Ridge Running in Northern Utah (long)

Background

The 700 km flight on October 3, 2007 was the result of several years
of experimentation and planning that allowed the first flight
exclusively in ridge lift from Salt Lake City, Utah to Pocatello,
Idaho a distance of 145 miles (233 km). The flight planning began
several days earlier when the winds aloft forecasts began to show a
westerly flow pattern possible by mid-week. The critical weather
requirements for successful flights are winds from 260 +/- 30 degrees
and above 20 mph at 9,000 feet msl and at least 10 to 15 mph at 6,000
feet msl. The mountain ranges in the area create wind shadows in the
valleys (about 4500 feet msl) and make having west winds lower
critical to allow jumping gaps along the routes.

Preflight

Unfortunately, I was the only one who could get free for a full day
attempt on Wednesday as the forecast developed to show that would be
the optimal time to try a long flight. Duane Hill helped me rig my
Ventus the evening before and I filled the oxygen tank just in case
the wave was more favorable than the ridge for portions of the
flight. I spent several hours that evening trying to finalize my task
and get my computer and logger loaded. I had two objectives for the
flight. First to fly from Salt Lake City to Pocatello along the route
we had been developing for several years, but had never been able to
fly completely in one flight. Second was to attempt a 1000K FAI three
turn point task. If everything was perfect I might be able to make
the second, but would actually require me to fly over 1200 km with the
remote start/finish at Salt Lake City. The problem with task planning
for the 1000K is the ridge we think we can use is slightly too short
for a 1000K and you must fly beyond the end of the ridg to complete
the flight. How far is too far to leave the ridge, hook the turnpoint
and get back high enough to climb back up again? I designed the task
so that the greatest distance from the ridge was at the third
turnpoint near Blackfoot, ID and the time of day I would get there
would be optimal for thermals as well as ridge lift.

The alarm clock went off at 5:30 am as I scrambled out of bed to check
the weather as quickly as possible. Winds aloft were over 30 mph at 9
to 10 thousand feet. The SLC sounding looked good and the forecasts
were still good for the next twelve hours. Everything was a go, I
just had to get the plane on the line for a 7:25 launch and believe in
the forecasts. We arrived later then I had planned at just before 7am
to find the Ventus wings covered in frost. Duane arranged to move
it into a heated hanger as I focused on cockpit and pilot
preparation. Larry Hansen had the C-182 out and ready to go so
everything was in place.

Ridge Running

It felt surreal to climb into the cockpit with the sun rising over the
Bear River Range to the east. I had dreamed about this type of flight
since reading the "Four on the floor" article from Soaring in 1986
about the record ridge flight by Roy McMaster, Karl Striedieck, John
Seymour and Robby Robertson. All the stories of O'dawn-thirty
preparation and launches had intrigued me growing up on the left coast
so far from the Appalachian Ridge. With a last run through the
checklist, a thumbs up to Duane and a nod of thanks for putting up
with my crazy flights, and a radio call to Larry we were off at 7:44.
Ten minutes later I released at 9500 feet and almost over the ridge.
I tiptoed into the wind trying to cross the ridge line and get on the
upwind side of the ridge as high as I could, just when I thought I was
going to get over easily the sink picked up and I was falling fast.
Over the ridge the lift usually kicks in, but this time it was still
sink. Deja vu of a flight last January when I found no lift and ended
up landing at Brigham City a few minutes after release was running
through my head as I pushed the nose down and dove for the more south
facing bowl a few miles ahead. Down to 7,000 feet (2,500 agl) there
was no turning back now, I couldn't go back to Logan and if the sink
didn't end soon I might not make Brigham City either. Fortunately the
sink stopped and weak lift could be found tucked into ridge. I
started figure eights and was soon climbing at over 5 knots. In a few
minutes I was over the top of the ridge and running south. With the
15-mile jump from the Wellsville's to Willard's Peak behind me I was
in for the first revelation of the day. Running south below the
ridgeline with the sun rising on your left side leaves you nearly
blind to the rocks next to you. I had to leave a little extra space
until the sun rose higher. On top of Ben Lomond Peak the lift was
strong and I climbed to 12,000 feet to see how high the lift band
was. As I turned around I watched a Regional Jet go by so close I
could read the logo on the side. I was surprised they were coming in
right over the ridge top; usually they go farther to the west and then
down the valley to Salt Lake City International. I dialed up SLC
approach and gave a position report just as second jet was coming
through about a mile to the east of me. I headed south working on
deciding if I could fly over the Class B or if I needed to drop under
it as I crossed Weber Canyon. To get caught on top and drop down into
the Class B would not be a good situation, so I pulled the boards and
dropped below 9,000 feet as I crossed the canyon. I updated SLC
Approach of my plans as I started the 18 miles under the Class B.

