Nepal Open Paragliding Cup 2013, Task One

Nepal Open Paragliding Cup 2013

First Task Day, Feb 28th, 2013 

The tiger in the bus was quite polite, in the air he was ferocious.  Pawel Tomaszews.

What a day.  A task of 48.5km was set starting with a run up and down the ridge, then over to the Dumpus Green Wall, to the Green Wall then to SS and Goal near the end of the lake.  Gliders were climbing above the towers when we arrived on take-off, it was looking epic.  I was the third glider to launch, seconds after the window opened, and immediately found a climb and rode it to 2100m.  Then Entry start was at Matradunga, so I went over to Torrie Panni and found another climb up to 2300m.  I used this altitude to glide out towards the SS cylinder for a reference.  With plenty of time before start I chose to search closer and closer to the entry cylinder for a high thermal.  I ended up being kinda low at start time and tagged the cylinder a couple minuets late, and approximately mid pack.    Lesson:  be patient, there is nothing wrong with hanging out high at the top of the stack for 20 minuets, waiting for start.  

The ridge run back to the towers was super buoyant and after fueling up again near Torrie Panni I decided to head to Korchon, instead of following the 40 pilots who were in front of me on a straight course to Dumpus.  This decision put me on a much slower course line.  Lesson:  don’t make risky decisions to try to pass the whole pack, catch up by following, not by flying on your own.  

Reaching Korchon low I tried to believe whole heartedly that there would be a thermal for me.  There was.  I saw that my friend Ivan Ripoll had also chosen that route, and about 15 other pilots were suckered into following us.  The lift was scrappy and eventually we left at 2400m.  On the glide to Dumpus the lead pack was heading to Korchon for the final Green Wall turn point.  I was elated to see my friends and teammates Wil Brown, and Pawel Tomaszews nipping at the heals of Ajay Kumar and Jamie Messenger, in the lead gaggle.  

Super star organizer Egor, reminding me to push full speed

Dumpus worked fast, then back to Korchon.  I was flying in a gaggle with Ivan Ripoll and Nando Silla Martinez.  We found some strong, somewhat rowdy,  leeside thermals and got to around 2600m.  During this climb I saw a pilot who was right next to me cascade down about 500m and throw their reserve.  The pilot is O.K..  Seeing this event got my heart rate elevated and encouraged me to tighten in on the core.  I had a good glide path over to the Green Wall and passed a few gliders.  Ivan and Nando chose a different line and had to work hard just to make the Wall.  Soon I was turning in a 4 meter per second thermal after tagging the cylinder, and climbing to 2890m before heading out from the Main Peak.  I was able to glide the whole way to SS and Goal, with full bar most of the way, and 150m to spare, passing a few lower gliders.  The beer in the landing field tasted good, and hanging out with friends was a joy.    

approaching the Green Wall

Wil Brown had tagged the end of speed section third and very low.  The pilots near him at the time said he must have landed.  He clawed his way up for an hour, and made it to goal.  Yeah Wil.  Pawel also stuck with the lead gaggle and made it into goal 5th.  Results can be found here:http://www.nepalopencup.org/

Flying with over 100 other gliders on course and racing was truly special, a first for me.  The air seemed electric when the start happened and 100 gliders went from hang out and wait mode to full speed ahead mode, very cool.

I heard about two other reserve deployments, other then the one I saw.  I don’t know if they were all participants.  Thankfully I have not heard about any injuries.  

Nepal Open Practice Day Feb 27th 2013

Taken on training day 1, 26th February, with Bella Messenger

Nepal Open Paragliding Cup.

Wednesday February 27th, 2013

Practice Day

My xc competition experience is somewhat limited.  I have participated in several weekend league meets with 40-60 pilots, one FAI Cat 2 comp, and been a volunteer/windtech for a PWC.  When I heard that tandems here in Pokhara would be closed for one week due to a FAI cat 2 comp I was interested, but torn between free flying during my vacation or flying tasks.  In the end I decided to take the opportunity to participate in a major, for me, xc comp, and learn more about flying efficiently.

After the general briefing we loaded busses and headed to Sarangkot.  Egor, comp organizer and friend, set a good dusting off task.  Sarangkot - Torrie Panni - Top of the Green Wall - East Peak - Antenna Peak - front Dicki Dande - Sunrise LZ.  While drawing out the task I assumed I would go back to the Green Wall and fuel up after front Dicki Dande.  The start time was open with an entry cylinder at Torrie Panni.

