Abbreviations: nw=no wind / cat=catibatic / sy = sunny / bo = blown out / tt= too thermic / ra= rain / ++ = amazing / uk = unknown/ nl = no lift / lt = light thermals / st =strong thermals / ps = partly sunny cr =cross wind

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click here for 2006 log book

click here for 2003 log book

Date	Site Name	Weather	Lapse Rate	Notes
July 2	Burnaby Mt	ps	2.6	More mixed conditions, but still we had quite a few flights from Peter, Claudia, Tholger, Kris, Andrew, and Barbra.
July 1	Bridal Falls	sy	2.8	The thunderstorms near Hope were missing up our air, not too windy but really turned up at ttimes. While Brad and I did a few tandems, the signed off pilots flew. At one point Andrei reported a 90% collapse (check our forum for his summary report). Eventually the storm dissipated and we all had very nice flights, including Chiu, Captain Stefan, Judy, Tholger, Layne, Peter, and Andrew.
June 29	Woodside and Bridal	+++	2.8	The morning came too early. Our local launch warden was out trimming the grass but stayed clear of us (plus I had my fearsome three inch hunting knife). Andrei was first to arrive (as usual) followed by Trevor, and finally Jeremy (one hour late). The plan was a couple of flights at Woodside, picking up Laura for flights two plus. Easy take off conditions, but bumpy air meant another tandem flight for Jeremy and Laura, but not before Shane gave us his low acro show (probably due to lack of practice – a common scenario if you have kids.) Bridal in the end was the place to be. One more tandem for Jeremy and a few more flights for Zenon , Andrei and Shane. Shane's effort to help drive up the Bridal stragglers cause a big lag in the Deimos program, but in the end, Zenon got to try a baby spiral and Jeremy finally flew solo landing just a meter short of the pool. Always a pleasure to be in the LZ for first flights!
June 28	Bridal	+++	2.6	A full day of flying, with Claudia (completing her first solo flight), Laura (third solos), Chiu, Patti, Peter, Layne, Andrei, Zenon, and finally Ken, Lindsay, and Thoger (on Tandem). With out the huge sacrifice from Samuel, (landing coach) , the day would have been quite different. Many thanks to Samuel!!! I finished the day with a big acro show and spot landing, but the adventure was not over. With the help of my friends Klaus and Monica, Zenon and I camped out on launch and watched the Never Ending Thermal DVD.
June 27	Burnaby Mt	+++++	2.6	Easily the best conditions of the year – it was a good thing ‘cause there were tonnes of students tonight: the Solo I students Kym and Peter managed their first flights from the top, along with Patti, Peter K, Alex, Laura, Thoger, Peter, Claudia, Zenon and Jeremy.
June 25	1100, Burnaby Mt.	++++	2.9	Chiu, Brad (instructor) and I were going to give Chiu a dream XC flight – but instead Chiu got to work on his wing rescue skills. Light conditions in the Bridal LZ meant a trip up to the new 1100 launch. First flight (ever) went well for me, but not so good for Chiu – he had a cravat that pulled him into the tallest tree in the area. Brad met me at the lower Bridal launch and we grabbed the new tree kit and extra rope from Rob and Alan. A short talk with the local police and SAR guys and I was allowed to do some tree climbing. I just started working on getting the wing down and realized the time: I was already 1.5 hours late for my class, when I had to abandon Chiu at the top of his 150’ tree and race back to Burnaby Mt. (where Shane was trying to figure out what to do with no gear and eight students). In the end it worked out: newbies Kym, Peter G, Peter K and Thoger all managed a few seconds of air time, while Andrew, Elena, Jeremy and Wil helped out the best they could – too bad the wind was S to SE.
June 22	Sumas, Woodside	++++	2.7	A huge day and the God’s were pleased... With the help of the FVRD we were allowed past the second gate to retrieve our supply of Nylex (abandoned a few years ago on a previous Sumas work party). On this hike the wings stayed in their bags (already West wing on launch) so in no time we scooped up the Nylex and headed back down the hill. Some delays on the highway (a native protest) and quickly started work on resurfacing the Woodside take off. With lots of Chief’s we finally figured out how to layout the Nylex and the site was slowly transformed. Some of my helpers could not stand it any longer and finally flew while most of the crew keep on digging, and spiking. Finally it was time to fly. Patrick, Shane, Chiu, led the way, followed by Peter and James (and myself on tandem). Poor Andrew and Felix had to watch (too windy). Second flights were amazing: the boys were still in the air going on 3+ hours so time for Andrew to fly (Felix left a little too soon). I chased Andrew around on my Sigma4 then escorted him to the LZ. Lots of nice landings, except Shane’s -but that’s another story!
