”Last flights this year from Vole”

 The weather forecast looked quite promising, but there were too cloudy today. Still I had two flights. At Rikssenteret there are only a few pilots now. 

"Vole og Salknappen"

Vi var først på Vole og så Stein Are fly tandemvinge med passasjer (bilde). Sidevind her og lite sjanse for løft. Deretter dro vi opp til Salknappen hvor det nok var i overkant av vind. Gode startforhold for HG,

og Kristian fikk en fin tur. Vinden tjafset litt for mye med PG-en min, og jeg pakket ned. I morgen blir trolig min siste dag i Vågå i år. Værutsiktene er PG-positive. Får se om det blir brukbare forhold enten fra Vole eller fra Salknappen.

"Flowers and flying in Jotunheimen"

At 1.800 meters asl there are quite a few flowers even if there are stones and rock almost everywhere. No flying for me yesterday. Instead I walked around.

Today at Vole in Vågå I touched cloudbase at about 2.900 meters asl.

”3.200 m asl over Galdhøpiggen today”

A really nice flight today. Snowy mountains everywhere when I touched cloudbase. Sunny weather and some clouds which sucked. 1.300 meters down Juvvannet was shining like a big green emerald.

”Nice flight from Juvass”

Eventually the wind slowed down, and we got some nice flying from Juvass. As for myself I went up to 2.620 m asl close to Galdhøpiggen, the highest mountain (2.469 m) in Norway. The thermals petered out on the way, so I had to turn.

We went for a short walk east of Juvasshytta to have a look down in Visdalen. On the way back there was a foul smell in the air; the waste water (grey water) from Juvasshytta poured out on the ground due to the permafrost in the area (see photo). Shit happens, you can say… Not very friendly to the environment, I guess. Still it is accepted by the local areas. They do the same at the summer skiing centre. And will probably do the same with the waste water at Mimisbrunnr klimapark http://mimisbrunnr.no/

Shit happens in Lom municipality now and before. Quite interesting (also philosophically and historically) how they start to use reminiscenses of old Norse mythology in this area. As the Nazi party Nasjonal samling (Vidkun Quisling) did before and during the Second World War. The Nazi mayor in Lom, Paal O. Aukrust, was reelected after the war, see http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paal_O._Aukrust

In Lom you also find the Norwegian National Monument, Sagasøylen. The monument should have been situated in front of  Stortinget in Oslo, but the artist, Rasmussen, was a member of Nasjonal samling during the war. Of all places you find the monument in – Lom. Coincidence or what.

Shit happens in Lom. Driving along the road through Lom in summer there is a pungent smell of cow dung to remind us of past and present times?

"Cancellation - free flying?"

But too much wind and from the wrong direction here in Vågå. Better go for a walk in the mountains.

"10 m a second at Vole"

from the NW at the moment. Will there be flying today?

"Too much wind - no flying today!

The day was cancelled for the competitors, and there was much too much wind for free flying - even for paragliders!!

Instead three of us went up to the lower Juvass take off from Raubergstulen as the last briefing was to take place at the middle Juvass take off at 5  PM. Even the briefing was cancelled, and we had to walk down.

A nice, sunny, windy day with lots of lentics in the sky.

"Juvass today"

We are leaving for Juvass, Jotunheimen, today. Hopefully the wind will slow down, and we will have nice flights. At 9 o'clock the wind is W about 5 meters a second. At 10 o'clock 4 meters. We are leaving Rikssenteret at 12.30.

"Juvass, Jotunheimen, today?"

There are northerly winds this morning, but maybe too much: NW 13 m a second (about 45 km) at Juvasshøe (1894 m asl) close to Juvasshytta. The wind will probably slow down towards the evening. Still there is much wind high up. Briefing Norwegian hanggliding championship at 10 o'clock.

"Norwegian Championship - day 6 cancelled"

Windy, windy, windy. Immense wave clouds over Vågå at the moment. The wind above 750 millibar is increasing.

Tomorrow Juvass will be an option.

"New day - new hopes (?) at Vole"

I woke up this morning at 4.30 due to heavy winds hitting my small tent. At the takeoff at 3.38 the wind peaked at 22 meters a second (some 80 kilometers an hour). Wind from WSW.

My guess is that the day will be cancelled if the competitors stay here. Still I hope for a paraglider flight if things get calmer up there. The meteorogram shows 50 knots at 750 millibar (about 100 kilometers at 2.000 meters).

I hope we will have a nice day all of us here at the National Centre of Hangliding and Paragliding in Vågå.

"Tomorrow Vole and then Juvass on Friday"

Forecast: Much wind tomorrow - more than 50 knots at 3.000 meter. That means lentics and wave conditions. On Friday (or later) we will have a try to fly over Galdhøpiggen, 2.469 m asl.

”Nice flight from Vole”

although there were lentics up there. When I was ready for take off the wind slowed down, and I thought maybe this was due to waves. However I chose to start when the wind picked up as there were no signs of heavy wind at Vågå Lake. The penetration was OK, no less than 8 km in the beginning. The lift was quite even with some thermals from time to time. When the penetration was only 1-4 km without speedbar I went out in the middle of the valley not too far from the centre of Vågå. On my way to Rikssenteret I turned from time to time to check the penetration before the last downwind leg.

"Espesetra"

will be the takeoff for the competition pilots today. Much wind at 2-3.000 m asl. As for myself I will give Vole a try although the wind is picking up - 5 m a second from SW.

"Flying today at Vole?"

The weather forecast for today is not promising. Wind from NW. Just now the average speed the last 10 minutes is 2.7 meters a second.  The participants in the Norwegian hanggliding championship are decreasing in number. Tomorrow the meteorogram shows an amazing 65!!! knots at 600 millibar (about 3.000 meters asl).

”Drizzle and almost no wind at Vole”

 in the evening. Some pilots were flying, but I decided to wait til tomorrow or the day after tomorrow or…

”No flying today – probably”

The heavy winds from yesterday have passed. Now at 11 a.m. it is raining. The Norwegian hanggliding championship: The day is cancelled, and there will maybe be an unofficial speedgliding competition at 16 p.m.

”Heavy winds”

and lentics at Vole in Vågå, Norway the last two days. Not very suitable for paragliding. Today there is a possibility early this morning, but the forecast is NW 50 knots at 3.000 m asl. Most of us will probably stay grounded.

”The life of a paraglider pilot”

in the sun at take off might be quite comfortable when there are hanggliders around. As everybody knows paraglider and hangglider pilots are grounded most of the day.

”Living in Norway”

 more than hundred years ago the accomodation for poor people could be houses like this tiny cottage. Charming in Norway’s summer of two or three months. Not very comfortable if you were to live there all the time.