Egor doing his thing.

I tried to launched as soon as launch was open and soon was a little over the towers.  Pressure was high, with tight little thermals and an obvious inversion to break through.  On my way up a certain pilot in a red and black acro wing  decided to enter the thermal by fliying straight at me while I was turing predictably (apparently one mid-air collision is not enough to teach some people how to enter thermals).  I allowed this to irritate me and distract my mind from the task at hand.  I became in a rush to leave the house thermal and dived over to Torrie Panni lower then necessary, only to spend 20 minuets scratching and eventually be back in the house thermal.  Lesson one, a lesson I will have to relearn many times it seems, don’t get bothered by what happens.  Me being in the air and angry that this guy forced me to make a radical defensive maneuver does not help anything, and the only thing my anger changes is me, in a negative way.

While scratching I saw my friend Wil Brown make the perfect transition to Torrie Panni.  Wil collected the most leading points of the day, good job Wil.  He has been generally killing it here.  Flying new routes often and huge flights regularly.  He deserves this shout out.  Much respect Wil  

Pilots scratching up the to make the Green Wall turnpoint

So eventually I end up high over Torrie Panni and go on glide for Dicki Dande, with a gaggle of gliders following.  Short work on Dicki Dande to the Green Wall.  The waypoint was right at the top of the Wall with a 400m radius.  It was tricky to break thorough the inversion and tag the turn point.  I tried it from three different approaches, and was quite relieved when my Flymaster NAV told me I had tagged the cylinder.  Over on the east peak I took a great climb to 2,600m and set off, with a gaggle leaving 200m below me, Bimal Adhikari leading.  I was able to push a lot of bar and watch Bimal’s line.  I soon realized that refueling at the green wall was not necessary and I could proceed straight to goal, just behind Bimal.  I made goal, which is my daily goal, and had a good flight.  Relsults of the practice day can be found here: http://nepalopencup.org/

The day was a great day to fly, the high pressure meant only small cloud development in the big mountains.  Friends who did not fly task got over 4,000m above big snowy faces.  One group had top landed Korchon the day before and reached 5,100m today.  Big mountain adventure flying is what I dream about when I dream about flying, and Im pumped for all my friends.  I don’t regret flying the task, I had a blast trying to fly fast with gaggles of pilots, and Im looking forward to the next five days.        

Flying as a release from the ego

Flying as a release from the ego

Photo Ivan Ripoll

Flying is a way to release myself from the ego.  When I am flying a long cross country flight I am only using my mind-body to continue the flight.  Petty problems, things that have already happened, do not come into my perception, rather I am consumed by the now.  Experiencing the sensation of my wing, the information my vision is supplying, and combining that with knowledge and gut instinct to make decisions that matter very much in the now.  Leaving the now to think about things that have already happened or might happen in the future is bad for my flying and for my safety. After a long flight, in interesting conditions and terrain, my mind is less clogged by the usual bullshit.  My body-mind has just spent hours doing nothing but what was important in the now, reacting and adapting to the present.  

There have been times during big flights with great conditions when I have allowed my mind to think “I’m going to break that record” or “I’m going to do really well in this race”.  Thinking about the future often puts me on the ground or stuck in a shitty place.  In order to fly well my mind body must stay in the now.   

In general life I allow things that have already happened to change my present being.  Instead of being completely in tune with the now I often spend energy thinking about past events, or future outcomes.  I believe that if I can work towards living more in the now then life will become more vivid, rewarding and successful.  That last statement is glaringly hypocritical, making a future plan to live in the present.  The way I’ll do it is to notice when my mind is occupied by something that happened in the past (the past can not be changed), or might happen in the future.  Just noticing the ego allows you to focus back on the present, the sensations and reactions of your body-mind.  Obviously it helps us in the present to learn from the past and incorporate it into our decision making process, but dwelling on regret or blame is unhealthy and hurts us in the present.  The only thing that is sure is now, yesterday is based on memories of perceptions and tomorrow does not exist until it is now, I need to perform the best I can now, and flying helps me experience a very vivid present.

Here in Pokhara, Nepal we fly in crowded skies above the take-off.  If I waste power thinking that someone in the sky is an idiot, asshole or moron for cutting me off, then I have lost precious moments thinking about something that has already happened and I can’t do anything about, thus being more likely to lose the core.  If I can accept that I must avoid hitting an erratic glider in the sky, but not allow my ego to attach emotions to the pilot of the erratic glider then I can focus on staying in the core while avoiding collisions, and I’m less angry and more likely to get out of the crowded house thermal fast.  Its hard to do, and I’m rarely successful, but its a good thing to try for.

