Lake-crossing Losers

[Update: I was confused about the names of the various formations along the ridge above Lake Annecy. I just figured out that only the 3rd formation away from the Montmin launch is the "teeth", the Dents du Lanfon - the one I thought was the 2nd tooth is called the Lanfonnet, and the one I thought was the 1st is the Roucher du Roux. And the really big peak behind Montmin, the one that will lead Mad Dog back to Chamonix one day, is La Tournette. My silly story below is based on the notion that all the formations are known as teeth, but apparently most of them were false teeth!]

On Saturday, Pete, Don, Thom, Larry Mac and Andrew opted to drive an hour and check out the flying at Annecy, while the rest of us decided to stay local and fly at Chamonix. Annecy is a beautiful and world-famous flying site above a large turquoise lake, surrounded by beaches and docks where locals of all ages can be seen sunning even their palest parts. But never mind about that. The skyline at Annecy is dominated by peaks of another sort. There are three towering granite formations that rise from the forested launch ridge at Annecy, like huge stone teeth jutting from a green gumline. They're actually called the Dents du Lanfon, the teeth of Lanfon.

The Annecy crew had some great flights on Saturday: Don and Andrew got high and crossed the lake to fly the other side, getting up there to soar the opposite ridge, besting Mad Dog and Quentin's incredible lake crossing flights from six years ago.

Crossing the lake is sort of comparable to crossing the bay back home - you need to get high enough to start, you need to take a good line across, minimize your direct headwind path, and figure out where to come in on the other side to work your way up. If it's even working over there. This crossing is probably 3 to 4 times as far, and you have to start from about 1,000 meters over the lake to make it across.

On the same day, back here in Chamonix, only Mad Dog and BC Ryan were able to get high enough in the sporty thermals to get up and out of the valley. I landed after a while, still feeling happy from the previous day's flight, and just cruised around town for the afternoon. My first little break from full time flying - whew!

So the next day, Sunday, a bunch of us ran out to Annecy to see if we could chase the flights those guys got the day before. We all know that rarely works out, but it seemed worth a try.

One of the coolest things about Annecy is the shops full of toys for kids like us. Pete had kindly set up a demo flight for me when he was in town the day before. On a Niviuk Peak 2, one of the four new EN D wings I've been dreaming about.

We got up to a very crowded launch and watched a lot of pilots launch, waiting til it looked like people were starting to stay up. Mad dog and Frosty launched first, and I followed in my demo wing. The flow was pretty strong and cross above launch, but the thermals were definitely working. Nick, Duck, Sharky, Bonnie, Berndt and Pete followed soon after.

Mad Dog and John got up first, quickly working their way across from the first tooth to the second and then the third, and before we knew it they were across the lake and climbing on the other side. Over the radio, we were treated to a very detailed real-time account of each thermal and every meter of altitude gain.

The rest of us struggled a bit longer to find our way up and over. Nick made it to the second tooth and opted to land near our car for logistical support. Thanks, Nick! Duck made it to the third tooth after patiently working the second. Berndt made the third tooth and got flushed there, but was able to thermal his way back up further out from the ridge.

I got to the second tooth low, below the green gumline where the cliffs rise from the trees, and found myself parked in strong sideways flow coming across the ridge face, turbulent with shredded thermals. I tried to battle my way up for quite a long time, trying various tacks to find a way up, but finally I gave up, retreating back to the launch area. Damn - I was totally flossed at the second tooth!

So here I was feeling like a real loser, coming in super low below launch and wondering if I could even get back to the LZ from that height.

That was when my luck finally kicked into gear. I found a weak little bubble of lift down there and dug in like my life depended on it. Somehow it was just enough to lift me up slowly to launch height again. I heard Bonnie on the radio saying "Alex, is that you below me??" Of course it was - she recognized me even in the demo wing. I joined her up there and then benched up to join Pete at the first tooth, above and behind launch.

At this point I had a second lease on life, and I was just happy to still be in the air. My ambitions for tooth crowning or lake crossing were long forgotten. I relaxed completely, just enjoying the hunt for thermals and the turning and turning in the widening gyre.

And then I found myself rather high over the first tooth. I know everyone said you had to work your way upwind to the third tooth for the crossing, but I made a sudden decision to throw that advice to the wind and just go from here. After all, I'm on a fancy new high performance glider. Then I heard Duck on the radio saying he's up at the third tooth and also starting his crossing. Cool! Let's see if we can join up!

I was using some speed bar because I knew my tack was more upwind than the typical route. Duck and I sailed over the lake and then past the first smallish ridge, feeling a bit low but committed to the agenda at hand. We converged at the second ridge and flew past to the windward side where we hoped to find some rising air. It was rising, but just barely. Another dude joined us and we began to scratch the treetops for the slightest bubble of lift.

We worked for what seemed like an hour, slowly stepping our way up the narrow ridge, but never getting high enough to feel like we could relax or go anywhere. Then Reaper joined us, pulling in low on the ridge with a bunch of other guys.

Finally I felt like I'd maxed out the possible lift, and I radioed Mad Dog for advice. He said we could totally make the LZ from our height. Thank God! I left immediately and bailed over the back, followed by Duck and Pete and Frosty. It was a long haul but this hot ship would surely take me home. And it did! Pete landed first, and the three of us came in soon after. The three of us came in and enjoyed a bounty of beers at the LZ bar shack. Berndt crossed over last, and soon joined us at the LZ as well. Six losers crossed the lake and made monkey history.

By the way, I absolutely loved that wing. I have ordered one from Pete and Rob at Eagle PG. Look for an orange and maroon streak in the skies over Oahu very soon...!