June 21	Mission Hill	bo	2.8	Strong East wind at Exit 95 – so off to the Mission hill. Very switchy and sometime wild conditions limited our training flights (all except for one quick flight that Peter sneaked in while my back was turned.) Lots of good progress from new students Jim, James, Wil, Felix, Andrew and Andrei. The risk of a T-Storm was getting stronger and stronger so I pulled the plug early.
June 20	Burnaby Mt	ps	2.2	Mix conditions at BM tonight, but eventually Wil, Laura, Felix, Peter, Andrew, Jeremy , Chiu, Claudia and even Elena had a flight from the top.
June 15	Bridal	+++	2.6	I guess I was destine to fly solo today: Felix had his car towed, Andrei, Elena and my tandem passenger called in sick, even Pemberton Patti had his volume turned down (so I could not guide him on his first XC flight); so that left Stein and I to fly solo to Gloria and back. Some bumpy moments but an exciting hour afternoon of cross country flying.
June 14	Woodside, Bridal	+++	2.8	Our day started at Woodside, with instructor Brad going first, followed by my senior students Zenon and Layne. A little too much for Captain UP, so that left Laura and I to fly tandem. Up, Up and more up until we had to do pull out the compass to steer clear of the clouds. A nice landing at Harvest Market and we were off to Bridal, but this time both Laura and Captain UP (Felix) got to fly solo. A couple of long landings and some NSP launches – (not so perfect) – but another fun day of flying.
June 13	Blackie Spit	++	2.8	We were once again graced by Princess Kelly and her side kick (James), and my newest student Jim. Light winds to start with, but by the end of the evening it was blowing a little too strong. Just before we packed up, I put on a little kiting show with some B-Stalls, front tuck, asymetricals, big ears, croisant, and a spin landing.
June 12	Burnaby Mt	cr	2.5	Felix, Peter, Claudia, Elena and Jeremy all had their moments of greatness - but overall Elena showed the most improvement.
June 8	Bridal and Woodside	ps	2.2	A low cloud base (2300’) slowed us down (just a bit) today but did not stop us: Little Dan, Ryan, Andrei, Peter and finally Jeremy and my self got to play with our compasses. Peter’s flight was especially challenging when his harness pitch adjustment was way off on just one side and he had to fight the wing to stay on course. Conditions for our second flights were much easier, which allowed Andrew to take his first solo high flight, Peter to take his second flight of the day, and Claudia and I another tandem flight with a very long run. Andrew apparently did not read Felix’s posting and ended up coping his landing (minus the underwear show). Peter and Andrew still had some flying mojo left, so we headed to Woodside for our final flights of the day. The South wind (I deemed) was too much for Andrew, so that left Peter and I. I thought that a reverse launch was in order for Peter (his first for Woodside). After a nice cycle his Style came up quite nice, a quick turn and Peter was off to Harvest West. I quickly hooked in and tried a reverse. My first attempt was aborted but a quick reset and I was able to quickly catch up to Peter – just in time to give him a short acro show. A fun day – many thanks to Dan and my drivers.
June 7	Blanchard and Whidbey	bo	2.2	Lots of adventure flying this weekend. Andrei, "Pemberton" Patti (my newest intermediate student), Peter and Zenon all had nice 20 minute+ flights off Blanchard, then we raced off to Whidbey for some soaring action. All my short cuts and fast food options were still not fast enough – by the time we arrive the last of the local tandem pilots, and Patrick were wrapping things up. The local wind guru (Jim) put on a nice demo of high wind backwards (with speedbar) flying, his close calls were enough to convince me to leave my new G-Force in its bag. Instead we spent a few hours kiting. Lots of great progress from my newest students Jeremy, Elena and Claudia.
June 1	Makenzie	ra	2.0	Low clouds and light showers meant time to drive home - no flights today.
