First Thermals and XC Flying

Spring has officially arrived here in the PNW, and March was unusually dry having received only ~25% of the average precipitation. This meant plenty of good days for flying, and the potential for large thermal activity. As seen below my # of flights and hours flown have rapidly increased due to the better weather.

A relaxing spring flying day at Tiger Mtn.
(Photo Credit: Daniel Sauter)

The winter was surprisingly nice for flying, and I got in lots of hiking laps at Tiger. Solo sunset flights are very peaceful and a great way to unwind after a busy day. By the start of March I was able to catch my first thermals and experience flying with eagles.

Winter paragliding at Tiger and thermalling with eagles

On March 23rd I joined Ryan to check out the flying at Baldy Butte near Ellensburg. That was a great day for thermalling practice and I was able to reach an altitude of nearly 7000 ft above the barren but beautiful landscape east of the mountains.

Flying at Baldy Butte

Last weekend on March 30th I put my thermalling skills to the test and left the security of Tiger mountain on my first cross country flight. You can interact with a 3D GPS track of the flight by clicking here. On that flight I landed about 12 miles from the launch at Rattlesnake Lake near North Bend. My first time reaching cloudbase was surreal, and I was visited by a couple sailplanes who joined me in a thermal. After buzzing rattlesnake ledge and waving to all the hikers I landed on the shore and quickly caught a ride from some friendly Russians. Below is a video, but because my GoPro battery died I didn't get much footage late in the flight.

XC flight from Tiger to Rattlesnake Lake