I'd like to thank those who participated and helped represent our club on Saturday.

It was a chilly morning as a few of us gathered in the LZ ahead of any sunlight. Getting our stuff up the hill was a breeze. There was no explaining to do and no one to check in with - just people to say "hi" to.

We put our gear under a tarp and then headed back to Pima Community College where we would join the community on our way up. On top there was Mexican food from a local restaurant and around a thousand people moving about. There was a short, five minute speech, about the event we heard on our way up to the East launch.

We probably spent close to two hours up there observing the weather and figuring out the best direction to launch. Initially, we were getting strong ESE cycles as the face of the mountain was heated. It was quite entertaining as the four different strips of flaggin we hung were all showing different wind directions. One piece was aggressively pulled straight up as it fluttered in the air for two minutes. A hawk, a thousand feet above us, showed us just how strong that thermal was.

By 11 the winds had become predominantly north. We patiently waited for the SE cycles to prevail but we ended up just waiting. Steve, a Flagstaff pilot, and now a Mesa resident, was geared up and patiently waiting for a SE cycle. We frequently considered options to the North. We thought of launching right over the A but the boulders there were big. Then another option opened up. There was a small gap with a decent slope that could be flown with a NNW wind and as we waited that became the predominant wind direction.

We had a couple tarps to lay over the problem rock areas while Steve moved his gear over. He waited for about an 8 mph wind and went for it. There was some lift out there but nothing big or strong enough to core. Steve stretched his flight as long as he could and then went to the LZ for a nice high setup.

I followed him launching into an 8 mph wind and had a similar flight.

As Terry setup the winds picked up and were breaking 12 mph. He patiently waited for something he liked and went for it. The winds were much stronger on his flight as he raced toward the LZ then turned and came in for a slow smooth landing.

Andy Miller hooked us up by relaying LZ conditions and providing some ground transport.

Great day to be at "A" Mountain.

Video of my flight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo6V4y8Z ... e=youtu.be