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Date
Site
Forecast
POP
Winds Aloft
@
3000'
Lapse
Rate

Cloudbase
Forecast
calculated
by SOAR8.XLW

Comments
4/30
Woodside
Cloudy with sunny periods. 40 percent chance of showers. High 19
40%
160° at 8 knots
-2.6°
/1000'
(unstable)

900 meters
3000 feet



Chris Muller (1976 - 2005)

A dear friend, was fatally injured in a hanggliding accident on Friday April 22nd, while competing in the Flytec Hanggliding Nationals in Florida. Chris was respected as a "kingpin" in Paragliding and Hanggliding in Canada and worldwide. We are stunned, and our hearts go out to Vincene, and friends in Calgary and abroad.

"We are going to miss you . . . so much" - Colleen & Jim


Kari Castle's Blog memories of Chris and a short accident report from a good friend.

Muller Memorial Report - the past two days spent with Vincene and family and friends has shown us how hard Chris Muller lived and loved. Many touching stories from outside flying, many from fliers too. Some anger at the sport we all love, but mostly a lot of questions about the kind of flying some do (not Chris's flying).

Will Gadd's Rocky Mountain Crossing memories of how well Chris Muller flew are contained in this article.

4/29
Golden
Sunny with cloudy periods. High 11
0%
light and variable
-2.4°
/1000'
(unstable)

2330 meters
7200 feet


Golden Report - when we drove thru Golden en route to Cochrane the CUs were popping, but it looked a bit windy up top. Mark and Hugo were planning a big XC flight and were leaving for Launch at noon. No reports received yet.

4/28
Woodside or Bridal may work later
A mix of sun and cloud. Windy. High 23.
0%
200° at 6 knots
-2.1°
/1000'
(stable)

2330 meters
7200 feet
Woodside Report - Andy and I went up at 6:00 pm to fly after the winds died down. It was blowing over the back for some time so we left to go to the Golf Course for dinner. As we ate we saw Denis flying off launch maintaining! We shoulda waited?

4/27
Stay Home
Sunny. Fog patches dissipating in the morning. Windy. High 21
0%
090° at 10 knots
-2.1°
/1000'
(stable)

2330 meters
7200 feet
Woodside Report - I was out doing some chores around the Ranch at 5:00 pm, and it was very windy! Trees were blown over on Hwy 11 between Abbotsford and Mission, causing traffic tie-ups.

4/26
Woodside or Bridal
Sunny with cloudy periods. Fog patches early this morning. High 24
0%
280° at 7 knots
-2.1°
/1000'
(stable)

2330 meters
7200 feet
Woodside Report - Greg from Texada flew a few flights befre it got too strong.

Trees: 1 Pilots: 0. Apparently, an un-named pilot flying a UP kantega M got blown into the venturi between the South Knoll and Launch and suffered "tree suck". Search and Rescue called out after pilots was seen not moving and no radio contact. Everything turned out okay. No radio, no rope kit and only one witness to the event, who called the rest of the crew on radio - Thanks, Stefan!

4/25
Bridal
Sunny with cloudy periods. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 24
0%
260° at 10 knots
-2.1°
/1000'
(stable)

2330 meters
7200 feet
Woodside Report - a new XC pilot has cut the strings and flown over the back to Harvest market! Congratulations, Martina! Andy and Martina were climbing out around noon when Andy pointed east and Martina followed. Not confident about flying over the River, she elected for a path closer to the Mountain, and hit sink and landed a field short of the Market. Greg from Texada offered to drive retrieve for them so they got back quickly.

4/24
Woodside
A mix of sun and cloud with 30 percent chance of showers. High 21
30%
light and variable
-2.1°
/1000'
(stable)

700 meters
2300 feet
Woodside Report - a slow start to the day due to light rain, but by 6:00 pm, everyone had flown a few flights. Colleen and I had also done 2 tandems each and two solo flights, so it was a pretty good training day. Some thermals but not long flights.

4/23
Bridal
or
Woodside
A mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of showers late in the day. Becoming windy in the afternoon. High 22
0%
230° at 5 knots
-2.1°
/1000'
(stable)

1240 meters
3700 feet
Woodside Report - we got blown out most of the day, but were able to head to a local training hill to kite and practice little flights and the students all did fabulously! Every one of 5 had perfect launches by 3:00 pm. We headed back to Woodside to fly but unfortunately it was blowing over the back at launch.