The lift was weaker than I would like but good enough to continue
south maintaining 8400 to 8900 feet. I got to the south end of the
ridge and spent a few minutes trying to figure out where my start
point should be. My computer was telling me it should be 10 miles
away, but I knew it should only be 3 to 4 miles from my position. I
turned the glider to the heading the computer was saying, but
something was wrong. Finally, I realized I had accidentally hit the
"go directly to" button while pulling up the SLC radio frequencies.
Kicking myself, I turned around, gained a little height on the ridge
and hooked the start gate. I was not overly optimistic I could still
do a 1000K at this point, but a run to Pocatello and back would make a
great day anyway.

The trip north was much easier with a southwest tailwind, I cover the
Class B in just over 10 minutes and I am back running after the
frustration with the start line. The ridge is working well and I
don't have to turn as I climb back up to nearly 10,000 feet at Mt.
Ogden. As I approach Ben Lomond, SLC Approach checks in on my
position and releases me as I am leaving their radar area. I am
making good time and enjoying the flight as I pass Logan and head
north. It is dark ahead with a solid cloud deck, but at least they
are high enough I can run the ridges all the way to Pocatello if the
lift holds out. The winds are strong, but seem to be more southerly
than forecast. Ideal would be 260 to 270 degrees. It feels more
like 230 to me. My WinPilot is showing 230 to 240, but I can't get a
second check from my Colibri because I haven't circled on the flight
yet.

I try not to turn and just dolphin fly as much as possible. Ridge
flying on the Wasatch is a series of glides followed by climbs to jump
gaps as long as 15 miles. Often you come in low on one section of
ridge, slow down and climb just in time to jump the next gap. There
are very few sections where you just cruise on the ridge. I jump the
Tremonton gap and slow down to climb as I pass Gunsight Peak 20 miles
south of Malad, Idaho. I slow down and conserve altitude for about 10
miles before turning downwind and diving back one ridge to climb back
up to Oxford Peak. From Oxford Peak I turn west into the wind and for
ten agonizing miles to reach Elkhorn Mountain just north of Malad.
The crossing feels like it takes forever, as I must fly nearly 90
knots indicated to achieve a 70 mph ground speed at a cost of 4 knots
or more down. I lose more than 2200 feet in the crossing and have to
work around the west side of Elkhorn Mountain to find lift and climb
back to ridge top height.

The next step is a little into the unknown. I have never done the
entire trip from SLC to beyond this point in one day. I have always
had some thermals as a backup, but I am flying into a solid overcast
and there will be no thermal security blanket if this next section
does not work. I climb to over 10,000 feet and carefully head across
the 15-mile gap to the next section of ridge ahead at Old Tom
Mountain. Fortunately there is very little sink and I arrive at about
8600 feet and can climb back over 9000 feet before pushing off the top
of the ridge at Scout Mountain to the turnpoint eight miles north that
is just south of Pocatello. I gently glided out to the turnpoint and
back to the ridge at near best l/d and begin climbing as I cruised
south. I tried to climb straight ahead as much as possible, but took
a few figure eights for a little extra height before heading back
across the 15-mile gap with a quartering headwind. I left Old Tom
Peak at about 9,300 feet and headed back toward Elkhorn Mountain. I
was a little concerned because from the angle I as coming into Elkhorn
Mountain I might be in a wind shadow. I arrived at about 7700 feet,
but didn't find any workable lift on the ridges leading up to the
highest part of the mountain. Workable is probably the key word here
as anyone who has flown in these conditions knows that the wind
shadowed side of a mountain can feel like flying in a wash basin being
tumbled one second in up then next in down. I was trying to find any
lift at all and had to decide if I had enough height to reach fields
about 10 miles to the west. I could retreat over the ridge to Downey
to the east, but it would most likely be a one-way trip to a landing.

I summoned all my courage and pushed on around the west side of the
mountain. I dialed the MacCready back to zero and was showing I could
still make Malad airport, but just with 500 feet. I knew there were
fields on the southwest side of the mountain if I didn't take too much
sink getting there.