May 31	Makenzie	BO	2.8	The early birds (Andrei and Patrick) got the worm! The rest of us watched the “experts” sky-out. At Mackenzie “East is the beast”. My instructor de jour was Art – he launched first but quickly radioed that the air was not suitable for first flight students; not more than 30 minutes later it was much too strong for most pilots. My other students Toler, Layne, Wil, Jon, Andrew, Zenon, Peter and myself could only watch. Finally I suggested that we try some simulated tree rescues – I think the fastest student was Zenon! Our late pizza dinner kept us away for the start of the first ever WCSC Pemberton meeting, but we still managed to watch some of the Columbia slide show. Later we join the HGer’s for some campfire songs (provided by Jon on guitar).
May 30	Bridal Falls, Burnaby Mt	++	2.8	The plan was a cross country flight with Chiu (solo) and with Lucy (tandem passenger) to Ludwing and back, however the strong South wind had other plans – we barely made the LZ. On our second flights (with the clouds out of the way) we were able to quickly climb to 1000’ over launch, and probably XC to anywhere but it was time to land and head to Burnaby Mt. Another busy night with reasonable conditions this time. Peter and Claudia, armed with their new gear, were first on the scene. Barabara, Wil, Jon, Andrew, and James (AKA Mark sometimes) started a little later (because I was ten minutes late from my Bridal Adventures). Great progress from all.
May 28	Burnaby Mt	sy	2.8	A tough night at BM. When I arrived at 4pm it was blowing +25kph, but by the students arrived it was more like 10kph (but from the South – East). Elena, Peter, Claudia, Felix, Wil, Andre, Jon and Alex all managed a bit of air time before packing it in.
May 25	Woodside and Bridal	sy, bo	3.0	Klaus and I (mostly Klaus) worked on the new Bridal bench then I hooked up with my keeners/ addicts – Andrei, Peter, Claudia and Felix for some flights off Woodside. The weird conditions at Woodside meant a solo flight for me while the crew drove down. Chiu and Karen reported moderate conditions at Bridal so off to Bridal, but not before we picked up the Bridal bench. A quick installation and we were all fighting for a chance to try the bench – good sign that it will be well used. Andre launch and was climbing quickly, too quick for Felix and Peter to fly – time for Claudia and I to get high (on Tandem)! It took a few tries but finally the wing decided that it was time to fly. Strong lift every where. I crossed over to the next Valley just in time to watch a pilot full stall and spiral into the trees. A fire truck and two ambulances were called in (probably a little over kill since the pilot was already hiking out). More dark clouds were on their way – time to land (this time Felix still had his pants on)!
May 24	Mission Hill, Bridal Falls	sy	2.8	Strong East wind today, so the group minus Laura, all went to Mission for some early morning kiting. Matt , Toller, Felix, Peter, Claudia, Elena and Will. Lots of interesting flights. Finally we heard from Patrick that Bridal was turning on. A quick launch and we were off to Bridal. We found Laura hiking down (with her daughter) but some how had space for them in the Explorer, and dragged her back to launch. Matt, Patrick, Andre and a few others were quick to get high. Peter, and Felix also joined in the Bridal party and stayed up for about an hour. Conditions were quite light now and I really wanted Laura to take here first solo (even with Patrick my last minute landing instructor, completely stressed out and a half naked German pilot roaming the LZ). She did one practice abort to get rid of the Eby-Jebies, then a really nice forward launch (I guess six months of training really helped). With a huge effort Will and I managed a quick tandem to end our day nicely.
May 23	Burnaby Mt	cr	2.0	Another busy night: Barbara started her solo lessons, Laura showed the boys how it’s done, while Andrew, Peter, Wil, Alex, Claudia, Elena, and visiting pilot Phillip had various flights. A special thanks to Samuel for his help with Barbara – good to see you out again Sam!
May 18	Woodside and Bridal	++	2.8	We woke up to a slow breakfast at the Rancher, and later strong conditions at Woodside. Peter was treated to a very exciting and sometimes bumpy ride to Harrison Hot Springs (my vario recorded plus 8 m/s and – 12 m/s just flying straight no acro), while Andrei flew to Harvest West. Back to Bridal. Strong lift everywhere: perfect for Ryan (already near upper launch and a few other pilots). I took a couple of drop in tandems and later launched Peter and Felix for more first time solo flights. Did I mention that Zenon did his first top landing – but that’s another story! Many thanks to Little Dan - ATC jedi, Layne (driver) and a few others that helped keep things moving along.