Secret training hill in Abbotsford


4/22
Bridal
or
Woodside
Sunny with cloudy periods. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 23
0%
2710° at 6 knots
-2.1°
/1000'
(stable)

1240 meters
3700 feet
Woodside Report - we had a good day with new students that was shattered by the news that Chris Muller had an accident in Florida at the FlyTec Hanggliding Nationals and has passed away.

We are devasted and have been asked by Keith McCullogh pass on information as it comes forward to the BC Community. Vincene is travelling to Florida to meet Bernie, Brett and to bring Chris home.

Vincene, Tihi, Brett and Bernie - our hearts go out to you tonight - Jim and Colleen

4/21
Bridal
or
Woodside
Sunny with cloudy periods. High 23
0%
270° at 8 knots
-2.1°
/1000'
(stable)

1240 meters
3700 feet
Bridal Report - when I drove past Bridal on the way to the Ranch; Martina, Derek, Jack, Luke, Dave S and Byron were soaring the "Knob". Jack had already logged 2 hours before Derek and Martina arrived and they flew til dark.

Woodside Report - Andy was spotted at Woodside earlier by Derek, and Thomm M (via our webcam).


Andy over Woodside, as captured by the FlyBC WebCam


4/20
Bridal
or
Woodside
Sunny. High 23
0%
270° at 6 knots
-2.4°
/1000'
(unstable)

2240 meters
6900 feet
Woodside Report - Colleen, Kelly, Julie and several other pilots were out flying today. Colleen managed 20 minutes in stable air, before Kelly launched Julie for one flight. Kelly headed to Bridal after that.

Bridal Report - Alan and Alex R hiked up to fly Lower Launch. Not a stellar day but "ridge soarable", no lift in the bowl south of launch, only at the cliffs. Everyone is looking forward to unsettled weather Friday to get things started again.

4/19
Bridal
Woodside
Sunny. High 20
0%
300° at 10 knots
-2.4°
/1000'
(unstable)

1400 meters
4300 feet
Woodside Report - quite a few pilots in the air at Woodside when I arrived at 12:45.

They were struggling to get high; Mark F, Alan, Alex R, Dave M, Andy and a few others.

By the time we got to launch some got bored and flew out to Riverside. Martina launched and flew out to show Alan how to climb as she topped out over the bailout field about 200 meters above Alan. I launched John into the air and he managed a few turns before landing at the Ranch. It was too windy for Julie, so she drove Justin's truck down and went kiting as Bev lent me her Zoom to fly down. Good climbs +3.5 m/s, rough air, got to 1080 meters in close and some good therms on the way out as well. But they were small punchy ones that you had to bank over in. I flew out to land after 35 minutes, followed by Norm and Andy (who eventually logged 2:45 in the first flight). I think Dave M did as well, surprisingly good performance on a bland wing! Dave get a real wing and you will kick some butt.


Photo of Alex, Alan and Dave Merrick, by Neil Geigenbauer


Bridal Report - as it was getting windy we followed Alan like lemmings to Bridal. Another site for John and Julie. We did the landing briefing and headed up the hill with a full load of 8.

There were already a bunch of gliders soaring launch, as more were launching. The new launch works well, with dual stage launch slots (just like an aircraft carrier). John had a great launch and went out away from traffic and was higher than the soaring crowd. He managed a good landing on his own as I took Julie tandem. Justin showed us how to launch and top-land all at once, and then relaunched after we went tandem. Neil launched just before us and landed after we spiralled out of the sky to get a beer, apparently Julie's screams were heard from the LZ.

Good flight, not getting much above 1080 meters at Bridal either. It looked inverted as we flew, smog layers below, blue sky above. But everyone logged from 30 minutes to 3 hours. Julie and I outclimbed Derek a few times, but the thermals were fickle. Martina was forced to fly because someone drove Derek's truck down.


from Bridal Launch, photo by Neil Geigenbauer


4/18
Bridal
Cloudy. 30 percent chance of showers early this morning. Clearing near noon. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 15
30%
290° at 12 knots
-2.4°
/1000'
(unstable)

900 meters
2905 feet
Woodside Report - I received a new Ozone Rush today and was required to test fly it! I arrived at 2:30 pm and headed up with Martina, Derek and Andy. I launched first after Andy already had logged 4 hours landing at Chehalis School. I was at cloudbase in about 10 minutes and the Rush was busy, and I was required to active pilot it all the way into a landing after 30 minutes of flight, so I could make it back to town by 5:30 pm.