"Four ridge runners getting lower in the sky
You got the turnpoints in you cameras but no one's very high
Radios are silent cause you ain't got long to fly
Half way down the mountain 'bout to kiss it all good bye"

I was down to 6000 feet (1500 agl from the valley floor) when I bumped
a little spine and found some lift. I turned and could work very weak
lift along a section about half a mile long. It was lift that comes
and goes in little gusts. Each pass required concentration and
finesse. I was thrilled if I gained 50 feet on a pass and often
gained nothing or lost some height. I slowly dug out to about 7000
feet. It felt so good to be at 1500 feet above glide to Malad.
Amazing how your perspective changes. I was still stuck and could not
go anywhere except the next spine looked a little better and I was
able to jump over about a mile and start the whole process over again.

Back and forth, back and forth. I am concentrating on the ridge,
airspeed and eking out every foot I can gain. Thoughts of George
Moffat's article "Thermal tightrope" run through my head. I can see a
fire south about 20 miles with the smoke flowing across the valley and
over Gunsight Peak like a smoke trail in a wind tunnel. Back and
forth, turn gently, drop in flaps and pull up in the lift, I can roll
out down that gully if it all goes to sink, flaps back out one notch
and accelerate here through the sink. That laminar boundary layer
looks about 1000 feet thick as the smoke rises up over the mountain.

Turn, pull in the lift, and watch your speed. Did I gain 20 feet on
that pass? Keep your speed up; remember the "That Beautiful Mountain
and Her Sinister Trap" article from Soaring and JJ Sinclair's
excellent article in the Windsock newsletter this month. Speed is
life on the ridge, coordinated turns a must. I gained 50 feet that
time, there is a hawk turning off that small knob, back and forth,
back and forth. Finally after an hour I had reached 7700 feet and
could not climb anymore. 1600 feet/per hour, that is 25 feet/minute,
but I am still in the air!

The time had come to decide where to go next. Downwind to Oxford Peak
or southeast to the ridge east of Malad? I decided it was safer to
stay near the valley and the sunlight was only 15 miles south now. If
I could work south I might use thermals to get up if the ridges didn't
work. An eight mile glide gives up a thousand precious feet of hard
earned altitude, but the air is coming to life near the ridge. I work
the first face, I can't climb, but I'm not losing either! I start
south as the ridge rises and find I can climb with it. At first it is
weak and I maintain, then it gets stronger and I'm climbing at 500
feet per minute. Soon I'm back up and running.

"Ridge runners, ridge runners, way up in the wave
Even Jesus must be wondering just how you boys got saved
You were almost 6 feet under now you're dancing on your grave
There ain't nothing like some altitude to make a man feel brave"

Ed Kilbourne's song, RidgeRunners, plays in my head. A few S-turns at
Gunsight Peak and I'm over 9300 feet and headed south, I have covered
at least 280 miles so far and made one round trip from Logan to SLC to
Pocatello and back. I have achieved the first objective for the day
and gained much better insight into flying the ridge for future
flights.

As I make the jump back to Willard's Peak the radio comes to life on
123.3 for the first time today as Ron Gleason checks in with York
Zentner flying a Grob 103 out of Morgan. They are a few miles ahead
and working lift up to 12,000 feet near Mt. Ogden. There are linnies
along the ridge and back about 10 miles behind the ridge. It may be
time to shift gears and try to work the wave. Any hope of completing
the 1000 K is gone and trying to push up the ridges north of Oxford
peak again with the weak conditions does not sound like fun. Lynn
Alley reports that he is climbing in wave behind the ridge in his Dou
Discus. I decide to drop back and try to contact the wave. I have
not flown it a great deal and it may allow longer flights in the
future along the Wasatch front.

I found a mix of lift near Morgan Airport that slowly allowed me to
climb to 14,000 feet. Lynn had been able to work the lift up to over
17,000 feet. I need to work on my wave flying to help explore its use
in long flights in Utah. I flew south and hit the SLC turnpoint to
complete the O/R from SLC to Pocatello. I flew back north in a mix of
wave, thermal and ridge to land back at Logan after nearly 10 hours in
the air.


