[LASS Soaring] " I DID IT!"

[GordySoar at aol.com]

Yep and it was worth the effort too. Have to tell you that I am exhausted  
too. Never once was able to just sit down and watch the Marauder on 2.4  cruise.
 
The forecast was to dream of.  We all were set and ready on the slope  by 9, 
but the air was dead calm.  At 10a.m. I figured its got to pick up,  so set up 
a bungee and popped her up about 50' over the slope.
 
At 4 hours, I had spent approximately 50mins in actual slope air, very week  
and troubling but slope air. The rest of the time I had spent battling  little 
thermals that took me way off behind the slope.  Three times I tried  the 
slope and found my self about 1/8 mile down and in front, my plane getting  small 
below in harsh sink only to catch a bubble to get back up.
 
At just under 5 hours, I was in trouble again, the wind blew right at the  
slope hard, but there was no lift, in fact my plane got hit by some incredible  
sink...my Talking Timer screamed out "Three Hours Left"..as I turned back 
toward  the slope in a piece of what looked like flight saving lift, but in fact 
was the  edge of a chunk of huge sink....it plopped the Marauder right on the 
top of a  hundred foot Ash, about 60' down the slope face...very steep, very  
loose black dirt and shale rock.
 
It wouldn't have counted in any case for slope but it was the most thumbing  
I'd ever done in my life, so no regrets.  Drove the 3 hour round trip to  get 
my climbing gear, pulled its JT Model bag up with me, baggged it in the tree  
and lowered it down...the then hour and a half slip and fall climb back up to  
the top.

Thanks to my pal Tony Utley for standing by just in case.
 
Yep, you got it...a witnessed 5 hour thermal flight...you?  :-)
Gordy



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