May 17	Mission Hill, Woodside and Bridal	++	2.8	We started the day at the Mission hill, with Peter, Zenon, James, Mark, and all Elena all getting nice little flights. Once in the Valley, conditions were quite strong. My two Dutch friends managed a couple of nice tandems (with the help from Kevin Ault) while the rest of the students were patently waiting for calmer conditions. Soon the game was back on: Layne managed a three hour flight (his longest to date), Peter managed a couple of solo flights and finally Andrei finished the last of his maneuvers to graduate and complete the Deimos Novice rating. There was a small window for Alex to take his first solo flight, but he opted for another tandem flight. By the time we were set up conditions had shut down. A bite to eat then some sleep by the river.
May 16	Burnaby Mt	cr	2.5	Another big night at Burbaby Mt, with mediocre conditions. Toller was first to arrive and got rewarded with lots of high flights, but by the night the others arrive: Shane, Little Dan, Elena, Wil, Zenon, James, Mark, Alex, Peter, Layne, Stig and Claudia, the conditions had started to switch to North wind. Still there was some great progress.
May 12	Bridal Falls	ps	2.5	Great conditions today at Bridal, we were able to drive almost all the way to launch – Bridal is now open for business. I launched first, this time with a new U-Turn Emotion , followed by Little Dan and finally Chiu. Timing is everything: Dan and I sank out to just below the cliffs, but after about 25 minutes Dan was on his way to the LZ while I scratched and scratched until I finally joined Chiu above launch. Together we climbed towards upper launch. I’m still struggling with cold hands – time to land but not before I tested this amazing wing to it's fullest– Chiu managed to film my acro show this time – should be a good one! Next some tandems with my newest students Princess Kelly and James. I had my work cut out for me today: with a knot in the lines on the first launch (fixed it in the air) and an apprehensive passenger on the second flight (with no time to abort). Great to fly Bridal Falls – the best acro and XC site around!
May 9	Burnaby Mt	ps	2.5	Another busy night for the Deimos instructors: Shane arrived just in time and surprisingly still had lots of energy to help me teach the new students: Kelly, James and Mark. While, the regular students Alex, Felix and Peter were doing well in the slight South wind. It’s nice to see Peter bond with his new gear so quickly. The free pizza and drinks must of helped – I’ll try to make it a tradition when ever we have such a large group.
May 8	Bridal	ps	2.8	A very last minute change of plans paid off: after a short 15 minute hike Brian, Gab (AKA birthday boy) and I were ready to fly except the sun was still an hour away – a good time to catch up. Once the sun arrived we were all happily soaring above launch. With just three pilots in the air it was surprising how much KOS was around! Lots of acro shows then time for a birthday beer – fun stuff!
May 7	Burnaby Mt	st	2.8	The strong west conditions meant that we all got to kite our wings (without a harness) - a little challenging for our newest student, Elana, but most of the remaining students, Andrew, Jon, Wil and Peter managed quite well. Near the end of th evening everyone got their share of air time.
May 4	Woodside	++	2.5	Mike would later confess that conditions were a little too strong for his first high flight, but great for most other pilots. Andrei, Layne and Patrick were doing great, but before Mike and I could fly, a local pilot launched and flew directly into the trees (right of take off). It seems that I was the only person able to climb a tree today, so we headed into the woods for some climbing action. Less than an hour later he was on the ground. Mike and I finally launched and quickly climbed to top of the stack (minus one pilot Claudio). I handed the controls to Mike but soon discovered his secret skill of coring sink. After picking up Layne we headed up for a second flight, but this time with Andrei’s wife Anna. It took a couple of tries to get the launch perfect, but it was worth it. Later Layne and I had a quick dinner then headed back up the hill to rescue Don’s wing . A couple of hours later and it was down (I think with no damage).
May 3	Whidbey	ps	2.5	Endless amounts of flying, especially for Art and Patrick - the "XC Duo". While Laura battled with the wind, I took my new boys on a few tandems – the best way to learn how to fly Whidbey. Andrei was more than ready to do his first Whidbey solo flight, so with a little push he was airborne. Wil and Mike also managed a couple of little flights. After a quick pizza dinner, we took a drive up to Blanchard – mainly to watch the sunset. Another successful Whidbey trip (even without Matt Ashley).