Post Flight

Overall it had been a great day. It was the cumulation of seven years
of exploring the Wasatch Front ridge. The low point at Elkhorn
Mountain should be avoidable with a slightly more west wind. By the
time I was there winds were about from 220. The ridge can provide
nearly year round x-c soaring and allow FAI badge and record flights.
Currently it can be used for FAI three turnpoint flights up to 750K
and OLC flights over 1000K. I have laid out an FAI three-point 1000K
that will have to be worked on as we get the opportunity to test the
ridge over the next year. The ridge can currently be accessed from the
soaring sites at both Morgan and Logan, Utah. We have much to learn
about optimizing speed and routes on the ridge and I look forward to
possible contests in the future at Logan so that others can try some
ridge running in the West.

Thanks to Duane Hill who has been a great crew for the last six
years. He is moving to Huntsville, AL soon and I will miss his
enthusiasm and friendship. Larry Hansen for willingness to come out
at O'dawn thirty to drag me out to the ridge and the Utah gang (Lou
McDonald, Ron Gleason, York Zentner, and Lynn Alley) who has been
exploring this unique soaring location with me the last few years.

References:
Four on the floor. Roy McMaster, Karl Striedieck, John Seymour and
Robby Robertson. Soaring, 1986.
Thermal tightrope. George Moffat, Winning on the Wind, 1974.
That Beautiful Mountain and Her Sinister Trap. Henry Combs. Soaring,
1984.
Don't Smack the Mountain - 101. JJ Sinclair, Valley Soaring
Association newsletter Windsock, September 2007 .
Ridgerunner. Ed Kilbourne, Cloudbase, 1988.

Additional materials:
View the Salt Lake City Sectional at: http://skyvector.com/
Ron Gleason's images from October 3rd: http://picasaweb.google.com/xcflying...eAndWaveInGrob
OLC flights posted on October 3rd, 2007 and December 15th, 2006
Ridge Running the Wasatch. RAS October 9th, 2001.
Through the eye of the needle. RAS September 26th, 2005
How much wind is too much? UTSoar Yahoo Group December 15th, 2006

A very nice flight. I know that area very well (I used to live in SLC
and have driven that route up to Idaho dozens of times. I have often
thought that a soaring run north to Idaho would be doable, but never
thought it could be done in ridge alone. It shows the benefit of
local knowledge and good planning.

Looking at your igc file, you had a couple of tenacious saves with
very marginal lift.

Well done!

Mike

On Oct 11, 11:42 am, Tim Taylor wrote:
Background

The 700 km flight on October 3, 2007 was the result of several years
of experimentation and planning that allowed the first flight
exclusively in ridge lift from Salt Lake City, Utah to Pocatello,
Idaho a distance of 145 miles (233 km). The flight planning began
several days earlier when the winds aloft forecasts began to show a
westerly flow pattern possible by mid-week. The critical weather
requirements for successful flights are winds from 260 +/- 30 degrees
and above 20 mph at 9,000 feet msl and at least 10 to 15 mph at 6,000
feet msl. The mountain ranges in the area create wind shadows in the
valleys (about 4500 feet msl) and make having west winds lower
critical to allow jumping gaps along the routes.

Preflight

Unfortunately, I was the only one who could get free for a full day
attempt on Wednesday as the forecast developed to show that would be
the optimal time to try a long flight. Duane Hill helped me rig my
Ventus the evening before and I filled the oxygen tank just in case
the wave was more favorable than the ridge for portions of the
flight. I spent several hours that evening trying to finalize my task
and get my computer and logger loaded. I had two objectives for the
flight. First to fly from Salt Lake City to Pocatello along the route
we had been developing for several years, but had never been able to
fly completely in one flight. Second was to attempt a 1000K FAI three
turn point task. If everything was perfect I might be able to make
the second, but would actually require me to fly over 1200 km with the
remote start/finish at Salt Lake City. The problem with task planning
for the 1000K is the ridge we think we can use is slightly too short
for a 1000K and you must fly beyond the end of the ridg to complete
the flight. How far is too far to leave the ridge, hook the turnpoint
and get back high enough to climb back up again? I designed the task
so that the greatest distance from the ridge was at the third
turnpoint near Blackfoot, ID and the time of day I would get there
would be optimal for thermals as well as ridge lift.

The alarm clock went off at 5:30 am as I scrambled out of bed to check
the weather as quickly as possible. Winds aloft were over 30 mph at 9
to 10 thousand feet. The SLC sounding looked good and the forecasts
were still good for the next twelve hours. Everything was a go, I
just had to get the plane on the line for a 7:25 launch and believe in
the forecasts. We arrived later then I had planned at just before 7am
to find the Ventus wings covered in frost. Duane arranged to move
it into a heated hanger as I focused on cockpit and pilot
preparation. Larry Hansen had the C-182 out and ready to go so
everything was in place.

