Blogs from Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, Europe

Stayed at Hotel Plein Sud. Great hotel, in the valley of Serre Chevalier. Hired a mountin bike brought a chair lift ticket and that was it an afternoon of fun.... read more

You're back! Don't you have anything better to do? We need to be clear that this is going to be a big blog, as it was a very VERY big week in our lives. One that we won't forget for a very long time (from what we remember of it, anyway). But, once again, let's not get ahead of ourselves... The 28th of December 2009 started with us realising that New Years was looming and it was time to get hold of Merv and Jenny to make sure they knew we were around. We sent them a text and almost immediately got one back as we were driving through Sennecy le Grand on our way back to Macon. Come over, they said! We're ready for you, no problem if you're in the area, they said! We ... read more

Yesterday was another non-flying day. The weather forecast had predicted northerly winds that would turn to westerlies in the early afternoon. So Aspres was chosen as the site of the day. But when we got there, the wind was blowing over the back pretty strong, and everyone was sceptical whether it would be launchable. But all the pilots set their gliders up, a task was set, and we had a briefing. Then the launch window opened. But the wind kept on blowing from the left or even over the back, with very, very few launchable cycles. So we got about ten pilots off the hill before the day was cancelled. That was at four o'clock. Hanging around one day on the hill in the sun is pretty exhausting... Today, we went up the Chabre again. A ... read more

Yesterday, we flew off Aspres which is about 40 km north of Laragne. Things were pretty exciting because the helpers hadn't had had a chance to check out the setup order before all the pilots arrived. So we had to familiarize ourselves with how they were supposed to set up and give the arriving pilots directions at the same time. But it all worked out alright. A 120 km task was set, via Colombe Rouge and Estoublon (southeast of Laragne) to the Laragne camp site. Take offs were pretty exciting as the wind got stronger and stronger. So getting the gliders to launch was already difficult. Helpers had to grab the wires in order to prevent the gliders from flipping over. There was no specific launch order, which made it even more difficult for me because ... read more

My days here in Laragne were pretty busy. I did some work, but of course I also tried to do a little bit of sightseeing, including many of the very ancient towns in the area. One day, I went to the Aspres launch with Monica and the boys. And of course, more and more pilots and team members from all over the world arrived. It was just great to see everyone! I will have two jobs during the comp. I will be a launch marshal, which means that I have to make sure that all the pilots take off in the order they are supposed to, and I will help Monica with the driving for the Aussie team. Saturday would have been the official practice day. But the pilots could not fly because of the Mistral, ... read more