Living life in the present does not mean that we should not have goals for the future.  “Enthusiasm means there's deep enjoyment in what you do, plus the added element of a goal or vision of what you work towards.”  Eckhart Tolle.  When you have balance between enjoyment in the present and the structure of a goal in the future the result is success in something you truly enjoy.  If we are successful at something we truly enjoy we can master it, and mastering something you love allows you to do what you love.  Don’t we all want to do what we love doing and love doing what we do?     

Thanks for listening to my rant.  Its Chinese New Year holiday so lots of tandems and no solo flying adventures, for now....  

Sky Camping Central Nepal January 20th-22nd

Sky Camping Central Nepal January 20th-22nd
Day One January 20th

I woke up in Lakeside, Pokhara, Nepal with a bad case of diarrhea.  The Liquid shits were bad but the nausea was worse.  I had plans for another flying adventure  with Ivan Ripoll and Nando Silla Martinez, so I forced down a simple breakfast at Sun Welcome, hoping that the hard food would set things straights.  Mistake!  Ten minuets later I was back in my guest house puking up breakfast.  I decided to take 6-10 drops of Grape Seed Extract to kill the bad organisms in my gut, of course the GSE would kill most of the good ones also.  I walked our of my guest house to find Wil Brown and Andy Pag loading a taxi on there way to launch.  News of the bivy plans had spread and these two plus about eight others were packing gear for a sky camping adventure.

On take-off I had a black tea and meditated, focusing on my breath entering and leaving my body.  Any trace of nausea had passed, and I was feeling good.  Bella and Jamie Messenger, the super couple, were preparing their Icepeak 6 and Enzo.  I was impressed that these two were planning on landing and launching in bivouac style with those hot ships, their names and “skygod” have been used in the same sentence more than once.  Bella had enticing meals from Backpackers Kitchen on display to encourage company at her camping location.

Take Off - Torrie Panni - Dicki Dande -Green wall.

Ivan making the deep crossing to Korchon

I was getting up on the Green Wall while Bella, Jamie, Stan Razikowski, and Ivan were high over the main peak.    Bella and Jamie decided that it was not the best day for heading East, it looked great to me, so decided to go west to Korchon.  I was intrigued.  Bella and Jamie took the front line, Stan went deep, Ivan went deeper.  Soon I was high on the main peak and Wil Brown was right below me.  I followed Stan's line, I had lost sight of Ivan, and Wil Followed.  Half way across as I was admiring the gorge of the upper Seti Khola when I saw Ivan emerging from the mountains and heading my way.  Ivan, Wil, and I worked some tight bullety thermals, and slowly gained altitude.  Ivan and I have flown together a lot by now, but Wil seems to be disrupting the flow, turning tight when we want to spread and search.  I hear Ivan yell at Will, as I spy a vulture downwind getting rocketed up.  I follow and that thermal drifts me back and up to Korchon at 3,200m asl.

Landing spot

Stan, Jamie and Bella were exploring the area around the top landing spot.  It had strong thermals coming from three directions, a cloud 10-60 meters off the deck, and 5-20cm of snow.  This was not going to be easy.  I made a couple of low passes and the air was fairly rock and roll with multiple thermals converging and strong lift.  Twice I thought I had it only to enter strong turbulent lift meters from the ground.  I thought I found an area and time where the lift was coming from just one direction only to fall out and face a snow slide downwind landing.  I dusted the snow off and watched Ivan recover from a spin just in time to flare for landing.  Jamie came over the radio and said he wanted a safer wing for this landing, Bella agreed and added that it looked like it would be a freezing night in the cold, and they flew off discussing restaurants in lakeside to eat at.  Stan said he was not prepared for snow and also flew away.  Wil was left feeling the air and trying passes at landing.  Eventually he landed on the lee side against a hillside, and out of sight.  There is no doubt that it was a dangerous place to land.  Three competent pilots had landing they were not proud of, and other excellent pilots decided not to land.  I usually consider myself a fairly conservative pilot, but sometimes we all have moments when we choose to take on a little more risk then usual, this was one of those times.  Tacitus, the greek philosopher said; "The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise".  For us he could not have been more right, the following 24 hours were great and the experiences would not have been possible without that tricky landing.