Ridge Running

It felt surreal to climb into the cockpit with the sun rising over the
Bear River Range to the east. I had dreamed about this type of flight
since reading the "Four on the floor" article from Soaring in 1986
about the record ridge flight by Roy McMaster, Karl Striedieck, John
Seymour and Robby Robertson. All the stories of O'dawn-thirty
preparation and launches had intrigued me growing up on the left coast
so far from the Appalachian Ridge. With a last run through the
checklist, a thumbs up to Duane and a nod of thanks for putting up
with my crazy flights, and a radio call to Larry we were off at 7:44.
Ten minutes later I released at 9500 feet and almost over the ridge.
I tiptoed into the wind trying to cross the ridge line and get on the
upwind side of the ridge as high as I could, just when I thought I was
going to get over easily the sink picked up and I was falling fast.
Over the ridge the lift usually kicks in, but this time it was still
sink. Deja vu of a flight last January when I found no lift and ended
up landing at Brigham City a few minutes after release was running
through my head as I pushed the nose down and dove for the more south
facing bowl a few miles ahead. Down to 7,000 feet (2,500 agl) there
was no turning back now, I couldn't go back to Logan and if the sink
didn't end soon I might not make Brigham City either. Fortunately the
sink stopped and weak lift could be found tucked into ridge. I
started figure eights and was soon climbing at over 5 knots. In a few
minutes I was over the top of the ridge and running south. With the
15-mile jump from the Wellsville's to Willard's Peak behind me I was
in for the first revelation of the day. Running south below the
ridgeline with the sun rising on your left side leaves you nearly
blind to the rocks next to you. I had to leave a little extra space
until the sun rose higher. On top of Ben Lomond Peak the lift was
strong and I climbed to 12,000 feet to see how high the lift band
was. As I turned around I watched a Regional Jet go by so close I
could read the logo on the side. I was surprised they were coming in
right over the ridge top; usually they go farther to the west and then
down the valley to Salt Lake City International. I dialed up SLC
approach and gave a position report just as second jet was coming
through about a mile to the east of me. I headed south working on
deciding if I could fly over the Class B or if I needed to drop under
it as I crossed Weber Canyon. To get caught on top and drop down into
the Class B would not be a good situation, so I pulled the boards and
dropped below 9,000 feet as I crossed the canyon. I updated SLC
Approach of my plans as I started the 18 miles under the Class B.

The lift was weaker than I would like but good enough to continue
south maintaining 8400 to 8900 feet. I got to the south end of the
ridge and spent a few minutes trying to figure out where my start
point should be. My computer was telling me it should be 10 miles
away, but I knew it should only be 3 to 4 miles from my position. I
turned the glider to the heading the computer was saying, but
something was wrong. Finally, I realized I had accidentally hit the
"go directly to" button while pulling up the SLC radio frequencies.
Kicking myself, I turned around, gained a little height on the ridge
and hooked the start gate. I was not overly optimistic I could still
do a 1000K at this point, but a run to Pocatello and back would make a
great day anyway.

The trip north was much easier with a southwest tailwind, I cover the
Class B in just over 10 minutes and I am back running after the
frustration with the start line. The ridge is working well and I
don't have to turn as I climb back up to nearly 10,000 feet at Mt.
Ogden. As I approach Ben Lomond, SLC Approach checks in on my
position and releases me as I am leaving their radar area. I am
making good time and enjoying the flight as I pass Logan and head
north. It is dark ahead with a solid cloud deck, but at least they
are high enough I can run the ridges all the way to Pocatello if the
lift holds out. The winds are strong, but seem to be more southerly
than forecast. Ideal would be 260 to 270 degrees. It feels more
like 230 to me. My WinPilot is showing 230 to 240, but I can't get a
second check from my Colibri because I haven't circled on the flight
yet.

I try not to turn and just dolphin fly as much as possible. Ridge
flying on the Wasatch is a series of glides followed by climbs to jump
gaps as long as 15 miles. Often you come in low on one section of
ridge, slow down and climb just in time to jump the next gap. There
are very few sections where you just cruise on the ridge. I jump the
Tremonton gap and slow down to climb as I pass Gunsight Peak 20 miles
south of Malad, Idaho. I slow down and conserve altitude for about 10
miles before turning downwind and diving back one ridge to climb back
up to Oxford Peak. From Oxford Peak I turn west into the wind and for
ten agonizing miles to reach Elkhorn Mountain just north of Malad.
The crossing feels like it takes forever, as I must fly nearly 90
knots indicated to achieve a 70 mph ground speed at a cost of 4 knots
or more down. I lose more than 2200 feet in the crossing and have to
work around the west side of Elkhorn Mountain to find lift and climb
back to ridge top height.

