1st Weekend in April 2022

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1st Weekend in April 2022

Postby sd » Fri Apr 01, 2022 9:19 am

Saturday Morning Update:

The progression seems to be in alignment with yesterday’s assessment of the weekend with light wind today then more wind from the north on Sunday and Monday.

Pine continues to look good enough but is more expensive from a time perspective and may not pan out as well as my wishful thinking. On paper, Pine appears to be the most attractive semi-local option today (Saturday) for getting up and about (but I didn’t look at places like Little Pine or Big Pine?).

The SB mountains look inverted

Elings will likely work and our coastal cliffs are a maybe

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Friday Morning Look at the extended Weekend

As we transition away from our winter cold air and low sun angles the Santa Barbara Front Range becomes increasingly less optimal. Our front range can offer long flights through early June due to longer days (Logan set the site record on 4/18, and I’ve flow past the interstate in early June) but the good days are fewer.

We are in an unexciting progression offering some modest opportunities, but you might need to look beyond EJ? The weather appears benign today and tomorrow then increasing wind from the north on Sunday and Monday.

Today (Friday): there is some light flow from the east. Our local lapse rate is weak.

Santa Barbara might work down lower in the marine air. No need to launch high as EJ looks to be up in the inversion?

Ojai looks better, but perhaps not good enough to justify the hike?

Pine looks good today but the gate is close until May 1st so you would need to walk in. Not sure if the lower 5600 north side launch (a 2 mile walk and 600-foot elevation gain) will be working today. The higher 7K south side launch looks good late in the day, but it is a 6 mile walk and 2K elevation gain.

Fig, Happy, and Sage: with light offshore flow from the east early giving way to onshore flow in the afternoon, the Santa Ynez Valley sites might be a good call today? The mid-day lapse rate is respectable up to about 4K, so Fig might be a mid-day option with some convergence potential. The lapse rate tanks after the onshore pulls in but Happy and Sage might be an option (someone else other then I should comment on Happy and Sage because I don’t have the experience to offer an assessment).

Elings will likely offer a window today

Our coastal cliffs look weak but might be good enough at prime time?

Saturday (tomorrow) is somewhat of a transition day. Pine looks promising?

The Santa Barbara front range looks inverted

Ojai doesn’t look much better and not worth the hike

Pine looks like it will likely work from the lower north side 5600-foot launch with top of the lift in the mid to upper 9s, which may be good enough for a downwind glide back to Nordhoff HS? I think doing the 2 mile walk is the best semi-local option on Saturday for pilots looking for limited XC…

Santa Ynez Valley has cooled off in onshore flow, so Fig does not look promising, but Sage might be ok later in the day?

Elings will likely work

Our Coastal Cliffs look weak from the SSE but might be good enough.

Sunday, the north wind picks up some.

The SB mountains look inverted with perhaps some NW wind along the ridgeline.

Ojai offers some protection from the NW wind and the lapse rate is better than SB, but not good enough for me to hike

Pine looks like a good lapse rate but likely too much north wind for PGs. Might be OK for HGs but you can’t hike in with a Hang Glider?

The Santa Ynez Valley has a respectable lapse rate but also some NW wind, maybe too much?

Our Coastal Cliffs do not look promising. Weak onshore flow arrives late from the west, so perhaps More Mesa?

Elings looks flyable most of the day.

Monday starts to go Santa Anna but the wind is mostly from the north

SB Mountains start out with a weak laps rate that gets good by the afternoon, but there might be too much north wind?

Ojai looks like it has a better lapse rate but also might have too much north wind

The Santa Ynez Valley sites look too windy from the north

Our Coastal Cliffs look weak
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