Ivan Ripoll

Soon Wil walked up to us and we all shared the stoke of being high in an incredible place.  Ivan and Wil meet for the first time.  About 5 other pilots flew over us and decided that top landing and spending the night was not what they wanted to do.  We packed our gliders and were soon sitting around a fire drinking hot tea and rum.  My foot wear, Altra Lone Pine's(minimalist running shoes), were not at all appropriate for snow, so I spent some quality time by the fire drying, and singeing my socks and shoes.  Watching the sun set as the cloud above us released a few snow flakes, and the mountains peaked out behind the clouds was unforgettable.  Ivan apologized to Wil about yelling at him in the air.  We discussed the merits of sometimes thermaling in larger cycles so that you can find the good cores, and so that you can feel the communication of your lightly loaded wing, and make space for a friend to join your thermal so that you can work together to find the strongest lift.  We also discussed the benifits of turning tight circles in a core with a rock solid fully loaded glider.

We had a scrumptious diner of maggie noodles, pasta with tuna and tomato sauce, then chocolate for desert.  We were fairly comfortable in the basic shelter that night, and I fell fast asleep as soon as I zipped up my sleeping bag.  Water inside did not freeze while a liter bottle left outside completely froze.

Day Two.  "When in doubt, go deeper."  Nick Greece

I awoke and could not help but go outside and watch the dawn slowly rise.  All the clouds had cleared and even in the moonlight Fishtail, Annapurna South, and Annapurna Two were clearly looming over our little perch.  A serge of gratitude swept over me.  To be there, in that place, with my friends was wonderful and amazing.  Life itself is a miracle.  The fact that my body is made up of matter that has been traveling thorough space and time immortal, and I am aware of this time and place.  And that awareness and will has allowed me to land a unpowered backpack aircraft in this powerful place, WOW!!!  I am grateful beyond words.

The valley bellow showed the first hint of pinkish glow.  soon the mountains were glowing pink, seeming to be right above me.  The steep South face of Machu Pachare seemed to radiate pure power, pure energy.  I sipped hot chai tea and took it in.  Breakfast consisted of cookies, chocolate, and a granola bar.  I enjoy the ritual of expedition eating, splitting everything in equal parts, then appreciating what each member brought.  Birds started soaring the east face right in front of us around 8am.  After packing and cleaning up I told Ivan and Wil that I thought it was time to fly.  They wanted to air more conservatively but my insistence won out and we laid out our gliders.  Mine a blue and white Niviuk Peak 2, Ivan a blue and green Ozone Mantra 3, and Wil a Blue and Yellow Ozone Mantra 4.

 Ivan launched first at about 9:30am and was easily soaring above launch level.  I launched next and hooked into a nice thermal that took me up to 4,000 meters.  I pushed deeper to a higher shoulder as Wil launched.  From high above it looked like Ivan and Wil dove over the back low and heading deeper.  I laughed and remembered Nick Greece's saying "when in doubt go deeper".  I think Nick means both physically, higher deeper terrain often produces better thermals, and physiologically, crossing roadless expanses or gliding into unknown country often produces the most rewarding experiences.  Basically letting worry rule you body mind puts you on the ground, but letting yourself go deep and use your body mind for flying and only for flying allows you to fly to unimaginable depths.  Thanks Nick.  Soon Ivan and Wil were up with me and the three of us worked our way higher and deeper, higher and deeper, getting closer and closer to Machu Pachare.  The three us us were working together perfectly, spreading and searching when necessary and coring tight lift when appropriate, it feels great to share the skys with pilots that you are in-tune with.  Fresh snow covered most of the ground so the thermals were weak and not going more than a few hundred meters above the terrain.  At one point Ivan radioed that he hands were very cold and he might have to leave soon.  We did not respond, instead we kept flying higher and deeper, higher and deeper.  My max altitude was 4,400 meters, the views were stunning.  We decided to go on glide for the ridge behind the green wall.

Photo Ivan Ripoll

That glide was spectacular.  Staring down into the Seti Kola gorge, and up at some of the tallest mountains on earth was otherworldly.  Shaking out my hands I had sharp stabbing pain in my left finger tips as blood thawed.  I made a mental note to make some brake pogies for next time.  We quickly found a climb deep behind the Green Wall and pointed for the next big crossing to the East.    

