Owens Valley flight reports?

[JimmyZ]

I know some people probably headed to the Owens for Labor Day. Any flight reports??? I'm sure there are many pilots wanting to know how crazy it was...

[BobA]

Hammer, Phoenix, Ninja(Aaron), and myself had a killer time up there. Super scenic monsoon weather. From Walt's Point - Friday, Saturday, & Monday were OD' early on the Sierras. Sunday was on. Hammer flew the last three days. I flew twice & Ninja once. Picking the day, Ninja flew to White Mountain Ranch & I flew to Mina. Hammer conceded to Janies after finding a booming 2350'/min cannonball, over White Mountain, knocking his radio out. Rain squalls, verga, and raindows amongst the cummies were common but avoidable nonetheless. We celebrated at Whisky Creek only to run into other pilots doing the same. Noteably, three year flyer, Heather from Oakland flew a 69 miler, crossing the Owens Valley in text book form to Black Mountain via Tinemaha Peak...Phil Ray flew up to the verga on the Whites then crossed back west to Millpond...Greg from LA flew to Benton...others abound, & more to come.

[BobA]

Sunday was the day - light to no wind in the Valley all day...In the Sierras it was smooth easy climbs to 13k, then sideways flying at 14k...the wind went from SE at 10 low to W at 14 at 14k in a smooth transition. Launch was scratchy, it took Arron and I half hour to climb out. Then we flew together to Sawmill. Hammer gave us the slip at about Willamson. Hammer flew the valley from Onion Valley all the way to Silver Canyon/Flynts area of the Whites where he spec'd out to 14k and then ran the Whites. Arron flushed out in the SW coming thru the Sierras at Taboose Pass and Goodale peak. He then flew the west side of the valley to Keho Hot Springs and then got high, 13.5k, allowing a crossing to the Whites -I thought he radioed 15.5k...Just behind, I flew thru the waterfall around Goodale but turned back into it and found windshadow further down by Split mountain. I stuck to the Sierras until flushing onto Glacier Lodge road, milked it over to the ridge of Coyote flats and stair-stepped up the SE edge, then looked around for how Ninja got to 15.5k for a half hour before bailing at 13.5...Phoenix wasn't finding any wind beyond Bishop...I went to Laws and got up from 5500'. Sweet broad lift to 13k...dove in deep but flushed out...got up further north. Ninja flew to White Mtn Ranch after making laps between the ranch and Chalfant trying to get down, with Phonenix in pursuit making U-turns up and down Hwy 6 till he finally put it down. Hammer found a monster missle thermal at White Mtn yanking his wires from his helmet and going underground. He flew into the dark verga zone between Benton and Janies to get down while it was still predictable. I flew down range finding huge broad thermals as strong as 2000'/min up to 16k. Killer. The verga had me runinng the dragons back right off the end into a veil of ice crystals, and then rain, as I waterfalled into Montgomery pass. Beyond it, I milked some light stuff to get me down the road until finding some real stuff to nearly 15k, then went on final glide to beyond Minas's Cathouse just S out of town. The back country desert scape was spectacular on the way back with sunset orange and pink clouds showering verga and rainbows, with wild horses running around. My flight pics are in here, in the Walts Labor Day 2007 file: http://bob-shots.spaces.live.com/photos/