On Thursday, May 24, 2012 5:59:25 AM UTC-7, Fox Two wrote:
Before packing up my Discus2 and moving to the French Alps, I only had the opportunity to race a couple of times in the USA, and never at a Rocky Mountain Racing Venue. If one defined a “Rocky Mountain Racing Venue (RMRV)” as one where the pilots routinely found themselves at or below the mountains’ tops, which venues would make the list?

Even if one were to take a liberal interpretation of what constitutes a RMRV, the FAI classes have only visited them rarely at the national competition level over the past 10 years. Is it a question of pilots not wanting to travel to those venues, or is it a matter of safety?

Logan would appear to easily meet the definition of a RMRV, but I see that the reviews of the debut national competition held there last year were controversial. Now that the dust on the critiques has settled, were most of the concerns toward the competition’s logistics, or toward the venue itself?

Chris Fleming
F2

I was the weather guy at Logan last year and flew as sniffer most days. The challenge we had was unusually late starts that left much of the field rather close to the mountain - often not much more than ridge running. When conditions kicked in, the site has perhaps some of the best mountain soaring in the west. Definitely not a site for sissies, though!

I have flown a lot more at Parowan and my remarks probably also are applicable to some of the sites closer to Salt Lake City. I have found it much easier there to get up and above the mountains and do some really good cross-country. Early monsoon season is the time to go - enough moisture for cumulus, but not enough instability for widespread storms. Storms are the biggest problem, as they can spread lift-killing cirrus everywhere and then dump rain and strong winds on you!

Across the mountains, the guys in Colorado have a pretty good time, but have never flown there myself. Check OLC and you'll see where the activity is..

Mike