Derek and Andy flew later and spent 1:30 in the air after 4:00 pm.

Darren K landed at Ruby Creek and Alex Raymont flew to Hope Airport from Woodside. Kelly flew several flights in pretty strong conditions and stayed up, as did Justin and Martina off Woodside (Martina says Norm's wing looks good from above). A great day for free-fliers everywhere on the Coast.

Bridal Report - Mark Fraser landed 7 kms north of Hope on Hwy 5, followed by Nicole who landed at Hope Airport from Bridal, landing near the airport.

4/17
Savona
Ashcroft area
A mix of sun and cloud. 40 percent chance of showers this afternoon with the risk of a thundershower. High 17. UV index 4 or moderate
40%
190° at 5 knots
-2.5°
/1000'
(unstable)

1000 meters
3125 feet
Savona Report - we had a great day after getting "blown out" yesterday.

We started out at 8:30 am at the Dump Ridge and all 6 new students had 2-3 training flights and lots of kiting. And we decided to go to Lower Launch.

Colleen was first up with a light cross wind from the left, but it got more cross and stronger and we headed for lunch at the Deadman Gas Station (so we could keep our eye on the weather).

We decided it was going to be better to head to Ashcroft due to the NE winds and ended up on Elephant Hill for the first student flights off this site. Colleen launched and was soaring in front for some time in light 1.5 m/s thermals on her first Elephant Hill flight.


Elephant Hill East Face Launch


We got John and Leah off before the wind went cross, so off to Coyote Hill a few kms away (faces North). We managed to get Niles off and he was soaring way high out front as it was pretty strong, too strong for the lighter folks, so we drove down to head for dinner.

Many hours of kiting, and over 20 student flights made for a good weekend.

4/16
Savona
Ashcroft area
Sunny with cloudy periods. Wind East 20 km. High 14
0%
210° at 14 knots
-2.5°
/1000'
(unstable)

1000 meters
3125 feet
Savona Report - the day started out with strong East wind, but I was able to soar the Dump Ridge for a few minutes top-landing to let the students know it was okay to start kiting. We kited for about 15 minutes and then the wind switched fully 180 degrees and started getting stronger and stronger. We left Savona and headed for Ashcroft where we kited in the ballfield there for a few hours and it never laid down until after dark.

4/15
Savona
Ashcroft area
Becoming cloudy this morning. Wind increasing to east 30 km/h gusting to 50 this afternoon. High 14
0%
140° at 10 knots
-2.8°
/1000'
(unstable)

1000 meters
3125 feet
Savona Report - it was windy but all the new students ground-handled until after dark, in fact we were kiting until 9:00 pm in the school field under lights. They are all ready for the Dump Ridge tomorrow!

4/14
Woodside
A few showers ending late this morning then cloudy. High 13
30%
180° at 11 knots
-3.0°
/1000'
(unstable)

1000 meters
3125 feet
Woodside Report - I talked to Alan later today and he said he kept thinking it was going to get flyable and then it would OD. Derek said it wasn't much fun logging in the snowstorms up Chehalis. I was over in nanaimo today and it looked good if there was a SW launch there.

4/13
Woodside
Cloudy with sunny periods and 40 percent chance of showers. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 12
40%
160° at 17 knots
-2.9°
/1000'
(unstable)

1000 meters
3125 feet
Woodside Report - not too many pilots out today? Andy flew earlier and was high over launch when I arrived at 11:30 am. Martina decided it looked a bit too soarable and was kiting at Eagle Ranch, as she had to be at work by 2:00 pm. Norm, Alan and I drove up and were on launch by noon. Mark F showed up after Alan and Norm launched. Launching was a bit weird with cycles looking strong but very switchable (leeside). Alan was about 2 minutes out in front of launch when he took a 50% whack on the left and then a 25% whack on the right! A bullet thermal out of nowhere hit him was our guess.

