm at 1850m, that's 900m above the summit) and so I go further East for the nice Cu that's there. I'm rewarded with a steady 2.5m/s climb to cloudbase at 2300m, he comes in way under me. It's only 35mins into the flight, I've gone over 15km already...

I go on glide for Lema, 8.3km with a 23:1, picking up the ridge to the south of Lema and flying straight in to Flavio who's working what looks like broken lift over the antenna. I join in just above and it's rock and roll at +5 until it gets frighteningly strong and I bail out heading west bar to the knees, slip-sliding away to the edge of the cloud at 2400m...

I then head north in a comforting -2m/s, deciding to get a bit closer (lower) to the ridge. It's nearly 8km before I turn again, and I've covered the entire ridge, mostly a 100m or so above it. On the way I spot Flavio a few km ahead scooting north to escape the cloud, I just stay low and see that the Tamaro summit is in sunlight and with its own Cu. Approaching the triangular pinnacle, I split the difference between the rock slab on the SE side and the sun-filled valley on the SW: in the end it's the rock slab that's working. I'm close enough to see the cross clearly and the met stations scattered on the summit, then it's up again towards cloudbase at 2300m - that's close enough - and then I head off for the antenna, 1km away to the NE, almost holding my breath. Even though it's going up everywhere, I reassure myself at least I know there's a LZ down below - I'm way from home. Back to the pyramid-like summit, and climb out again to over 2400m, and now run back to Lema (it looks up hill, but isn't) this time staying under the cloud, using more speed to keep the averager negative. A short climb to top up after Gradiccioli, and then it's a 13km glide before I turn again past Sette Termine...

Again, I read the clouds, even though I come in a bit lower this time. Leaving Lema at cloudbase (fast, through the edge), I try to read the small Cu's just forming on the cross over. After moving my line left a bit for one, and then seeing another just in previous line to the right, I realise it's futile since cloudbase is my height anyway. I get to Sette Termine at about 1700m, but head SW past the summit a km or so for some climbing PGs and three sailplanes. After trying the sailplanes' circle and finding they haven't got the best core (I had) I start back where I came from and fiddle with the GPS to set up for San Martino (was programmed for Pian) since I'm so high I should easily make the longer but more pleasant crossing.

Indeed I do, the crossing is easy, PGs marking the lift, I leave at 2300m, arriving at San Martino at 1800m and just carry on to Nudo. Just before arriving it gets vary sinky, I see -8 on the vario so just head through, climb out a bit in front of the summit. Not sure what I'm going to do, I've only been in the air 1h40m so far - I can't just go back and land.

My dilemma is solved when behind Nudo TO I pick up some lift again with more (the same?) sailplanes and climb out to cloudbase at 2100m; there's a smaller Cu forming East over the end of the Pizzione, looks like convection of the back, I'll take that and pass over the restaurant arriving from the North, which I do at nearly 1600m. There are some nice (but decaying) clouds out over the plains, so I decide I'll just fly home, pull the VG on full and try and penetrate up wind - but I'm only making 35 to 40kph over the ground so it's maybe 20kph headwind. I get worse than a 7:1 glide and turn back at 950m 1.5km short; I drift back to Picutz, get into some zero lift for a few turns before I decide to quit and head back to Sasso. I arrive just at the firebreak height, but quickly find a thermal and climb out over the cable way to restaurant height. By now there are jellyfish everywhere, so I float up in +0.5m/s until after 15mins it turns on and I climb out a 5pm to 1700m. Again I try for Cardana, this time I'm less than 700m short but I turn back at 1050m because I'm obviously giving up the fight mentally. I head back and arrive at the club at around 800m (lost 250m for about 4km?) and try to throw some wing-overs, but I've already let the VG off and my arms are too tired to pull in and get enough speed... and I thought it had light bar pressure.

Set up to land, there is of course a couple of PG pilots standing for 5mins in the middle of the field, not aware at all I'm coming in, I scoot round them, the wind switches west again just as I come in and I think it's a repeat story of the last landing but instead I stop lightly on my feet after two steps and the glider rests back on my shoulders...

Date: 13/04/2003 Flight time: 2h44mins, Average XC speed 33.69kph. On the section through Lema and Tamaro, the XC speed goes up to around 43 to over 50 kph - but then I was straight-lining it.

XC distance: OLC distance 76km (includes legs to Cardana), Task distance Sasso-San Martino-Lema-Tamaro-Tamaro Antenna and back: 64km

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