Greylock to Equinox - 1st Attempt

John B. and I, had our sites set on Greylock for an XC flight.  The night before conditions were predicted to be good so we decided to talk in the morning.  The 'plan' was, get an early start since it's an east facing site.  Morning came, and I could not reach John.  He lives in a cell phone black hole and it was another hour or two before I finally heard from him.  He said he was en-route to my place. I was finishing off making breakfast when I hear a knock on the door.  John enters and immediately eyeballs my breakfast with a watering mouth and longing gaze.  He comments on how good it looks.

That little white speck in the middle is John.  :-D

So looking at the clock, with hesitation in my head, I offer to make him a couple eggs and he can throw in the toast. What's a few more minutes right?  Backing up a bit, Jeff C. had called before all this to say he would like to go along.  Jeff was still a ways out from leaving his house so we thought it best he take his own car.  This was before a certain unprepared individual wanted breakfast, and a certain altruistic saint made it for him.  By the time we were done eating and ready to pull out of the driveway, Jeff was 10 minutes out.

Ya, that's pretty far below...

"Ok", I said.  We'll wait a few more minutes.  We sat in the driveway waiting for Jeff to arrive.  After loading up my car, we were finally ready to go.  We set out for the 3 hour ride.  On the way, we shared some good laughs on the questions usually asked by tourists when you're on top of Greylock.  It's always the same questions.

Jeff needed a few laughs coming off of two wakes in the previous week so we came up with some pretty interesting responses to these questions.  John and Jeff then decided it was a good idea to start harassing me for amusement.  At one point, Tom called and said Mt. Washington looked perfect.  John and I discussed throwing Jeff (a Hang III) out of the car and heading to Washington since we both wanted to fly that elusive site and you need to be a Hang IV.  After much deliberation we decided it was too far back in the other direction, and decided to keep Jeff with us.  He was allowed to close his door again.

The streets were alive.

As we approached North Adams, Pete J. calls and says he is at the RC field.  He offers to bring us up with him if we want to throw on.  It was another added delay, but my car is starting to revolt when it comes to hill climbing so it seemed like a good opportunity to keep my car at the bottom of the mountain.   Pete was nice enough to offer, so we took him up on it.  On the way up the mountain, Pete was sure to tell us that his daughter was NOT available for chasing us cross country, if we decided to leave the mountain.  He likes to set things straight before any ideas get to far along.  

Harriman-West Airport

We arrived at the top of the mountain and the conditions were iffy.  There was little to no wind on launch, and when there was wind, it was crossing pretty far from the south, almost 80 degrees.  There were a bunch of pilots, hang-glider and para-glider, there to fly that day.  While we were setting up, many jumped off to mixed and unimpressive results.  A few climbed above the mountain and stayed up for 30 minutes or so.  All eventually ended up on the ground.

Williamstown

Pete launched around 1:15pm, and after finding no reason to stay on the ridge, did his signature disappearing act.  Jeff and J-J were already on the ground after their extended sledders, and Gary was on launch with his para-glider trying to wrestle it up in the crossing winds.  Gary launched and found a few thermals out in the valley, scratching through them trying to stay aloft.  That left John and I to try our luck.  I walked out to launch and sat for quite some time, in completely dead wind, waiting for some sign of lift out in the valley, that I could reach.  The day was getting late (now after 2pm) for an east site but I was in no hurry to sled.  It couldn't get worse right? 

Looking South

About this time, Pete flies in from Ragged Mtn. reappearing out of nowhere.  This is why I started calling him the Grey Ghost, the guy has a teleportation skill or something.  Pete snagged a thermal about 300 yards from launch and took a turn in it.  He was on his second turn and climbing, when I was lifting my glider.  I heard my radio crackle - Pete was keying his mic as he was thermalling and said, "This is our ticket out of here Randy."  I was already running down the launch.  I took off into the calm air and as I passed over the rock slide below launch, I tried a small turn to the right testing the air to see if there was any lift coming up - nothing.  I returned to course, zipped my harness, pulled my face shield, made myself small, and ran for Pete's thermal.  This was exhilarating as it was the first time I had ever launched a mountain site with no wind trying to get a thermal out in the valley. 

