Searching for Launch

Sunday morning without enough coffee on board, I packed up and headed South with a posse of hang glider pilots in search of excellent flying. Our plan was to fly Grant mtn then continue South to either King mtn or Big Southern Butte. After a 3 hour drive we were in sight of Grant and the sky was starting to look threatening. We continued up the steep road to launch and waited with hopes that the sky would open up. Cloud after cloud passed, occasionally raining down on us. It was time to move on and Peter had a place in mind.

Peter knew of a launch not too far from where we were and without any other options, we jumped in the rigs and sped away hoping to get a flight in that day. Before we knew it, we were 4 wheeling though alpine meadows at 8,000 ft. We were in search of a site that had probably only been flown once before, by Peter and Karl. I would call it more of a mountain that pointed in the correct direction than a site. After following barely distinguishable roads that most likely get traveled more by cattle, we reached the launch.

Josh waiting patiently at Grant

A classic Montana/Idaho road to launch

A perfect slope about 2,500 ft above the valley floor. We quickly set up, assessed the conditions, and began launching. A large shade cycle was moving across the valley making flying difficult. One after another, the guys launched and worked hard for every bit of lift.

I hung back helping the less experienced pilots with their launches. By the time I was ready, the valley was full of sun shine and thermals were rolling up the hill. I launched and quickly climbed out.
As soon as I had the necessary altitude, I headed North to a ridge-line I thought would be producing better lift. When I reached it, I found very punchy small thermals that were difficult to stay in. Eventually I managed to hang on long enough till the lift became more organized and easier to utilize.
I climbed out to 10,500 ft and tried touring around. The going was slow so I turned cross wind into the valley to look for other lift. Surprisingly not much was happening so I used the slightly buoyant air to glide across the valley as far as I could. Eventually I turned in the direction everyone else was, landed next to the guys, and was greeted with a nice cold beer.

We loaded up Karl's rig (9 people and 8 gliders) and headed back to launch with just enough time to find a suitable camping site. After plenty of beer and whiskey, we determined anywhere in the alpine meadow would do.

Camp

I woke early to watch the sun rise and see the sky filled with storm clouds. As the morning progressed, more clouds built to the point of raining. Eventually we accepted defeat and headed home. Every site along the drive back was plagued with dark storm clouds. By early afternoon we were back in Missoula and all pretty happy with previous days flights. We also learned that a tornado touch down in Dillon earlier that day confirming our smart decision not to fly.

Sunrise on the Lemhi mountains

Climbing and Flying

The last few days have been a blast, full of climbing and flying. Saturday Dan Hoffman and I headed to Blodgett Canyon for two days of climbing. We got on a route he established a few years prior which still needed some finishing touches. The plan was to climb the route, put chains on the last two anchors, and fix a line on the last pitch. The last pitch is a difficult one; 140ft of fingertip layback up a dihedral (5.12a/b). I was intimidated, but the pitch takes great gear, so I gave it a go. I was pleasantly surprised with my performance having hung on the rope only a couple of times. Dan and I installed the chains, fixed the rope, and rapped off.

Sunday, with the route all fixed, Dan and I headed back up to "mini-traction" the route. It was awesome. We barely had to carry any gear and were able to race up the route. It was a little spooky the first time because even though we knew the belay system would work, neither of us had ever tested it. On the last pitch I found out how well it worked when I blew the finishing moves of the route. The mini-traction locked up immediately. We rapped down and strolled out of the canyon stopping once for a dip in the creek.

Pitch 2

Pitch 1

Starting up the last two pitches

Monday I went to Sentinel with Ian for an afternoon flight which turned out to be uneventful. It was a blue sky with punchy thermals. I was able to low save over the LZ extending my flight, but eventually was forced to land.

Last night a crew of us headed to Alberton with hopes of an evening glass off. When we reached the launch, conditions looked great. I launched second and climbed out immediately. The lift wasn't incredible, but it was plenty to maintain above launch. As the evening came to an end, we glided out to the LZ where I had plenty of altitude to play with. I tried to get better acquainted with my new glider through a bunch of wing overs. It flies a bit different from my old wing so it will take a little getting used to before I'm really confident under it.

Alberton

Neck Deep in Hang Gliding

I've had a good week being surrounding with good people and immersing myself in hang gliding. Dustin, jeff, and I have been cranking away building as many harnesses as we can. It has been fun working with friends and producing a product that people all around the world are excited about. Of course some days we bail out early when the cu's start popping. If we're building the product, we gotta use the product.