May 2	Blackie Spit	ra	2.8	Except for a few drops of rain we had a great time at the Spit – Layne showed us that he still has the touch, Wil and Alex also made great progress. High flights are coming soon!
April 30	Burnaby Mt	++	2.8	Exciting conditions today at Burnaby Mt., with many pilots especially Art, Patrick, and Alex getting extra high. While my “old” students (Peter, Felix and Andrew) practiced their pre-inflations, my newest students, Wil and Mike worked on their forward launches. Later the wind was near perfect for many flights from the top for all. Mike re-affirmed my theory that gliders are attracted to wood, when he failed to run under his wing. This is the best training hill around (when the wind co-operates).
April 27	Woodside	st, lt, ps	2.5	It was like pulley teeth to get my instructors to fly this weekend. It was only Felix that was able to convince his friend, Craig, to drive us up Woodside today. A slight delay while I had to drive back down to get the tandem harnesses – but it was worth it. Strong conditions but between lulls, we had an easy launch, followed by Patrick. The NW wind was still a little too cross to keep us airbourne for hours, like on Friday, but still a fun flight landing at the Harvest Dykes. Patrick demonstrated his new spot landing technique, landing near the end of the Dykes, using 7/8 of the LZ. After some food, we tried for another flight (in no wind?), but alas only Patrick was able to fly; but not before Felix got to try 4-5 forward launch aborts (for on site practice).
April 26	Blackie Spit	ps	2.8	Only one pilot wanted to play today, so I spent the afternoon teaching Felix the fine art of the Deimos reverse launch. He should be ready for a high soon.
April 25	Woodside	ps	2.8	My plans for a few high flights were nearly squashed, when my truck decided to throw in the towel. Luckily, first and second gear still worked and I was able to drive back home. Dreamy conditions for all pilots, novice to advance : Chiu and his cousin had a great flight, then I managed a short solo flight while I waited for Peter to arrive on take for his first tandem flight. A quick top landing, swap wings, and I was back in the air. Initially we sunk out, but eventually hooked into some small tight thermals that got us up a little higher. Fun stuff.
April 20	Woodside	st	2.8	We just finished installing the new beautiful Bridal LZ sign when we saw a pilot high at Woodside – once on launch we had strong thermals followed by reasonable lulls. I was elected wind dummy – My don’t-loose-an-inch test, followed by no harness kitting showed light conditions. I hooked in and boom – before I could turn around I was up 50 feet! Bigears keep the collapses to a minimum as I went up and down quickly. I tried for Harvest West but no ground speed (hardly), so I headed to Joe’s place. A little rough down low, but managed a nice landing. Patrick followed my suggestion and drove down, however Al (the hammer) launch after me and put on an acro show (so I heard). Better to be on the ground than….
April 18	BM and Rupert	blah	2.8	Windy conditions today – perfect for Alex W. and me while we waited for the other students to arrive. Tonight only Peter and Alex B. showed up – a bit too much for the boys but I think they learned something. We tried to out run the snow, by going to the Rupert hill, but no luck.
April 13	Woodside	cloudy	2.4	A late start but we still managed lots of flights. It was intermediate maneuvers day, time for Chiu and Patrick to do their funky baby acro (lots of tips discovered – please visit our private Deimos forum for details). Jon and I went first, followed by the boys. Almost an hour late, my next tandem group showed up Barbara and Memmet– easy launching and landing conditions today; but on our final third drive up, the wind had started switching to East – time to head home (sadly no flight for Barbara).
April 12	Sumas, Woodside	sy	2.5	Ultra strong East conditions at Exit 95, but with a large crew of more than a dozen people – we had to try... An easy hike and we’re at launch. Some interesting launch attempts from the first three pilots, Kevin , Stein-Lisa and Pierre, but eventually they all got off. Andrei showed us how it’s done with a very slick reverse launch in no wind. Next was Pemberton Patrick, one “abort” and then he was going (but not gone): 20k west wind slammed him a few times – that’s when I call the site closed. Just then Patrick, Shane and Dave arrived – but no flights for them. A few pilots were over launch at both Bridal and Woodside, so with just a few hours left of sun light we drove over to Woodside. Stein-Lisa went first, followed by Zenon’s, Pemberton Patrick and finally Alex and myself. Time for one more flight. Zenon was in the spot light and boy did he dance (with a second perfect thirty second Deimos take off), followed by Stein-Patrick and final myself on solo – time for an acro show! Fun stuff, but a little too much sun!