Norm followed Alan and neither were getting up high, but just hunting for lift when Alan took a thermal from north of the bailout all the way to 'base. Norm missed it and was almost in the bailout doing S-turns when he snagged something to get him up. I launched and stayed in close and was never below launch, some of the best thermals were out front. The air was very disorganized and everyone's wings were walking around. Mark launched and got up high over launch, while Norm and Alan were way out north almost over the Harrison River.

Alan and Mark joined up at cloudbase 1500 meters at the towers and both headed to Sasquatch Mountain on glide arriving in the shade. Luckily Mark hit higher and caught a bit of sun on the south slope while Alan was forced to ridge soar the north slope, always in the shade. But he hung in for 30 minutes. Mark eventually climbed back to cloudbase and was out of sight for some time. West, north and south of us it looked like snow falling from the developing CUs, but at Woodside it was sunny and just a few CU.

I was just having a workout keeping my Kantega inflated but had 1500 meters to work out any collapses so I was feeling okay, watching Norm near the Harrison Hill just boating around trying to find sink to land to go to work. He claimed it took 45 minutes to land! I joined him over the Ranch at 600 meters and he was spiralling to get down and still maintaining. We thermalled a bit over Duncan's farm and he finally spiralled down and I kept going back up to 1000 meters in a few turns. I had an eagle show me a good thermal and I caught up with it and we were within 6 feet of each other turning left and the eagle kept crossing over the top of my wing tightening its turn. It got bored of me, and flew off to the north. This eagle was huge, and its body was the size of a Christmas Turkey, very beautiful.

After Norm landed, I was then heading out towards the Ranch, after 1:30 of getting beat up. Norm said there was a helicopter heading my way but I could not see it. Then from Harrison Hill I saw the glint off the blades, and he was at my height and closing fast! I did a few wingovers to make myself visible, and then peeled off right and he also turned right and descended. It was a HeliJet medivac mission. It flew over the Ranch, and descended into the HG LZ and landed on Hwy 7. The cops had the highway blocked and there were several ambulances also on the highway. There had been a logging accident near the South Knoll as they were dismantling a Logging Tower and one of the workers had a chest injury that must have been pretty serious. Due to the helicopter near the Ranch I headed over to Sasquatch still at 600 meters to land near Alan on the River.

Norm was going to pick Alan up so I figured that was the fastest retrieve for me too. I circled over the River looking for sink as Alan radioed that he had a ride, so I headed back to land at Bill Best's staying away from the Hwy and the chopper. I saw Mark fly back over to Woodside and climb up at Woodside as Andy relaunched for flight #3. They both stayed high and flew over the back to avoid the heli. Andy landed in Agassiz and Mark went on past Seabird Island, where Alan and I retrieved him.

Later we took Derek, Andy and Luke up for a flight but the lift had decayed by 5:00 pm so they had extended sledders.

4/12
Woodside, if you are patient, fly safe!
A mix of sun and cloud. 60 percent chance of showers late this afternoon. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 13
60%
130° at 17 knots
-2.8°
/1000'
(unstable)

1250 meters
3860 feet
Woodside Report - it didn't rain until 6:00 pm, but no one reported flying Woodside. Alan said it was a bit windy around 4:00 pm at his house. Snow down below Bridal Lower and Woodside too.

April 8 Bridal Update - Mark reminded me that April 8, he flew the flight path from Bridal, to Ludwig, back to Cheam where he topped out at 2000 meters before heading to Agassiz, Mt Agassiz and then Woodside to Eagle Ranch, so I modified his map to reflect this. My mapping software says it is a 50 km dog-leg, nice! New pictures have been added to his flight report, below.

