Nepal Open Paragliding cup task two. March 1st 2013

Nepal Open Cup 2013.

March 1st, 2nd task Day

Another great day of flying.  The task was an entry start at the end of the Sarangkot ridge, then back to the main bowl, then to highish on Korchon, then SSW of Korchon, Then to the Antenna Hill SSE of Green Wall, then to Green Wall Peak, then SS around Pame, then goal at end of the lake.  87.9km on the task board.

As I geared up for the day, I had the Lynyrd Skynyrd song “Double Trouble” on repeat in my head.  Humming a song to myself on launch helps me ease tension and remember that I’m here to have fun.  My goals for the day were to make goal as usual, and fly “with the pack”.  Yesterday my biggest lesson was learned by choosing a different line then every glider in front of me, it cost me a lot of time.  Before the launch window opened I spent a few minuets visualizing using other gliders around me to find the best glides and climbs. 

Photo Lisa Dickinson

I took off soon after start and spent some time getting high enough to move down the ridge.  The start cylinder was towards the end of the ridge in descending terrain, and I struggled to stay above ridge height just before start time.  I tagged the start 12 minuets after start time, and dolphin flew back to the Sarangkot bowl.  Soon I was back at Torrie Panni fueling up for my crossing to Korchon.  I was in a gaggle of friends, Harve Bundet, Binod Bomjan, and Robin Gurung, with a great thermal that drifted us towards Korchon.  I left at 2200m and my friends followed close behind.  I made it to the front of Korchon and right into a strong thermal, that allowed me to meet the next gaggle on the front peak.  My friends that followed would struggle low in front of Korchon for 15min, after arriving there 20sec behind me.  

There are some flights, or periods of flights, where everything is just in sync, this was one of them.  Every time I planned and expected a strong thermal there was one waiting for me that took me up to the altitude I wanted to be at quickly.  The human mind-body is a powerful thing, and on flights like this I often wonder if the thermal is there at that moment with that strength because I expect it to be there, scientists are learning more and more that our thoughts effect things at the most basic sub atomic level (spiritual teachers have known this for millennia).  The opposite can also be true with negative thinking.  Lesson: Be careful with your thoughts.  I was very “in the zone”, focused on the task at hand and the decisions to make, it felt great (but was not good for in-flight pictures).

Photo Lisa Dickinson

I tagged the Korchon turnpoint, fueled up and tagged the turnpoint out in the valley.  I choose to go back to Korchon and fuel up again before crossing to the green wall.  I was now flying with my friend Kristain Wajs.  We took a climb high over the East Peak and went on glide to the antenna turn point.  Back to the East Peak, tag Green Wall Peak, fuel up and glide to Sarangkot.  I arrived at launch altitude and caught a thermal with my friend Pawel Tomaszews.  At this point I was watching my glide to goal calculator and once it said 8.2 I went for it with Pawel, mistake.  I figured that we would have a downwind buoyant glide to SS that would make up for the upwind valley glide to goal.  I landed 2km short of goal.  Lesson: recognize when its time to slow down and stay high, and DO IT.  It was late in the afternoon on the Sarangkot ridge, and I should have known that staying high and taking my time was the way to goal.  Instead I was still in full power fast race mode, and the flying had been working great, so I flew into the ground.

Many other pilots landed near me, thanks guys.  We watched Harve Bundet and Elina Mota exercise great flying and patience and make it into goal, great job guys.  6 pilots made goal today but 45 reached the end of speed section.  

What a flight.  Tomorrow my goal is to make goal.