April 11	Burnaby Mt and Rupert Park	ps	2.0	Burnaby Mt was the wrong call, so after an hour we (Andrew, Felix, and Peter) all moved to my old stomping grounds – “Rupert park”. Still a little too much East, but a lot better than BM. Great progress for the new boys - almost solo time!
April 9	Burnaby Mt	ps	2.0	A busy night with my students: Laura, Peter, Felix, Alex, and Jonathon, while Chiu and Shane did their part to keep things under control. We had great conditions until about 6pm when some light showers arrived, but the boys did not show any sign of slowing down, and kept on practicing. We made some great progress but now I have a few wings to dry out.
April 6	Woodside	ps	2.4	Felix was on deck for his first flight today when I bumped him for the 100lbs lighter Andrew. We had a nice flight - surprising short (15 minutes) for such a dynamic looking sky. On return for our second flights, Patrick got off just in time - then the rain started. We tried one last time at Bridal LZ to do some ground school work, but alast, the rain found us again.
April 2	Burnaby Mt	sy	2.8	Perfect conditions for our newest student Jon – Shane would have launched him from the top, but there was a good chance that he would have started thermalling to 3000’ – so only low flights permitted today. A few more hours of ground school and he will be ready for his first high flight in the Fraser Valley – maybe this Saturday?
April 2	Woodside	sy	2.8	A little too much East wind meant a later (casual) start than usual. Eventually, Karin, Chiu, Patrick and my self were ready to fly. Since Chiu was the most senior pilot (?) he went first: the tight thermals were a little elusive at first but after about half an hour we’re all at 900m. The plan (for everyone) was to cross country to Harrison and beyond, but I felt that conditions were not quite right – better to practice some baby acro and hang around launch. Two hours later, I managed a sloppy top landing, while the others warmed up at Harvest West. Bridal was calling for me, for our second flight, but the boys and girl were too tired. A great welcome back flight for Karin.
March 30	Bridal	sy	2.8	My dream XC day was shorten to just a pleasant sled ride day – you would think that a 2.8 lapse rate would be enough? The Explorer had an easy time driving up to the ¾ mark, then the snow was just too deep. A short half hour hike and we were on launch – clear sunny – beautiful Bridal! Patrick and I took turns shoveling the first meter of snow aside until we had our little runway. I was on the Obsession today so no problem launching (first try and no belly dragging). I thought Patrick was going to steal the day (when the West wind arrived – 10kph in the LZ), but no, only another 15 minute sled ride and some belly dragging. The boys at Woodside sounded like they were have a bit of a fight with the snow, rain, hail front that was approaching – but a few XC flights were heard (almost to Bridal).
Mar 24	Vincent Pt, Crenshaw	sy	?	A few seconds of flying followed by more seconds to of how to keep my wing over my head – see the Deimos Private Forum for the full story.
Mar 22	PV	sy	?	Aaron and I tried hard to find a place to fly, but just too windy or catabatic.
March 12	Woodside	ps	2.4	Only a couple of short flights for me: I was playing wing man for my newest student (Toler), but he was not able to thermal and had to land early. Even Little Dan tried his hand as Toler's wing man for a short while. Chiu on the other hand stayed high all day (on his new DHV1 wing - U-Turn Emotion). Later Andrei showed up with his Dad, so Toler was "forced" to fly a third flight - this time he got his harness adjusted perfectly, but conditions were too light to go high. Time to pack for California - back March 25.
March 9	Sumas	cloudy	2.0	Probably a little too much adventure for my newest student, Toler, but he did his best to follow Little Dan and myself, which earned his spot as pilot of the week. We had some trouble with the forest trail (without snow shoes), but with a little extra effort we punched our way into launch (pass the wild cat tracks). Dan was more than committed to his forward launch setting a new record for long distance belly slide. I guess Toler thought that this was the correct way to launch, and made a special effort to out distance Dan’s slide – sorry no video camera today! After I finished my baby acro show, I thought that the excitement was over for the day – not so – the ride back up to Sumas (in Toler’s van) was even wilder! You had to be there.
March 8	Whidbey	ps	2.5	Of course the conditions were great when we left for Whidbey, with lots of flights for the early birds, but perhaps the karma gods were not pleased with our duty free maneuver. Toler and Zenon and I had fun kiting but no flights to day.