Matt “Farmer” Beechinor stresses the importance of the glides in long XC flying.  If you can arrive at your next point a few hundred meters higher, or in this case 10 meters higher,  it can make the difference between finding a thermal right away or scratching, searching and sweating for an hour.  He is right, and I should have remembered his advice as I was eating snacks, taking pictures, and talking on the radio during that glide.   Bella came on the radio and asked what time we were thinking about launching, I chuckled to my self and responded that we had been flying for an hour.  Bella and crew were at Dicki Dande gearing up for a big day and possible night out.  Then Stan radioed from Sarangkot and said that another crew were going to try to meet up with us from there.

We arrived low on a WSW face at 10:45 am, opps.  Wil and Ivan flew close to the tree tops while I flew at a more conservative distance.  They got a rowdy thermal out, I was left scratching that face for an hour.  I had to forget all my clearance rules and get aggressive to just get up.  I remembered Bill Belcourt saying "you gotta bring it".  Well I brought it, surfing rowdy bullets at tree top level up over the inversion.  Thanks Bill.  Soon I was above 3,000 meters watching Ivan and Wil glide out of sight, as my sweat chilled.  Ivan and Wil had pointed out in a direction of approximately 2400m hills.  I was scared of the inversion so decided to push deeper and stay on higher terrain.  It worked beautifully with climbs topping out above 3,500m as clouds formed all around me.  Soon I was Gliding for Ghalegoan.  I caught sight of Ivan and Wil lower in Bagnepani obviously low and stuck, dejavu.  I left my thermal and went to wallow with them.  We explored the area well, spreading out and checking all obvious trigger points.  We could not get over 1900m.  Soon enough we landed at the school field in Baglungpani and were surrounded by Happy children.  What a flight, we flew over 4hrs in January and it was only 1:30pm!

We walked to the same village as last time (see first blog post), and they remembered us at the restaurant and started getting sleeping quarters ready.  They even asked where the other spaniard (Nando) was and who the new guy was.  Ivan and I tried out our newly learned Nepali, and we shared some good laughs over chow mein.  We then went to a sunny grassy slope on the edge of the village, drank whisky and talked about the epic day.  Then kids showed up with vines that they were playing tug of war with.  We joined in and it was great fun.  These children are very strong, incredibly sure footed, posses an infectious happy spirit, and are undeniably divine, it was a privilege to be included in their fun.

Photo Ivan Ripoll

Andy Pag came on the radio saying he was high over the East Peak of the Green Wall and thinking about flying to us.  We tried to encourage him.  30 minuets later we got a text that he was eating at a restaurant in lakeside.  That lakeside suck can be strong, watch out.

After play time I took a nap in the room.  I awoke just in time for Dahl Bhat.  It was great Dahl Bhat, with fresh local chicken, but my stomic was grumbling so I only had one portion, how rude.  I was exhausted and went back to sleep, with a churning gut.  

Day Three  Fly Your Flight

Our sleeping quarters.

I awoke at 2am with diarrhea.  Of course my digestive system was mad that I had killed its good microbes two days earlier and was now paying me back.  After about 10 trips to the squatting toilet the sun finally started to rise and it looked as if it would be a good flying day.  We once again decided to hike up to Ghalegaon.  I knew that I had to drink lots of water to prevent the diarrhea from dehydrating me.  The air was clear and the road was still wet, not dusty, from the recent rains.  It was a great hike, and we saw vultures, and eagles thermaling above us.  We stopped at the water station, filled up then hiked directly to take-off, on the non-village side, to avoid the troubles we had last time (see previous post).

We arrived at take-off a little before noon and started setting up.  I emptied my bladder to find my urine was dark, smelly, and thick.  SHIT!!  I made a mental note to drink water anytime I was not thermaling.  I launched first and was soon over 2,300m.  We decided to fly West, toward Pokhara.  Before the first big crossing I was circling in a weak thermal when Wil and Ivan found a strong one that took them straight to cloud base, when I arrived the climb was nowhere to be found.  They went on glide and I searched for another thermal.  I had to calm myself and tell myself not to hurry, "just stay up and fly your flight Mitch".  In the Western US I fly by myself a lot, so in a way it feels very comfortable.  Fifteen minuets later I was gliding.

Looks like Wil was doing some cloud flying too.  Photo Ivan Ripoll

Cloud base was about 2,200m, and clouds were aplenty, since I was flying alone I was getting another 50-200m inside clouds.  Four or five crossing later I was looking at the back side of the Green Wall.  Will was working up a ridge to the North East that connected to the back of the main wall.  Ivan was trying to fuel up at Meem Gurung to attempt the South East route to the East peak.  I left my cloud and glided right over Ivan directly the the East Peak and worked my way up its east face, which is feed by a little valley.  I saw other gliders above the East Peak and reality hit, we were back, this trip was almost over.  Soon I was on glide to lakeside, and we all played with our gliders over the lake before landing.  After landing my pee was clear and copious, success, I had drank about three liters of water and rehydrated.