Looking back on Mt. Greylock

I came in right under him and snagged it.  We climbed out together as John moved to launch.  We reached maybe 500 ft. over launch and the thermal was gone.  We spread out and started searching for lift again, and fast.  I headed to the south side of the mountain since the wind was cross and the sun was on that face.  John decided there was no reason to rush into the air and waited on launch.  Pete and I found a few more thermals to get us back to the same point, but they would disappear again and again.  On another climbout attempt, Pete decided to disappear again and head out into the valley.  I turned around and he was gone.  No trace.  No word.

Quarry and Adams, MA

I continued to do the yo-yo up and down above the mountain for almost an hour.  In the meantime, John finally decided to give it a try and joined me above the mountain searching.  After snagging one, he decided to head for a cloud far to the south that was out of my reach.  I lost sight of him after a few turns and did not find him again.  I figured he was on the ground after trying to reach him on the radio with no response.

North Adams, MA

I was on my own.  Ah well, I'm good with that.  I played around on the mountain a bit more and then I decided to try my luck out in the valley.  I headed toward Ragged Mountain where I snagged a small 100fpm thermal and started to climb.  A para-glider that had launched shortly before that, ran to the thermal and tried to claim it as his own.  I was having none of that, and held my ground.  I kept circling tight and climbing and he bugged off to find something else back on the mountain.  I stuck with the slow climb, drifting downwind very slowly (3mph) as I climbed above launch, and then above the mountain.

Looking North

I finally broke through the inversion layer and the thermal picked up strength.  I was now climbing in 600 to 800fpm up.  As I'm shooting up to the clouds, I see a glider come in from Ragged Mtn, it was the Grey Ghost again.  "Geesh", I said to myself, "I thought he was on the ground an hour ago!"  Pete was up to it again.  He came in below me about 500 ft and scoured for the thermal.  I tried to direct him via radio, but he just couldn't snag it.  He gave up and headed off to find something else, I continued my ascent.

John's getting higher

Shortly thereafter I was at cloud base (6600') and drifting behind Raven's Rock toward Harriman-West Airport in Williamstown.  There was a beautiful cloud street heading right toward Bennington, VT, and I was going to run it.  As I approached the airport I was famished and needed sustenance.  I cracked open a protein bar and wolfed it down as I buzzed around trying to stay out of the clouds.

About this time, I spot a glider about 3000ft. below me.  It was a topless glider so I was running through my head who it could have been.  I figured John was on the ground as last I saw him he was off in the other direction of launch and not finding lift.  Although, I did remember that he wanted to at least land at Harriman-West if the day produced nothing else. 

Bennington, VT in the distance.

Then my radio came to life, it was John -"Randy, where are you?  Are you on the ground?"  I laughed and responded - "Look up, I'm 3000ft. over your head."  John was laughing but slightly annoyed that I was flying over him after he had assumed I was on the ground.  I then said - "I have to pee, you don't mind right?  Jeff told me you were into that sort of thing..."   He laughed, and cursed me.  I didn't do it.

I cruised around under the cloud waiting for John to catch up as he had found the climb (with a little help from a friend).  As John ascended to 300ft. below me I made the jump down the street to the next cloud.  It was still producing lift.  John followed and we drifted slowly toward Bennington.  Unfortunately, there were no more clouds after this one along the street.  There were a few small cummies around Bennington but nothing well defined.

Lots of greeeeennnnn.

John contacted Jeff, who was trying to get a head start in the car following us.  He told him we were almost to Bennington and heading NNW if he wanted to head out.  John then dove into the blue, and shot for another cloud.  I followed along watching his speed machine quickly fly away from me.