March 5	Church Hill Woodside	++	2.2	A great day of flying! Our newest and keenest Deimosian, Toler, along with Stein and Lisa, spent a few hours on “Andrei’s” hill (in Mission with near perfect conditions) –then we headed to Woodside. I actually felt giddy seeing the pilots above launch. A short hike in (from the final spur) and we were ready to fly. Stein and Lisa went first (with a slightly less than perfect launch) followed by Chiu’s (I can correct and save any wing) launch, and finally by Toler (oh my god – what a jedi) launch. On this day, if you missed the early house thermals you would eventually be too low to climb out, however when I launched, it was easy. Two hours later I made one weak attempt to top land then was forced to Harvest West. Apparently the boy’s second flights were flawless. Lots of lively PG talk, at the Wildcat, capped the day off nicely.
March 4	White Rock	PS	2.0	Perfect conditions in White Rock, so I spend a few hours teaching Toler the fine art of the Deimos forward launch (and some reverse training) - high flights planned for tomorrow.
March 2	Woodside	ps	2.1	Only new student Toler called in today, so I asked Stein to run the show: He took him on a couple of extended sled rides at Woodside, and at one point, they were a few hundred feet over launch – apparently he forgot to bring his boots and flew in his runners – that’s the spring fever in him I guess. Wednesday, March 5, is looking flyable so far - who's in?
Feb 24	Deifenbaker	cr	2.0	Light West conditions so no big flights today - although Zenon gave it a good try. New students Craig and Toler worked hard today, but we had the most success at Winskill Park, but by that time Samuel, Laura and Zenon had other plans.
Feb 22	Burnaby Mt	cr	2.2	The East wind was no match for my newest student Craig. Eventually Little Dan and Movie Dave showed up to steal the show, but not before Craig managed to fly to the bottom - another Jedi is born!
Feb 16	Elk	snowy	2.0	The Elk reports were great when we were at Exit 95, but by the time Little Gill, Little Dan and myself were able to hike up, things had degraded to a small snow storm with cloud base almost to the ground - BLAH! Ivan radioed up that there was no sign of blue sky anywhere - BLAH! So before we started to cool down, we quickly packed up and hiked down. 3/4 of the way down I could see blue sky again - that's the way it goes sometimes. Ivan offered us all a little hiking snapps and a cold beer which helped remove some of the blah's, and told us more about his new top landing technique (specially designed when their are spectators around).
Feb 13	Deifenbaker	cr	2.5	Genrally North West wind today. Only Chiu managed to get airbourne a couple of times while I worked with Laura on perfecting her reverse launch skills. Nice to be in the sun! BTW the "evil fence" has been removed!
Feb 3	Sumas	lt	2.0	We met at exit 95 today and decided to head up and try our luck at Sumas. Mister Windtalker was reporting gusts to 20 mph E so we were hoping for some soaring. When we got to the second gate, it was unlocked, so we were able to drive a bit farther than usual and shorten our snowshoeing a little, which seemed like a great idea at the time. Another hour or so of walking and we are at launch, with little to no wind and the occasional gust over the back, where had our 20 mph gone??? ….mysterious…. We tried the higher wind launch, but ended up back at the larger launch, where there was more room for error. The wind was coming up very light to zero now, and Tom launched first after a mysterious abort. Little Dan was next and also had a very fast snowshoe run launch. Art launched last and got it right the first time. Save for a little issue with a runaway seatboad (mysterious!), everyone had nice sledders to the LZ, where we found out our driver was stuck behind the now locked upper gate. @#$%ing mysterious! We called 9-1-1 (always a good choice when you don’t know who else to call), and they send a grumpy fireman up to open the gate. How exactly someone managed to lock the gate and not notice the vehicle still inside is still a mystery, but in the future, probably best to park below the gate and save the trouble. Meanwhile, Little Dan went on an entertaining hitchhike ride back to retrieve Tom’s truck from exit 95 with a local who suggested that the solution to our problem might be to “jump it with a dirtbike”….I don’t think he was very clear on the details of our problem, but it sure sounded cool, and the ride was very helpful nonetheless. We finished off the mysterious adventure day with some mysterious-adventure-meat burgers at Schnitzelz, and everyone headed home. Tom always seems to somehow come through when it comes to surprise adventure, I think it follows him around or something. Little dan