The next step is a little into the unknown. I have never done the
entire trip from SLC to beyond this point in one day. I have always
had some thermals as a backup, but I am flying into a solid overcast
and there will be no thermal security blanket if this next section
does not work. I climb to over 10,000 feet and carefully head across
the 15-mile gap to the next section of ridge ahead at Old Tom
Mountain. Fortunately there is very little sink and I arrive at about
8600 feet and can climb back over 9000 feet before pushing off the top
of the ridge at Scout Mountain to the turnpoint eight miles north that
is just south of Pocatello. I gently glided out to the turnpoint and
back to the ridge at near best l/d and begin climbing as I cruised
south. I tried to climb straight ahead as much as possible, but took
a few figure eights for a little extra height before heading back
across the 15-mile gap with a quartering headwind. I left Old Tom
Peak at about 9,300 feet and headed back toward Elkhorn Mountain. I
was a little concerned because from the angle I as coming into Elkhorn
Mountain I might be in a wind shadow. I arrived at about 7700 feet,
but didn't find any workable lift on the ridges leading up to the
highest part of the mountain. Workable is probably the key word here
as anyone who has flown in these conditions knows that the wind
shadowed side of a mountain can feel like flying in a wash basin being
tumbled one second in up then next in down. I was trying to find any
lift at all and had to decide if I had enough height to reach fields
about 10 miles to the west. I could retreat over the ridge to Downey
to the east, but it would most likely be a one-way trip to a landing.

I summoned all my courage and pushed on around the west side of the
mountain. I dialed the MacCready back to zero and was showing I could
still make Malad airport, but just with 500 feet. I knew there were
fields on the southwest side of the mountain if I didn't take too much
sink getting there.

"Four ridge runners getting lower in the sky
You got the turnpoints in you cameras but no one's very high
Radios are silent cause you ain't got long to fly
Half way down the mountain 'bout to kiss it all good bye"

I was down to 6000 feet (1500 agl from the valley floor) when I bumped
a little spine and found some lift. I turned and could work very weak
lift along a section about half a mile long. It was lift that comes
and goes in little gusts. Each pass required concentration and
finesse. I was thrilled if I gained 50 feet on a pass and often
gained nothing or lost some height. I slowly dug out to about 7000
feet. It felt so good to be at 1500 feet above glide to Malad.
Amazing how your perspective changes. I was still stuck and could not
go anywhere except the next spine looked a little better and I was
able to jump over about a mile and start the whole process over again.

Back and forth, back and forth. I am concentrating on the ridge,
airspeed and eking out every foot I can gain. Thoughts of George
Moffat's article "Thermal tightrope" run through my head. I can see a
fire south about 20 miles with the smoke flowing across the valley and
over Gunsight Peak like a smoke trail in a wind tunnel. Back and
forth, turn gently, drop in flaps and pull up in the lift, I can roll
out down that gully if it all goes to sink, flaps back out one notch
and accelerate here through the sink. That laminar boundary layer
looks about 1000 feet thick as the smoke rises up over the mountain.

Turn, pull in the lift, and watch your speed. Did I gain 20 feet on
that pass? Keep your speed up; remember the "That Beautiful Mountain
and Her Sinister Trap" article from Soaring and JJ Sinclair's
excellent article in the Windsock newsletter this month. Speed is
life on the ridge, coordinated turns a must. I gained 50 feet that
time, there is a hawk turning off that small knob, back and forth,
back and forth. Finally after an hour I had reached 7700 feet and
could not climb anymore. 1600 feet/per hour, that is 25 feet/minute,
but I am still in the air!

The time had come to decide where to go next. Downwind to Oxford Peak
or southeast to the ridge east of Malad? I decided it was safer to
stay near the valley and the sunlight was only 15 miles south now. If
I could work south I might use thermals to get up if the ridges didn't
work. An eight mile glide gives up a thousand precious feet of hard
earned altitude, but the air is coming to life near the ridge. I work
the first face, I can't climb, but I'm not losing either! I start
south as the ridge rises and find I can climb with it. At first it is
weak and I maintain, then it gets stronger and I'm climbing at 500
feet per minute. Soon I'm back up and running.