Getting back home.  Photo Ivan Ripoll

Back in Lakeside we were stopped by many pilots and congratulated on our flights.  It seems that word had spread and we had gained a small amount of celebrity, among the tight knit pilot community of Lakeside.  I think many pilots interests are picked and many other trips will be done soon.

We went to a pizza place and began discussing plans for the next adventure.......  

Thank you to Ivan and Wil for the great company, spectacular team flying, and positive attitude.  I feel privileged to have shared these experiences with these guys.            

Sky Camping Central Nepal Jan 6th-9th

Sky Camping Central Nepal Jan 6th - 9th

January 6th
I woke up to another beautiful day in Pokhara, Nepal.  Before work I talked with Ivan Ripoll, and we agreed to meet in the evening and discuss plans for a Vol Biv adventure starting the following day.  I went to work (tandem flying) and did one tandem, based on decent early thermals it felt like it would be a good xc day.  After the tandem I saw Lisa Dickinson who was preparing for a sky camping mission to the green wall, with Maciej Zietara.  I declined the invitation but was intrigued enough to trade my harness's protections, Supair Delight, for my sleeping bag (a Nepal special -20C).

After take-off it wasn't long before we were all on glide for Dicky Dande.  After some Dicking around we transitioned to the Green Wall.  The top landing spot we had in mind is on the top of the West side. It seemed to early in the day to end the flight so we worked toward the East side of the wall.  From the East peak I made the transition back to the west side, and climbed up again to the top landing spot.  At this point I still thought that I would spend the night in my warm bed at lakeside, but it seemed like the right thing to do to help my friends with top landing etc.  I started to explore the air around the spot, it was mostly moving up.  I remembered advise Honza Rejmanek gave me about top landing a lifty top.  He stressed that you should come in below the point and 45 degrees from downwind, then dive your glider and during the upswing face into the wind on your sport and stall it just above the ground.  It worked, thanks Honza.  Soon after landing a man appeared caring foliage and we exchanged greetings in my limited Nepali.  I then went about making wind indicators for Lisa and Mac, still thinking that I would take-off again and sleep at in a warm, cozy, comfortable bed.

Just when Lisa came into view Ivan came on the radio saying that he was just arriving at the Green Wall.  We agreed to call each other that evening and discuss the sky camping trip, and I decided to spend the night on top of the Green Wall.  Lisa and Mac landed in great style, and as we were packing gliders three men came out of the Jungle and started helping us gather wood and start a fire.  During this trip it was a real pleasure to experience the generosity and helpfulness of the local people.  With a raging fire we shared smiles, gestures, chocolate and a limited vocabulary with the buffalo herders who called that place home.

Mac went about setting up his Tent, and I laid out my small tarp.  Soon we were cooking pasta on a fire watching an amazing sunset.  The Pasta with Yak cheese was delicious, thanks Mac and Lisa, rarely does food taste better then outside, next to a fire, with good friends.  After dinner one of the buffalo herders brought us fresh popcorn and hot buff milk, WOW.  The buff milk was silky, creamy, warm and delicious.  A true delicacy.  These were not city buffalo eating trash, these were high jungle buffalo eating from the fruit basket of nature, great milk.  Soon I was fast asleep in my sleeping bag, at cloudbase.

January 7th, 2013

I woke well before dawn, partly due to a buff milk filled gut, and partly in excitement for the day.  I marveled at the stars until dawn arrived.  It was one of those night skies that you can look deeper and deeper into and see more and more stars.  I spent time contemplating how extraordinary it is that I am here doing this in such a huge and mysterious universe.  Existence is an amazing, improbable and exciting thing, there is nothing like looking into a star filled sky to encourage gratitude for this life and this place.

As dawn approached I put a pot of water on the still hot coals and enjoyed the early alpin-glow on the Annapurna range.

There was more than 1cm of frost on everything , and getting out of the sleeping bag was aided by the energy boost one gets with views like the one above.  Lisa's chai mix was delicious, spicy and invigorating.  After packing up camp, we made some porridge for breakfast, then started working on the take-off.  With a sickle borrowed from the buff herders we cleared unwanted shrubbery and with rags found in the grass we made wind indicators.  The take-off ended up looking pretty decent.  By the time we were ready to launch (11am) cycles were strong enough to encourage an A/C inflation technique.