We found ourselves back at the training hill helping Jeff teach Justin and Sara. They both did great and are fast on their way to flying. It brought back fond memories watching them train and get excited about the sport. Even Jeff and Dustin snuck in a flight when the wind came around.

The other night a few of use headed up the hill for an evening flight. Dustin had been working all day while I was having a tattoo worked on, so we were looking forward to the evening soar. Nicky had high hopes of getting a tandem flight with Jeff that night as well. Conditions on top were light and looked like a sled ride. Didn't matter though, it was still flying and my first flight in a new harness. Jeff let us know he was heading back up, so we set up the gliders and started punching off the hill one at a time. They were all short flights, but still very satisfying. I think Nicky was the most satisfied with the flight. There is nothing like seeing someone who has just landed, buzzing from their first flight.

Dustin slaving away

Jeff working an inner shell

Jeff, Sara, and Justin

Sara working on launching skills

Justin's first flight

Myself on launch (courtesy of Tamar Kasberg)

Dustin just off launch (courtesy Tamar Kasberg)

Jeff and Nicky (courtesy Tamar Kasberg)

Remembering a Friend

Today I woke to heavy thoughts of life and death. It has been exactly one year since my friend Chris Spurgeon died skiing Lolo Peak. I've thought of this day for along time. What should I do in memory of Chris? I always thought I should head back to the peak and ski the line he died on, but now that this day has come, it just doesn't feel right for me to return. Friends are on their way up there now, but I feel it would be better for me to loose myself in my memories of Chris while I'm alone. Regardless of what I do today, I'm going to bliss out on life, which is exactly how Spurgeon liked to live.

Yesterday Dustin, Jeff, and I cranked away building harnesses while it rained outside. Eventually we reached our breaking point and went for and evening walk around blue mountain. The skies opened up allowing for a spectacular sunset and we all relaxed soaking in the beauty of our surroundings.

Lolo Peak

Climbing and Surfing in SoCal

I just got back from another trip to Santa Barbara and as usual, I had a fantastic time. However, our original plans were shut down by weather. With a forecast of thunderstorms in Yosemite, we turned our attention to climbing at Tahquitz and surfing. We got a little climbing in and a lot of surfing. That was fine by me since I can climb all the time. Its not every day that I get to go surfing. And damn its fun!

Doing what we do best, enjoying good wine.

Brad racking up for Tahquitz

Brad playing with is new travel Martin guitar.....so nice.

Sunset view from Tahquitz

The summit of Tahquitz

Yesterday back in Missoula, the weather cooperated and a bunch of us got a great flight in. Conditions didn't look to promising with a slight overcast, but there was still plenty of lift in the air. We raced around the hill for an hour or so and all landed safely. I thought to myself how great life can be when two days ago I was surfing with dolphins 30 feet away and then come home and get to surf the sky with bald eagles!

Evening Surprise

The Cu's were popping early Tuesday so with hopes of flying, a few of us made plans to meet around 4:30. Surprisingly the day had not over developed so we headed up the hill. Everything was going normal until we came across the first of two down trees. The previous weekend's wind storm had left two trees over the road. If we couldn't move them, we would be done.

The first one was easy. It was rotten and broke easily. The second was another story. It was solid and not going to budge. With only a hatchet I happened to have, we took turn for an hour chopping at the tree. When it was finally cut, we had to resort to leverage moves like egyptian slaves moving monstrous stones. Eventually the tree gave way and the road was clear.

We were now an hour late and assumed the prime window for flying had passed us by. Still flying down always beats driving down. We quickly set up and formed a launch line. Watching everyone start to fly didn't look promising, but when I launched and looked behind me, I could see everyone soaring. The day hadn't shut down yet! It actually turned out to be quite good. The four of us spent an hour or so soaring around the mountains surrounding Missoula for a wonderful evening.

Finally Back on Rock

Last weekend the weather finally worked with me long enough to have a nice day climbing. Travis, Tom, and I headed to Blodgett Canyon to climb the Prow. The climbing was great, but a cold wind started to break us down. After getting some very satisfying climbing in, we decided to escape the cold and rap down. We all had a great time out there.

On another note, I got the great news that an image of mine made the cover shot for Cross Country magazine. It is my understanding that it is just about the largest flying mag in the world so I was thrilled that one of my pics would get that kind of exposure.

Travis leading pitch 2

Tom starting pitch 4

Travis finishing pitch 4

Cross Country cover