One of my aims for Friday had been the Col des Frêtes hike and fly, but in the end we just didn’t have enough time for it. On Sunday there was a pretty marginal wind forecast for if it would be achievable, however we decided to have a lie in and head up late in the day for a sunset hike and fly as this was the best chance we had of the wind working.
The start of the ascent was up to the Planfait launch and then it continued up in the forest above the launch. The rest of the walk was really just a slog up in the forest with very limited views out towards the lake. It was pretty steep at times and we were both definitely hoping that we could fly down as we didn’t really want to walk back down the ascent, the wind was however a bit worrying as it definitely felt like it was in the wrong direction at times while we were walking up.
Eventually we got to the top of the forest, which is just below the start, and were pleased that the wind felt just about ok. There was a slight backwind at the col, but just over the other side it was ok for a forward launch. We ate out sandwiches when we got to the top and the sun came out which somewhat improved the launch conditions by providing some thermally induced flow to counter the meteo wind.
I had wanted to stay on the summit for longer and to watch the sunset, but with the marginal conditions it was definitely a day to just fly down while we could, rather than risking the conditions getting worse.
Unsurprisingly the flight down was very beautiful and I enjoyed taking some photos of Alex and his beautiful wing. As we had flown down earlier, we landed in time to enjoy a beer at the landing before heading back to Alex’s apartment.
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