Tom preparing to fly from the tiny St Marcel take-off
11:30 - Only one glider at a time can fly from here
Looking north from the take-off towards the Bauges. We hoped to cross over from the Granier (left) to the Bauges having first flown to Grenoble and back, but the north wind was stronger than foreseen so the chances of success seemed slim.
Having made the first turnpoint just north of the take-off I start to follow Tom and Danien south along the ridge to Grenoble
12:07 - Approaching the Dent de Crolles (top right) below ridge height. Condition were weak in many places so it was often impossible to be above the ridge on the way south.
Looking back north along the ridge
12:11 - Arriving at St. Hilaire
Gliders preparing on the St Hilaire take-off
12:11 - Conditions were getting stronger and it was easier to continue south towards the Fort de St. Eynard
12:26 - Crossing to the ridge from Grenoble
12:26 - Looking right at the Dent de Crolles
12:42 - Arriving above the Fort de St. Eynard
Making my turn point just south of the fort
The view north into the Chartreuse
13:08 - passing back beneath the Dent de Crolles. We hoped to be able to climb above it at this point but there was a very strong inversion at 1500m and no-one was getting through.
So we continue north at the level of the lower ridge (about 1000m)
13:15 - Passing St Hilaire again
Trying unsuccessfully to break through the inversion with Tom
Following Tom and Damien back north against a strong headwind - it took ages!
Damien and Tom
13:51 - The ridge north continues - it's very slow progress
Looking right across the valley to the snow covered Belledone range
The upper ridge - frustratingly out of reach!
14:40 - The wind was so strong that I couldn't even make it into the lower valley to land near the car, instead I landed in a field on the plateau. Damien succeeded to climb through the inversion up the Granier to 2500m and then cross to the Bauges, but the wind was too strong there to get back to the Annecy.
