back to reality

After a week of bliss, the vacation has ended. I knew it would happen eventually, but it still stings a little, feels kinda like shampoo in the eye.

All mourning aside, I've deemed the week a complete success! I'm basing my declaration on very narrow parameters. Really, there are only three of them. They are as follows in the order of most to least importance:

1. Did the baggage claim take our gear as offerings to the airline Gods?
   
2. Was there any vomiting at all, for any reason imaginable? and lastly,
   
3. Was there anytime spent in a hospital waiting room?
   

The answers are: No, no and 20 minutes for a quick tetanus shot. The best thing about the week is all the fun that we had, I'm assuming that Chris would agree that he had fun, I think that I even have a photo of him laughing to prove it.

Those of you who've read the 'about me' section of this blog (it's conveniently placed at the top right of the page where studies show that your eyes are instinctively drawn to), know that my husband is quite the computer nerd. He's been working on a soaring forecast model, XCskies.com, for the past three years. He's spent many-a late nights in front of his computer, causing me to damn the entire project and demand that he come to bed on more than one occasion, possibly closer to the double digit range of damning. I run a tight ship. O.k., my point is that both The Rat Race, and the XC Open/ Canadian Nationals used XCskies.com to predict the weather for competition task setting and guess what? It was dead on! every day!

Every morning this past week that I was sent out on the 'Team Dirty Mouth' coffee run, the cafe was illuminated with laptops, sleep glazed pilots hovering over them, pouring over the pages of xcskies. Chris has been asked to forecast for the Canadian Nationals of 2009 in addition to the U.S. Nationals coming up this September. I know I'm bragging- But Wait! I'm building up to my final brag.

Here it is:

This morning, still clad in our pj's, we rushed to the p.o. box to get the latest issue of the USHPA, Hang Gliding and Paragliding Magazine. And right there in front of the Fort Collins Post Office, with a bench as my stage, I read, out loud, to every passer by the entirety of a 4 page article titled "XCSKIES.com"!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following few paragraphs are for those of you that have requested more specifics about our flying tasks. The rest of you should skim the words and enjoy the pictures.

The last day of the competition we were presented with incredible weather, and I'm not using that description lightly. This is what "incredible weather" looks like:

If you're wondering how clouds can possibly be good for flying, remember that thermals create cumulus clouds making up cloud base which was perfectly positioned for us at 10,500 feet. It's cloud base that pilots want to be at and fly directly under. These are also commonly termed 'cloud streets'. A good pilot will follow the 'street' all the way to goal. Or at least that's their plan.

Task was 115 kilometers, a giant triangle from Chelan Butte, across the Columbia River Gorge out over the flats to Farmer (approximately 16 miles), on to Leahy (29 Miles) and back to finish/goal, which was at the soccer field right below the butte (58 miles). Task committee likes to keep goal on the final day close to headquarters so that the partying can begin promptly.

A ton of people made it to goal. But, dare I type the following? Chris did not make it to goal (sorry baby for announcing it to the internet). He broke his most important rule: fly slow and deliberate.

Chris was on his way back from Leahy, heading towards goal when he spotted this yahoo:

Mr. Pete Schaefer, fellow member of the 'Dirty Mouth club' and Overall Winner of the Serial Class. Pete came up behind Chris, climbing in the same thermal and.. all I can sum it up to is greed. Chris got greedy. He tried to beat Pete by leaving the thermal and going on glide too early and too low. Chris landed short of goal. Pete, on the other hand, climbed higher, went on glide and made it to goal. He was greeted with a beer and took #1 place in the Serial Class. Congrats Pete! It's time for you to get a comp glider and quit your day job!

This is Melanie, scoping out the cycles right before piloting a flawless launch. She landed just short of goal because of a bladder emergency. I won't get too detailed, but there are methods that both men and women use as, shall we say, bathroom breaks at 9000 feet. The design of these 'methods' differ in order to cater to anatomical differences (this is where you read between the lines, or take a peak down your pants, then a friends of the opposite sex. Now, note the major difference). Melanie claims not to be a 'comp' pilot, and has not, as of yet, taken part in the 'method'. But after landing so that she could squat in a farmers field short of goal, I'm willing to bet that she'll think twice about adult bladder control.

Beautiful

More great photos to check out