HGFA Skysailor Magazine

SKY SAILOR 17 November | December 2018 We then followed the classic route east to Sort, jumping cloud to cloud in the north winds rough, turbulent air, with strong bumpy climbs up to 9.4m/s, freezing temperatures down to 0.2°C, but my new height PB of 3890m. We arrived at 5pm over the familiar acro hub of Organya at 2500m and, satisfied with our 85km flight, acroed down for a relaxing Spanish afternoon with crazy acro pilots, beer and churros. Progress: Flew 84km, walked 8km – 157km to go. Day 7: Spanish afternoon flights A typical Spanish morning of sleep-ins, coffee and a slow 2pm launch. We rocketed up in the Organya magic lift and crossed the valley eastward, but then spent the next hour trapped under a bumpy inversion fighting a strong SW wind. The inversion finally broke at 3:30pm and we pushed north onto the Serra Del Cadi Ridge with progress assisted by friendly thermal seeking vultures. A late afternoon south wind allowed us to soar the ranges eastward meeting humid coastal air and silky smooth glides at cloudbase as the mountains slowly diminished. We managed 90km in five hours, landing in the foothills of the Pyrenees beside an abandoned B&B, camping in style with sweeping views of the densely forested mountains. Progress: Flew 90km – 67km to go. Days 8 and 9: The rain in Spain stays till the finish line Thick morning cloud and constant rain guaranteed a gruelling nine hours of trudging in raincoats, soggy shoes, and the beginnings of trench foot, covering 45km by road and farmers tracks, the coast almost in sight as we camped for our final night. Gale force winds blew us the remaining 22km through small villages and farms to reach the sandy beaches of the Mediterranean Sea. A surreal feeling – a mix of excitement, accomplishment, relief and did-it-really-just-happen? We celebrated our nine days, 317km (straight line) flying and 151km hiking and 9300m total altitude gain with beers and pizza. Our first real vol biv adventure could not have been more rewarding than the unforgettable landscapes, camp sites, and adventure. Thanks to Molly for support along the way, meeting up with us, feeding us and charging our electronics. Couldn’t have done it without you! Follow the line – the wind helps us soar the mountain on Day 7