Comp League

The main theme for yesterday was "finally flying a task". Given the wind (Sout-West to South up high, North-West low pushing in as an amplified valley breeze), the options were limited. So we opted for a classic with a twist: Flims and back - but with a few modifications: - While the pilots were free to choose their line for the leg to Flims (around the Nagens area), we set four turnpoints on the way back, leading them out towards Ilanz, then back towards Crap Masegn, then out to Brigels, back up to the top of the mountain behind Brigels (La Cauma) before the End of Speed Section around Piz Dado to the East of Brigels. - With the wind coming in over the Lukmanier pass, landing in Disentis was not an option, so we set the goal in Trun, 10 km down the valley. The total distance was 69 km. The day started out with good thermals up to about 3300 m, more cumulus clouds than anticipated, and a noticeable drift towards the north up high. After the start it took the fastest pilots less than 45 minutes for the 34 km to the first turnpoint in Flims. But then conditions changed. From the second turnpoint onward, pilots rarely managed to climb above 2700 m, and the closer they got to the last two turnpoints near Brigels, the more difficult climbing became in general. The leader at that time, Lars Meerstetter, arrived in Brigels below 1800 m, and had to take a detour to Piz Dado to get up again, which took him 17 minutes. The following group arrived 8 minutes later in Brigels, and found a climb between La Cauma and Piz Dado. Nicolas Poncelet was the first at the last turnpoint, and secured the fastest time with a clever move to ESS behind Piz Dado, beating Lars by 2 minutes. Only, this was not enough to overcome Lars' leading point advantage. Behind the leaders, the pilots who had managed to make more altitude before flying into the Brigels area had an easier time reconnecting and getting to the final turnpoint, but as Lars had demonstrated, with patience and skill, even getting up from quite low worked out. The climbs were quite rough at times, due to the mix of wind directions - due East on the ground in Brigels, South to South-West higher up. In the end 46 pilots made goal, and all but four were already on the ground when the task was stopped due to a shower east of Disentis. Winners Overall: Lars Meerstetter (Switzerland) Women: Lene Spaarwater (Chile, 8th overall) Sports Class: Frédéric Monnet (Switzerland, 7th overall) Junior: Jean Morisetti (Switzerland, 3rd overall) All photos by Martin Scheel.

Tomorrow brings a lot of clouds all day long, and rain from around noon. We do not see any chance for a task, and cancel the day. We do not give up on Friday yet, and Saturday will be really good.

Endlich scheint das Wetter zu passen! Der Task ist gesetzt und schickt die Pilotinnen und Piloten von Disentis nach Flims und im Zickzack zurück nach Trun. Wir dürfen gespannt sein!

From what we see right now, tomorrow Wednesday will be the best day of the week: - A slight north over-pressure will build up over the next hours, so the Föhn is gone - At altitude, the wind stays from SW, maybe turns a little more towards S, but slows down to 15-20 km/h at 3000 m. Above that, it will still be around 25-30 km/h - While the rest of Switzerland will see early over-development, we are somehow protected, first rain should reach our area around 17:00 to 18:00. - Good thermals from around 11:00, with few Cumulus clouds form 12:00. Base at 3400-3700 m Therefore, we run the "normal" program: Get up to the middle station with the 9:30 or 10:00 cable car, and be ready for a 10:15 task briefing. Outlook Right now Thursday looks rained out, Friday still very moist. But with the experience of the last few days, I believe that there is still a considerable chance for an improvement and tasks on both days. Saturday should be a good flying day in any case. Next update tomorrow morning at 8:00.

While the pressure gradient dropped (which should reduce the wind), we are now right at the front of a trough moving in from France. This accelerates again the South flow. It's not a classic Föhn, but the winds at 3000-4000 m are expected to be from 30-40 km/h all afternoon. Marc says in these kinds of conditions the locals would fly only early in the morning, towards the East, and land early. We don't think a task will be possible under these conditions. Therefore the task is cancelled. If you want to fly, go up early, and remember our Mantra: Trun by Noon! That would be L02. It could also be Brigels (L11), or even Ilanz (L12) if you're fast. But be aware that the wind up high will be considerably stronger than yesterday, and the wind in the valley will turn eventually from normal valley breeze (East to West) to the reverse (West to East) and become very gusty. Raphael will send an update on alternative activities shortly. The outlook for tomorrow is definitely better, with much less wind. Next update tonight at 20:00.

The low-pressure trough to the west is developing as expected, splitting off and moving South to the Mediterranean. This will turn the pressure situation across the Alps around Wednesday night. For tomorrow, we can expect the same pattern as the last few days, with a few improvements: - SW winds up high, around 15-25 km/h - South wind entering the Rhine valley from the southern passes, starting with Lukmanier (the one to the south of Disentis), then successively further east. This will neutralize the valley breeze probably all the way down to Ilanz. The effect should be less than the last two days, though. - Thermals starting around 10:00, improving steadily, up to 3300-3500 m, blue at first and only a few CU in the afternoon. - Thunderstorms are expected to happen mainly in western Switzerland, our area should stay dry and unaffected by Cb. With these conditions, we should be able to fly at least to Flims. Preliminary plan: 9:00 Cable car for the task committee 9:30/10:00 Cable car for the others From 9:15: Coffee, croissants and tracker at the middle station 10:15: Task briefing Next update tomorrow at 8:00