CASTEJON DE SOS- PYRENEES 19 JULY 2003
This flight was the first great one and an unbelievable experience for me. I took off at around
18.15 with a blue sky , not a cloud in sight, strong thermal activity and weak to moderate South
wind.
Immediately after take off I started climbing up the ridge of Mount Gallinero (2728m). After minutes
I was over its top. The view from up there was breathtaking. You could see the Aneto, the
Maladeta, Posets, Mount Perdido and many other over 3000 metres high Pyrenees mountains top.
I just could not believe I was up there with my wing! The wind was moderate and the thermals
strong but not turbulent (4-5 metres/second). There were plenty of them.
Just like a big cushion so that you could fly some distance being almost in a constant lift. Soon I was
flying high. I looked at my altimeter and it read 2837 metres, over 750m above take off point!
I took a look around and I could see at least 20-25 gliders around me all happily flying between
2800 and 3300m. I started to feel the temperature difference at this altitude.
I decided to go fly a little over the Gallinero. Then I directed myself toward La Tuca and from there
I had a magnificent view of the Turbon and Castejon de Sos which looked very little down there in
the valley. Then I want back to the Gallinero top and I could see Cerler ski resort right down below.
I decided to fly over it for a little bit, even though I was taking a little risk knowing that I would have
to face some leeward turbulence and windshear and that it may have been difficult to get back into
the valley. But I had altitude so I went for it. It was very good to see it from above and in summer
time, after having skied there a few times in winter.
Then I was back again on the Gallinero ridge, having lost some altitude (I was just above 2400m)
which I quickly regained. Now after more than an hour flying I was starting to feel a bit cold and
tired. Also I was thirsty and did not have any water with me. But I was determined to keep on flying
for as long as possible. Eventually after the second hour I decided to descend to the landing field as
I was feeling too cold an tired. The last 20 minutes of the flight were spent just gently gliding away
and looking once again at the beautiful scenery.
18.15 with a blue sky , not a cloud in sight, strong thermal activity and weak to moderate South
wind.
Immediately after take off I started climbing up the ridge of Mount Gallinero (2728m). After minutes
I was over its top. The view from up there was breathtaking. You could see the Aneto, the
Maladeta, Posets, Mount Perdido and many other over 3000 metres high Pyrenees mountains top.
I just could not believe I was up there with my wing! The wind was moderate and the thermals
strong but not turbulent (4-5 metres/second). There were plenty of them.
Just like a big cushion so that you could fly some distance being almost in a constant lift. Soon I was
flying high. I looked at my altimeter and it read 2837 metres, over 750m above take off point!
I took a look around and I could see at least 20-25 gliders around me all happily flying between
2800 and 3300m. I started to feel the temperature difference at this altitude.
I decided to go fly a little over the Gallinero. Then I directed myself toward La Tuca and from there
I had a magnificent view of the Turbon and Castejon de Sos which looked very little down there in
the valley. Then I want back to the Gallinero top and I could see Cerler ski resort right down below.
I decided to fly over it for a little bit, even though I was taking a little risk knowing that I would have
to face some leeward turbulence and windshear and that it may have been difficult to get back into
the valley. But I had altitude so I went for it. It was very good to see it from above and in summer
time, after having skied there a few times in winter.
Then I was back again on the Gallinero ridge, having lost some altitude (I was just above 2400m)
which I quickly regained. Now after more than an hour flying I was starting to feel a bit cold and
tired. Also I was thirsty and did not have any water with me. But I was determined to keep on flying
for as long as possible. Eventually after the second hour I decided to descend to the landing field as
I was feeling too cold an tired. The last 20 minutes of the flight were spent just gently gliding away
and looking once again at the beautiful scenery.
Breath-taking view flying
over the Gallinero
over the Gallinero
Now slightly above 2900
mt. High above the Gallinero
with a view of the Valle
d'Aran
mt. High above the Gallinero
with a view of the Valle
d'Aran
Magnificent view of
mount Turbon and the
woods below
mount Turbon and the
woods below
All looks cool under the
canopy
canopy
Castejon de Sos looks very
small- Alt. 2815mt
small- Alt. 2815mt
It's getting a bit cold up
here..
here..
Flying back to the Gallinero
and Cerler Ski resort
and Cerler Ski resort
Time to go to the landing area
The landing.. at last!