At 23:06 20 August 2007, Tuno wrote:
Team Tuno did a vehicular excursion through Southern
California over
the weekend which included the stretch of Hwy 395 from
Lee Vining
south through Bishop and Inyokern.

I'd heard of Owens Valley a few times in soaring write-ups,
but
driving through it, I was amazed at the geology, with
the Sierra
Nevada on the west side and the White and Inyo ranges
on the east.
Someone, I can't recall who or where, wrote a piece
somewhere
specifically about soaring this valley and its ranges.
(It talked
about convergence zones in the valley.) Can someone
point me to the
article? I tried Google'ing for it but came up empty.

Also, is there a commercial gliding operation at Bishop?
I recall JJ
mentioning Region 11 contests there, but the SSA 'where
to fly' page
doesn't have anything for Bishop.

Curious 2NO

Tuno, you may still be able to get in with the Soarfari
group, which has a Lone Pine event scheduled for Aug
31-Sept 1st. Here is a link to the site:
http://www.soarfari.com/2007schedule.htm
The group is $5 to join, and the Lone Pine trip requires
a $150 deposit (to ensure there will be a towplane).
They only have one slot left, so don't spend too much
time thinking about it if you are interested. Anyhow,
this may be a good chance for you to experience the
great Owens Vally, and with a group that knows their
way around no less. Check it out and write posts about
your adventures if you participate.

Paul Hanson
"Do the usual, unusually well"--Len Niemi