Kamloops Bound Pilots - "Pilots planning to fly at Kamloops and area sites should feel free to call me? I don't mind providing weather reports and sharing the drives. Cell 250.318.4663". Thanks, Ed Rilkoff

Honduras Report - Looks like the flying has been great the last few days in Canada. Same here in the Honduras, had two good flights on Saturday though Sunday was blown out. Also on Saturday the community council of Yuscaran decided to invest in improving the launch site, they will clean up brush and clear away several trees to allow launching more safely. They are all anticipating that Paragliding will bring people there from the city so they are being very helpful. Regards to all, Jeffrey


The Yuscaran Launch


In the air above Yuscaran


Jeffrey's Tetra near cloudbase in Yuscaran, good XC potential

4/11
Woodside, if you are patient, fly safe!
Periods of rain ending late this morning then cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Risk of a thundershower with small hail this afternoon. Becoming windy early this morning. High 12
60%
200° at 15 knots
-2.8°
/1000'
(unstable)

1200 meters
3700 feet
Woodside Report - Derek was heading out to fly around 6:00 pm after work, but I didn't hear if he got in the air. I did see a spot on the webcam around noon, that looked like Andy but again no confirmation. Martina said it rained most of the afternoon in Agassiz.

4/10
Woodside
Cloudy with sunny periods. 30 percent chance of showers. Periods of rain beginning this afternoon over western sections. High 11
0%
140° at 27 knots?
-3.0°
/1000'
(unstable)

2000 meters
6200 feet
Woodside Report - none of the forecast east wind materialized; so we had a perfect training day for John, who logged seven (7) solo flights in one day. He was making the rest of us look bad with perfect landings. He had already done three flights by 11:30 am in light conditions. We quit early to go for dinner around 5:00 pm, because we were too tired to do any more flights.

4/9
Bridal or Woodside
Sunny with cloudy periods. Increasing cloudiness this afternoon. High 14
0%
240° at 5 knots
-3.0°
/1000'
(unstable)

2000 meters
6200 feet
Woodside Report - a strong day at Woodside. Andy flew one early flight landing near the Barn at Eagle Ranch at 9:00 am. By the time we got to launch for John's first solo flight, Colleen launched and went straight up. Way too much lift for a "newbie"! We went tandem and soared for 45 minutes before heading out to let him fly the tandem. Gusty conditions in the LZ. So John kited and kited. Eventually most pilots flew and had no problems getting high, a lot of cloud-suck. I watched the last pilots still at launch at 6:30 pm and it was howling strong. Garry was waiting it out after wasting his time at Bridal where it was hailing (bad call on Bridal yesterday, sorry folks). Another tree landing in Riverside, by a pilot not on radio so Alan had to land to see if they were okay. People, get a radio and a ham license, please.

Woodside Correction - Derek flew two flights April 8 for a combined 4 hours with two landings in Agassiz near his new townhouse.

4/8
Bridal
Cloudy with sunny periods. 40 percent chance of showers this morning. High 13
40%
310° at 10 knots
-3.0°
/1000'
(unstable)

1600 meters
4900 feet
Bridal Report - apparently Mark F was confused with my site recommendation because he started at Bridal, flew with Alan to Ludwig, jumped over to Agassiz and soared the small hills behind Agassiz before climbing out to Mt Agassiz (near the racetrack/prison) and then flew on to Mt. Woodside, ultimately landing at Eagle Ranch! Nice flight! Alan was last heard from over Elk for a "super out & return flight".


Simulated Track Log overlaid on a topo map



Mark looking east towards Hope after leaving Cheam Peak



East of Agassiz, note small ridge behind Agassiz directly below and in front



View of Harrison Lake Townsite and Beach, before heading west to Woodside



Woodside Report - many excited pilots at Woodside today. Derek logged 4 hours, before heading to Bridal for a flight. Barry was up high having a good time. Alex W was very happy staying above Nataliya at 2000 meters, Andy flew to Sasquatch following Mia on her HG and made it up on Sasquatch (checking out the new launch), landing at Bill Best's! Norm also followed and the last thing we heard was "Normando, you are cleared to land" on the Sandpiper Golf Club aircraft frequency :-)

Colleen and I arrived around 4:30 and she flew solo before heading to Harvest Market. I flew tandem with new student John from NZ. We got above Mt. Agassiz, but it was too windy to risk a crossing to Bear because of the wind in the Harrison Gap, so flew out to Harvest Market for a soft landing. The next tandem we flew was even windier, landing at Eagle Ranch at 7:00 pm.

Martin H continued past Sasquatch (on his ATOS rigid) on to Dewdney, and then to Mt St. Benedict (up the Sylvester Valley) and back to Woodside to complete a huge triangle. I don't know the exact route but straight line distances are shown on the attached map.