After take-off the flight over to the east peak required riding punchy morning thermals up to cloudbase. Here is a shot of Lisa tucked into the green wall.

The east peak was completely shaded, and getting up required a low save out front.  Thermaling up into the clouds was a pleasure.  We then glided back to Sarangkot, arriving well higher then the tandem gaggle, and top-landed.  I ordered a black tea and noodle soup, and waited for Ivan Ripoll.

Once Ivan arrived we distributed the food he had bought and agreed that we would try to push East of the Green wall.  The going was quick and we stayed together.  We made 2400m asl over the East peak of the Green wall, and made the first crossing to the ENE.  During this crossing Nando Silla Martinez came on the Radio and said he was crossing to Dicky Danda to catch us.   The conditions were unstable and working well, we were pushing into an east wind so each transition was into wind and the thermals were a little rowdy down low in the lee.

Flying with huge birds marking the thermals.

At about 3pm it seemed like the thermals were mellowing out so we agreed on a hill in the middle of a river convergence, which looked to have a good SE launch.  When we arrived at the hill there was no wind and no lift.  I stalled my glider a little higher then I would have liked trying to make the one chance landing (careful Mitch).  Ivan made a flawless landing, of course.  After untangling my glider from a small tree we packed up.  As usual in Nepal we were joined by curious kids.  These kids did not ask for money or chocolate or anything they just watched and helped up when they could, a relief to be out of the tourist areas.  Hanging out with the kids and communicating with very little shared language was fun, and refreshing.

Away from the city, away from the tourist areas, it seems that there exists less otherness.  I don't mean economic status or ability to buy material goods.  I mean that there is more of an understanding that we are all from the same Divine origins.  These people are intrigued and interested in the white guys who flew in on pieces of cloth, but they treat us like humans, with respect and integrity.  The people of Nepal, the people away from the cities and tourists routes are amazingly generous, exceptionally intelligent, and undeniably Divine.

Camp with kids helping keep the fire.  Photo Ivan Ripoll

With the kids help we soon had a large pile of wood and a fire.  Nando, to our amazement and delight, was still flying towards us.  He landed just 5km from where he were, and spent a sleepless night hearing gun fire very close to him, possibly hunters shooting for a man-killing leopard.  We had good conversation, tea and noodles.  I slept great, and once again woke up pre dawn, the nights are long this time of year.  Contemplating the stars and the space between the stars I am reminded of Eckhart Tolle; "When you are aware of space, you are not really aware of anything except awareness itself, the inner space of conciseness."  Being in a new place, away from job, commitments and worries allows the mind to clear and to find space.

Tea, noodles, packing our bags, kids hanging out.  The kids wanted to know when were were going to fly.  Without a shared language it was hard to communicate that we needed to wait for the sun to heat the ground and the ground to heat the air around it and that warm air to rise through any inversions that probably built during the night.  So we just asked them to help us find water, panni.  Our little friends showed us to the water, and to the store to buy more noodles etc.  How perfect can it get, great top landing, friendly people, and water and food ten minuets away from take-off.  We had tea and a boiled egg at a small tea hut and meet the only english speaker around.  She said that they had never seen paragliders before, and only rarely saw foreigners.

Ivan standing on take-off, still some valley fog.  Stupa in the background.

Photo Ivan Ripoll

Up at take off we checked in with Nando, who was feasting on Dal Bhat (the local dish of Nepal, rice and lentils with whatever else is available, its different every time) and buff milk with a local family after his harrowing night.  Back at take off we began clearing brush and waiting for the valley fog to clear.  Our take off required very little clearing so we went to the small temple/stupa, meditated and napped in the sun.  These little stupas are abundant around Nepal, usually in high beautiful places.  There exists a real power to them, these are places where spiritual people have come for thousands of years to meditate, pray, and connect with the divine.  After our meditation session we noticed that the fog was clearing and the thermal cycles were coming in nicely, prompting us to walk up to take off.