I lost about 3000' when I found a small thermal.  I climbed in it gaining another 1000' and then I lost it due to a biological malfunction.  After wasting precious altitude trying to find it again, I shot for a peak SW of Bennington that was higher than anything around it.  As I approached, I found a few more ragged thermals but still couldn't break back through the inversion layer.

Valley East of Bennington

John was well on his way toward NY now and too far away for us to reconnect.  I continued on my own and  spotted an airport to the west.  I started sizing it up as my potential and likely LZ.  Before I made it all the way over to the airport, I found a small thermal to climb out in.  I drifted to the north riding this ratty lift for everything it was worth.  Jeff was holed up in Bennington waiting to see where we went.

John had headed into NY on the other side of the ridge north of Bennington, but we were now out of radio contact.  I made a decision to head to that same high ground, but try and reach Mount Equinox, as John and I had mused about earlier in the day.  I looked at the slopes and opted for trying to find climbs on the leeside of the ridge where the sun had been making the most contact all afternoon.

Bennington, VT

I snaked slowly to the north not wanting to give up the lift that I had.  As I climbed up the terrain in and out of the thermal, I started assessing potential LZ's.  I could head NW toward NY but I had another ridge line to cross before even seeing any LZ's.  I looked at the ridge north of me, and the lack of available LZ's in the draws, but I was high enough to get over the back and hit an LZ along Rt. 7 if I didn't find anything.  I went for it.

As I climbed up the ridge line getting closer to my goal, I was finding smaller and smaller thermals.  I was now approaching the section of the ridge where I was either going to find another thermal to get me up, or I was going to have to dump over the back and bail for an LZ.  I found a nice strong 600fpm thermal but it was the size of a bullet.  I was turning and turning but losing just as much as I was gaining.  I finally realized the day was quickly coming to an end.  I bailed from the thermal and bombed over the backside of the ridge heading as far north as could glide.

Southern Vermont College

My available LZ's were all filled with corn.  I would approach and see what I thought was hay, but was really the tips of the corn that have golden grass like sprouts rising into the air.  I finally saw an LZ clear of corn but it was an iffy glide if I hit sink.  I had one bailout field just to the south of it if things went wrong on the way.  I tucked in, pulled VG, and went for best glide.

I made the LZ I wanted with plenty to spare and boated around for a minute or two before making my approach.  The owner had mowed a bullseye in the field, which I later learned was an attempt at eradicating an invasive species.  Perfect, a spot landing contest.  I pulled in, turned on final, and glided into the bullseye for a nice touch down. 

Bennington Monument

As I walked the glider to the side of the road, a friend of the landowner came across the road to chat it up.  He invited me over for a refreshment after I was settled in.  Lucky for me they were so welcoming as I pulled my phone from my harness to give Jeff and John (now out of radio contact) a heads up to my location, only to find my battery was dead.  Uh Oh!  Coincidentally, the landowner has a cousin that used to hang-glide and helped develop Mount Equinox as one of our flying sites back in the day.

The owners were kind enough to let me use their phone and even offered me some of their dinner, which I politely declined.  After we talked a while they invited me to go dancing with them later that night.  Also politely declined.  :-)  What a perfect place to land.  Thanks!

Earthbound once more

I reached Jeff and John, John had landed in Salem, NY 11 miles further than me.  Jeff was almost to him and after I gave them directions, it was going to be about an hour for them to trek back and get me.  I finished my conversations with the landowner and friends, then broke down my glider while reliving my flight.  I got enough juice back in my phone to text Tom (stuck in Alabama) the details of my flight.  Turning the screw....

As I finished putting the bag on my glider, Jeff and John drove up in my car we loaded up.  The landowners and their friends were leaving for the dance hall and waved us off.  We stopped for dinner in Williamstown, laughed, told of our feats, compared notes, and shared a meal as only friends with a common passion can. 

A day I will not soon forget.  Thanks go out to Jeff for being one of the best XC drivers that day and a good sport for chasing us after such a short flight.  We owe you one.

Duration: 3 hours and 33 minutes.

Distance: 27.28 miles.