4/7
Stay Home until Friday
Showers. Risk of a thundershower with small hail this afternoon. High 13
50%
260° at 13 knots
-3.0°
/1000'
(unstable)

870 meters
2700 feet
New West Report - I was in a First Aid Course all day, but looked out during the breaks to see heavy rain, Abbotsford NOAA reported similar conditions out there, so I suspect there was no flying.

4/6
Whidbey or Blanchard USA
Cloudy with rainy periods. High 11
40%
150° at 24 knots
-2.0°
/1000'
(stable)

870 meters
2700 feet
Woodside Report - strange winds coming from every direction in the morning. Later Derek and Andy went to work on the Launch watering system, and reported up-cycles and they were going to fly.

4/5
Woodside
Cloudy with sunny periods and 100 percent chance of showers later. High 11
100%
150° at 36 knots??
-3.0°
/1000'
(unstable)

870 meters
2700 feet
Woodside Report - Jack, Derek, Andy, Martina all flew two flights in choppy air. Some soaring, landing at Riverside, sand bars on the Fraser and Eagle Ranch. Odd, while they were soaring it was raining hard in Richmond most of the day?

Ozone News - Mantra certified DHV 2-3! Go to FlyBC's Flying News Page for details.


Mantra Medium in Africa
4/4
Woodside or Bridal
Cloudy with sunny periods and 40 percent chance of showers. High 12
40%
290° at 13 knots
-3.0°
/1000'
(unstable)

870 meters
2700 feet
Woodside Report - I had to work on a proposal til quite late and arrived at the Ranch at 4:00 pm to see Andy kiting. Apparently it was way too strong, but Dan K was HG'ing up high. We watched a "chimp" on launch getting dragged around, and then headed up (Derek, Martina, Jack, Andy and I).

Derek and Martina had already been to Bridal Launch and watched Mark fly straight to the LZ ("like a falling leaf" according to Rob S!).

We arrived to see 6 pilots hanging out waiting for the cycles to drop, and then Nikolai stepped up to the plate. I missed his launch but he went straight up and backwards for some time. We waited another 30 minutes and then I pulled out Colleen's Zoom Race Small and bumbled a few attempts, before getting in the air with A's & C's to slow the Zoom down. I headed over to the cliffs north with Nikolai and we were past the Towers soaring the ridge in some nice thermals.

After 1:30 I was shaking from the cold and headed out to the Ranch following Derek and Andy. I was having a great flight, watching Jeff Remple down low on his topless, after going to Sasquatch and coming back low . . . but I was just too darned cold! When I headed out I pushed the bar, I went past other gliders very quickly, and with little increase in sink rate. I had to take a wrap and pull down pretty far to match Derek's trim speed!


Andy & Derek



Assorted Pilots on the North Ridge, photo by Garry Hachey


4/3
Stay Home
Periods of rain. Risk of a thundershower this afternoon. High 12.
100%
190° at 6 knots
-3.2°
/1000'
(unstable)

2000 meters
6300 feet
Savona Report - way too windy to fly according to Alex and Nataliya. Derek and Martina called on their way through Williams Lake, and it was "howling" there.

4/2
Savona or Ashcroft
Becoming cloudy this morning. Wind becoming east 20 km/h early this afternoon. High 13
0%
210° at 7 knots
-3.2°
/1000'
(unstable)

2000 meters
6300 feet
Savona Report - a bunch of pilots headed up to Ashcroft but the wind at Elephnat was 35 - 50 km/hr and deemed not flyable (good call!). They headed to Savona and soared the Dump Ridge for a few hours and some headed home while others are still up in Savona. They say today looks better!

Bowen Island Report - we tried to drive up to Mt. Gardner (2500' ASL), but the entrance was gated and a small detour around the gate was a slippery mud-hole. I was doing a web-search for Mt. Gardner and found many great shots from the top, where there are towers and heli-pads and it looks launchable. Perhaps a weekend outing over there would be good with a few pilots to check out the possibilities.

4/1
Savona or Ashcroft
Cloudy with sunny periods and 30 percent chance of showers. Wind east 20 km/h becoming west 20 near noon. High 13
30%
220° at 14 knots
-2.6°
/1000'
(unstable)

2000 meters
6300 feet
Woodside Report - we were out renovating the Suburban, installing new rocker panels and "pimping up the body", while Alex, Nataliya and Andy were at launch waiting for a window to fly. Very gusty at Launch and Landing. They gave up and drove down, and a huge rain-cell came over and dumped hail and rain on the Ranch (good call on not flying).