Finding Nando.  Photo Ivan Ripoll

The cycles were getting quite strong at take off; immediately above a South East facing cliff.  Just before take off our little friends turned up and watched us launch and climb over their heads.  After a while Ivan and I were over 2000 meters and decided to glide to Nando, who was scratching near his take off, and help him find a climb.  It was really cool to find Nando and soar with him over the mass of villagers who were watching.  Soon we were high again and on our way east, gliding over villages on steep hillsides with all adobe buildings and no roads.  These villages probably look as they have for thousands of years.  As modern people it is easy to think that people without access to roads, electricity and modern medicine are missing something.  After deeper thought I think those of us with computers, TV, and all the modern conviences are the ones missing something.  Humans living like humans have lived for thousands of years is natural, and joyous.  Who craves more the American surrounded by things or the mountain person of the Himalaya who has very little?

We found ourselves soaring a bowl to the West of Besisahar.  The bowl was just not working, enough lift to get to the top, but not over.  After spending an hour searching and trying to get out we decided to land on school field on the top of the bowl.  The school children flooded out to greet us.  

Nando landing among some excited children.

  After packing up a few teachers came out to greet us and told us that they had seen a paraglider land here about six years ago.  The children were just getting out of school and with their help we found the nearest village and asked about a place to sleep for the night.  Our Nepali is non-exsistant and no one spoke english, so we had a fun time practicing unspoken communication.  They started cooking some Dal Bhat and making the sleeping room up.  We negotiated 100 Rps each for the meal and bed.  Thats equal to about $1.20, a excellent value.  

Nando and Mitch enjoying the village life.  Photo: Ivan Ripoll

Nando shared some delicious spanish sausage, cheese and crackers.  Which we washed down with some rum and tea.  We were the main attraction in the village.  Many people sat or stood nearby watching us.  Eventually an english speaker appeared and asked us the usual questions.  The Dal Bhat was delicious and the room provided a nice warm bed for each of us to sleep in, a welcomed treat after two nights out in the cold.

Day 4 January 9th 2013.

I awoke early, as usual, and went for a walk up to a stupa near by.  It was a wonderful place to do some stretching and meditation.  On the way back to the village I was invigorated by the view of Manaslu in alpine glow.  Mountains never cease to empower the spirit.  These huge peaks make you feel small, yet alive.  Ansel Adams puts it quite well "No matter how sophisticated we may be nothing speaks to the core of our existence like the shear face of a granite mountain."

The signs clearly stating wear the boundary is.  

After Ivan and Nando got out of the nice warm beds, we decided to hike up to Galli Gone for a chance to launch higher, and hopefully out of any inversions.  The villagers assured us that there were restaurants and we could get some breakfast up there.  The hike was nice along a rough jeep road, and some steep single track.  There was a water station near the top where we refilled and took a break.  When we got to Galli Gone we started walking through town asking about breakfast and restaurants, it seemed like all the tourist places were shut down due to off-season.  When we walked out the other side of town a man came out of the Annapurna conservation area office and asked us about permits.  We explained that we did not want to go into the area and we just wanted some food and then we would be on out way.  He said that we were already 2km into the area and had to pay 4,000 rupies a piece for permits.  We were standing right next to a sing that read "you are entering the Annapurna conservation area....."  This man said the sign was wrong and he was right.  We explained that we did not have the cash and that we would be leaving shortly.  He followed us to a perfect launch, well outside of the sign.  He insisted on not allowing us to fly, and calling the police if we did not walk down the road immediatly.  Ivan had a clear enough head to stop me from insisting that the man listen to reason, and read the sign, and we agreed to walk down.  Ivan was right, the man would not see reason, and allowing ourselves to get all worked up about it was not going to help us, thanks Ivan.  My ego wanted this man to see the world through my perspective, but insisting on that was just making the situation worse, and tempers flare.  Letting go of the ego in confrontations, surrender, is usually the best way to move forward.

Ivan gliding to Besi

We walked down the road then decided to walk up to near the take-off from the non-village side.  Get our gear ready and walk the last 100 meters to take off with everything on and our gliders mushroomed.  After the sweaty walk Nando and Ivan launched and I was left without any wind, worrying that the Bureaucrat would see them flying and rush up to take off to hold down my wing and get me in trouble. That take-off was one of the most interesting ever, not only was I hyper aware of the thermal cycles, and indicators but I was buzzing on adrenaline, worried about getting caught.  A cycle came through and I was flying, thermaling up in no time to join Ivan and Nando at 2,500m.  We decided to glide down to Besisahar because we had work the next day.   The glide was butter smooth, without any hint of lift.  Once again we were surrounded by school children at landing.  After 5 hours of riding in busses we were back in lakeside, and talking about the next adventure.  Thanks for the great flying, camping, and company Ivan, Nando, Lisa, and Mac.