"Ridge runners, ridge runners, way up in the wave
Even Jesus must be wondering just how you boys got saved
You were almost 6 feet under now you're dancing on your grave
There ain't nothing like some altitude to make a man feel brave"

Ed Kilbourne's song, RidgeRunners, plays in my head. A few S-turns at
Gunsight Peak and I'm over 9300 feet and headed south, I have covered
at least 280 miles so far and made one round trip from Logan to SLC to
Pocatello and back. I have achieved the first objective for the day
and gained much better insight into flying the ridge for future
flights.

As I make the jump back to Willard's Peak the radio comes to life on
123.3 for the first time today as Ron Gleason checks in with York
Zentner flying a Grob 103 out of Morgan. They are a few miles ahead
and working lift up to 12,000 feet near Mt. Ogden. There are linnies
along the ridge and back about 10 miles behind the ridge. It may be
time to shift gears and try to work the wave. Any hope of completing
the 1000 K is gone and trying to push up the ridges north of Oxford
peak again with the weak conditions does not sound like fun. Lynn
Alley reports that he is climbing in wave behind the ridge in his Dou
Discus. I decide to drop back and try to contact the wave. I have
not flown it a great deal and it may allow longer flights in the
future along the Wasatch front.

I found a mix of lift near Morgan Airport that slowly allowed me to
climb to 14,000 feet. Lynn had been able to work the lift up to over
17,000 feet. I need to work on my wave flying to help explore its use
in long flights in Utah. I flew south and hit the SLC turnpoint to
complete the O/R from SLC to Pocatello. I flew back north in a mix of
wave, thermal and ridge to land back at Logan after nearly 10 hours in
the air.

Post Flight

Overall it had been a great day. It was the cumulation of seven years
of exploring the Wasatch Front ridge. The low point at Elkhorn
Mountain should be avoidable with a slightly more west wind. By the
time I was there winds were about from 220. The ridge can provide
nearly year round x-c soaring and allow FAI badge and record flights.
Currently it can be used for FAI three turnpoint flights up to 750K
and OLC flights over 1000K. I have laid out an FAI three-point 1000K
that will have to be worked on as we get the opportunity to test the
ridge over the next year. The ridge can currently be accessed from the
soaring sites at both Morgan and Logan, Utah. We have much to learn
about optimizing speed and routes on the ridge and I look forward to
possible contests in the future at Logan so that others can try some
ridge running in the West.

Thanks to Duane Hill who has been a great crew for the last six
years. He is moving to Huntsville, AL soon and I will miss his
enthusiasm and friendship. Larry Hansen for willingness to come out
at O'dawn thirty to drag me out to the ridge and the Utah gang (Lou
McDonald, Ron Gleason, York Zentner, and Lynn Alley) who has been
exploring this unique soaring location with me the last few years.

References:
Four on the floor. Roy McMaster, Karl Striedieck, John Seymour and
Robby Robertson. Soaring, 1986.
Thermal tightrope. George Moffat, Winning on the Wind, 1974.
That Beautiful Mountain and Her Sinister Trap. Henry Combs. Soaring,
1984.
Don't Smack the Mountain - 101. JJ Sinclair, Valley Soaring
Association newsletter Windsock, September 2007 .
Ridgerunner. Ed Kilbourne, Cloudbase, 1988.

Additional materials:
View the Salt Lake City Sectional at: http://skyvector.com/
Ron Gleason's images from October 3rd: http://picasaweb.google.com/xcflying...eAndWaveInGrob
OLC flights posted on October 3rd, 2007 and December 15th, 2006
Ridge Running the Wasatch. RAS October 9th, 2001.
Through the eye of the needle. RAS September 26th, 2005
How much wind is too much? UTSoar Yahoo Group December 15th, 2006

Awesome! thats one of the best flight reports ive read in a long
time. Keep it up.

Tim,
Thank you very much for your write up. It is always inspirational when
people try new things and explore new territories, like the guys on
the right coast on the ridge, especially the Four on the Floor flight.
Also Hans Werner Grosse in Australia, doing 1,250km triangles in the
1980s, etc...

Perhaps Utah, with a combination of ridge, wave and thermals can
produce well over 1000k flights. The Europeans, as much as they fly,
only recently discovered the potential of the Alps.

Thanks again.