Grouse Report - while my report about changed plans at Grouse Mountain including student flights on the "Cut" was pure April Fool's material . . . we were given permission to do this by Tony Adams (ex-GM at Grouse) in 2001, but we deemed it dangerous and non-productive for training. Sales of DHV I wings did go up yesterday by 300% in the wake of the report :-)

April Fool's Posting - "Newly released plans at Grouse Mountain include the newly approved use of the "Cut" for the exclusive use of FlyBC students during the summer season once skiing has ceased operations. This was pursued a few years back with Tony Adams when he was training to fly Paragliders with FlyBC, and was never finalized as he left to go back east. The new Grouse Management has loosened restriction and made the final agreement with us last week. This use of Grouse Resort Facilities is limited to DHV I gliders only to ensure we don't lose a student over the end of the "Cut" if they overglide the landing zone at the bottom, but we are confident it will enhance our operations this summer - Jim & Colleen "

3/31
Head up Country, Savona or Ashcroft
Rain. Amount 5 to 10 mm. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 9
100%
150° at 25 knots
-2.3°
/1000'
(unstable)

700 meters
2500 feet
Woodside Report - rain and wind all day.

March 2005 Site of the Day archives - we had to head out of town to Savona a few weekends due to wet weather on the Coast. Wetter than normal according to Environment Canada.

February 2005 Site of the Day archives - some good soaring despite early time of year. Flights as long as 3 hours at Woodside, some good flights at Whidbey Island for first timers, too!

January 2005 Site of the Day archives road trips to Mexico, not much flying locally due to strong north winds and rain. Record rain kept Eagle Ranch quite wet for kiting.

December 2004 Site of the Day archives a dry month with some good soaring including a fantastic day on Dec. 11 where we thermalled for 2+ hours!

November 2004 Site of the Day archives more record rain. We installed a fireplace in the barn to keep pilots warm between winter flights.

October 2004 Site of the Day archives more record rain, but sweet soaring between showers. Many new students signed up and making quick progress. We missed the Women's Fly In for the first time in 9 years, and there was some interesting flying on the Sunday!

September 2004 Site of the Day archives rainiest September on record for the first 3 weeks, made flying difficult. But Alan and others logged some pretty nice flights later in the month. Lots of student tandems for both Colleen and Jim.

August 2004 Site of the Day archives Great Maneuver/SIV/ACRO course at Mara. Jack got wet! Some great soaring at Woodside. Norm made it 68 km from Mara to King Eddie, Derek made it from Lumby to Enderby the opposite direction for 67 kms. We also did our BC roadtrip from Ashcroft to New Denver, and flew everyday.

July 2004 Site of the Day archives the Willi was on at Golden. We missed the mayhem due to work and school commitments but Norm did a great job representing the West Coast.

June 2004 Site of the Day archives Canadian Nationals came off with many great rounds. Pemberton-Whistler Championships were blown out most days so we headed to Cornwall.

May 2004 Site of the Day archives great flying at Woodside and Bridal. We held a very successful SIV Course at Mara Lake, and hope to run another one in August if they keep the forests open.

April 2004 Site of the Day archives good flying in the Valley. The Fraser Valley Cross Country PG Series was successssful.

March 2004 Site of the Day archives Nicole won in Brazil, otherwise the month sucked for flying time.

February 2004 Site of the Day archives some local flights extended to an hour with vigourous scratching above the trees. Good paramotor month.

January 2004 Site of the Day archives Mexican road trip yielded 20 hours of flight and a wet Canadian January kept most local pilots on the ground.

December 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew a few times but it got really cold at the end of the month as we prepared for a gala New Year's Party for 40 of our close personal friends and neighbours.

November 2003 Site of the Day archives windy and wet with the odd good soaring day, not many pilots out these days.

October 2003 Site of the Day archives Women's Fly In was great fun, some good soaring days mid-month, most of the students are signed off.

September 2003 Site of the Day archives good conditions until the last days of the month when it got stable. Most days were flyable at Woodside or Bridal.

August 2003 Site of the Day archives Forest closures made the end of the month a non-flying period unless you headed to Blanchard. FlyBC SIV 2003 was a great success with 9 stunt pilots and no deployments or crashes.

July 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew most days early at Woodside until it got windy, then over to Bridal. Good Golden flying reports from the "Willi".

June 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew most weekdays at Bridal, Woodside worked most weekends. Bridal Air Races had one great day with only two tree landings!

May 2003 Site of the Day archives not a great weather month on the coast, especially on the weekends but a few pilots managed to get some great airtime at Bridal. The Nationals were held in Lumby and it didn't rain!

April 2003 Site of the Day archives rain for 28 of 30 April days, but we managed to get a few flights in between showers. Even the golfers were complaining!

March 2003 Site of the Day archives some high spring flights in early March, but not a great weather month. Still no HPAC Insurance!

February 2003 Site of the Day archives some nice long spring flights in late February. HPAC Insurance expired on Feb 14, so many pilots stayed home instead of getting USHGA coverage.

January 2003 Site of the Day archives lots of rain all month in BC so we bailed and headed to Tapalpa Mexico for three weeks. Norm and Lucille had a great XC flight the first day we arrived.

December 2002 Site of the Day archives lots of rain all month.

November 2002 Site of the Day archives not a great flying month, lots of rain in the beginning and then super stable and inverted for the balance of the month. Even the Savona Road Trip wasn't that great. Looking forward to Mexico!

October 2002 Site of the Day archives Still soarable some days, great fun at the Women's Fly In 2002 in Chelan. Allan logged 15 hours and only flew a few days. Most of the students are ready for signoff soon to get ready for Mexico trips!

September 2002 Site of the Day archives Still soarable most everyday! Some scary incidents at Woodside. Fun flying at Ashcroft.

August 2002 Site of the Day archives More spring-like days with super lapse rates, great fun up-country at Revelstoke and Mara, with some good XCs for all.

July 2002 Site of the Day archives Some spring-like days with super lapse rates, but still rather wet at times.

June 2002 Site of the Day archives another rainy and windy month with great lapse rates, some great flights at Bridal with some getting above Cheam Peak. The Club Cup was nearly rained out but they got one valid task in on Sunday June 30.

May 2002 Site of the Day archives an extremely rainy month with the more spring mayhem, another reserve deployment at Lil Nick and a pilot crashed at the top of Deroche Mountain, uninjured but with a ripped glider and long hike down the mountain. Colleen placed 5th place at the Canadian PG Nationals in rainy Lumby!

April 2002 Site of the Day archives a rainy month with the usual spring mayhem, one reserve deployment at Woodside and a pilot hit a parked car at Bridal LZ, fracturing his leg.

March 2002 Site of the Day archives a few great days days with lots of snow and rain mixed in.

February 2002 Site of the Day archives two epic days already (4.5 hours and 2.5 hours!).

January 2002 Site of the Day archives Mexico vacation shots, some local flying but it was wet on the coast.

December 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, wettest December on record, some good days sprinkled thru the month.

November 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, had some good days at Woodside +2 hours, lots of rain later in the month.

October 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, but great flying at Chelan at the Women's Fly In.

September 2001 Site of the Day archives starting to get pretty stable, more sled rides forecast for October.

Aug 2001 Site of the Day archives Mara, Bridal, till some great flights locally

July 2001 Site of the Day archives Road Trip Month, Golden, Mara, points east!

June 2001 Site of the Day archives Great Month, 3 hours of airtime for some pilots every time they flew Bridal Lower! Some getting up to 6 hours in a single flight!

May 2001 Site of the Day archives Unstable Month, 2-3 hours of airtime for some pilots every time they flew Bridal Lower!

April 2001 Site of the Day archives Rainy Month, not as much airtime for some pilots

March 2001 Site of the Day archives Spring has Sprung!

February 2001 Site of the Day archives Spring is in the Air!

January 2001 Site of the Day archives - Mexico Flying Trip

December 2000 Site of the Day archives

November 2000 Site of the Day archives (great month for airtime!)

October 2000 Site of the Day archives

September 2000 Site of the Day archives

July - August 2000 Site of the Day archives

June 2000 Site of the Day archives

March - May 2000 Site of the Day archives




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