Rick's X-Alps

Saturday, August 11, 2018

Tandemonium - 2 weeks of tandem hike-and-fly in the Alps

We're about to embark upon yet another exciting adventure! Four days from now, Leanne and I will already be on some high grassy slope poising together for a long flight in one of our favorite playgrounds: the European Alps. This year we have planned a hike-and-fly, cross country expedition by tandem paraglider - inspired partly by the Red Bull XAlps (of course), but also by only a small handful of tandem teams in whose footsteps we shall follow. One can even think of it as a kind of pioneering expedition!

Our main goal will be to do as many quality, long-distance XC flights as possible. An ambitious goal will be a total of 1000 kilometers flown. We will try to do the journey vol-biv style as much as possible, but given that we only have two weeks available, we will give priority to flying over trekking and on occasion will not hesitate to use public transportation if it increases our chances of an epic flight. Other than that we will be completely unsupported, taking opportunities as they come and hopefully having a good time along the way.

A tentative route (780 km)

Our new wing is a Niviuk Takoo4 custom-made for us with lightweight materials. It weighs in at 5.2 kg, and actually packs quite nicely into the compression bag I actually used during the X-Alps! Niviuk was kind enough to sponsor us here, and we are very grateful to them. A dozen or so test-flights at our home area has us fully familiarized with this user-friendly glider. I am pleased to see we have plenty of airspeed at our disposal; giving up the speed bar had been one of my worries about XC tandeming in the Alps. A motley melange of other semi-lightweight gear, some of it recycled from last year's X-Alps, will fill out our kit. It shouldn't be too heavy for us to do some major trekking, if required.

The lighweight custom Niviuk Takoo4 (5.2 kg)

To lighten our load, we will try to carry the minimum of everything, including just enough electronics to be making daily updates online with photos and videos of our journey. Monitoring the links from my HP should be enough to keep you fully up to date. We will also carry a SPOT tracker, so you will be able to essentially live-track us with 5-minute updates while airborne. If grounded, to conserve battery power, we will only send our position occasionally.

That about sums it up! Now, let the adventure begin!

Friday, August 10, 2018

AMAXA X-ATHLON 2018

Shane Tighe takes the win of the paraglider race

A couple of weeks ago, I took part in the 7th edition of the AmaxaX-Athlon (http://amaxa-xathlon.info/), a multi-outdoor-sports race situated here in my home area of Amakusa, Kumamoto, Japan. Loosely based on the famous Red Bull Dolomitenmann, the X-Athlon takes place in a rural south-west corner of Japan, and is definitely the biggest, if not the only, race of its kind in the country. Accordingly, many participants from major Japanese cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, and Nagoya use a mid-summer long weekend to journey to Amakusa and enjoy this special event. This year, about 140 athletes, supported by more than 200 volunteers and blessed with ideal (if a little hot) weather, made the Amaxa X-Athlon 2018 another edition to remember.

SUP athletes make an energetic start

The competition features five outdoor sports: sea kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, mountain biking, trail running, and paragliding. The location, Kuratake Town in the Amakusa Islands, offers an environment well-suited for all of these sports. Participants are welcome to race in virtually any combination of disciplines, but of course, the Full-Entry category (Sea kayak or SUP, then MTB, trail run and paraglider) is cream of the top. This year 13 male and 3 female athletes, as well as 7 relay-style teams, competed in this category. I was also one of them.

Seconds before race start

Disclaimer: the location of this race is not entirely an accident. It's a race originally conceived by myself , my wife Leanne, and Urakawa-san, our Japanese friend. So, we are also race staff; in fact, I am actually the Race Director. If you think that is a conflict of interest, come and see the race (or better yet, race with us) next year!

Leanne and Shane at the goal

This year we were lucky enough to be joined by the young and up-and-coming Australian paraglider and adventure athlete Shane Tighe. Shane was one of my main supporters in the Red Bull X-Alps 2017, and plans to be my official supporter in 2019 (if I get selected!). He has spent much of the past year paragliding in places like the Alps and Nepal, and his cross-country technique has taken a quantum leap forward in that very short time. His top-notch performance in the this year's X-Athlon is therefore no accident.

Kayaks and SUPs jostle for position leaving the beach

The race itself starts at 7:00 AM at a place called Ebisu Beach, with a sea leg: sea kayaks and SUPs compete simultaneously along a 8.4km looping course, circumnavigating several uninhabited islands offshore. Race rules say that athletes must pass several checkpoints on the way to goal, but other route choices are up to them and all kinds of clever shortcuts (as well as mistakes) are possible. Experienced racers may also take advantage of locally strong tidal currents along the way. Kayaks are generally faster than SUPs, but this seems to be compensated by the top-notch condition of the Japanese SUP athletes. In fact, only a small handful of kayaks are able to get away from the frenetic SUPers.

On the kayak course

Determined to conserve my energy for the latter part of the race, I strapped on a heart rate meter and resolved not to exceed 150 bpm while paddling. This is more easily said than done, as it is very tempting to chase the faster athletes. I sneak in a shortcut just after the start, and only one kayaker seems to follow me. Soon it is obvious he is going to pass me, and I am surprised to see it is a 65 year-old repeat athlete known for his rigorous training regimen (he later told me he paddled over 700 km in preparation). One other ace kayaker is already way out in front, so I find myself established firmly in 3rd place. Several strong athletes are not far behind me but surprisingly, they are not catching up, so I focus on keeping pace and finishing the kayak race in under an hour with lots of extra energy left.

Kayak finish: one down, three to go

The next discipline is MTB (mountain bike). The mass start is at 8:00 AM, but as I am a full-entry athlete, I can start as soon as I arrive at the kayak goal. A couple of minutes for equipment change and re-hydration, and I am off. The 20-km course features a steady climb for 10 km on a twisty mountain road, followed by a steep descent which includes a technical single-track and a narrow and dangerous concrete-paved speed section. I settle into the rhythm of climbing the hill, knowing it will take about an hour. Several ace athletes who had started a few minutes behind me catch up and pass, but I am quite happy with my pace. It is important to conserve energy for the trail run, but I push a little harder than I did on the kayak. On the downhill I push it a little but do not take undue risks. I know am not within medal standing in MTB, but being 8th on the climb and 4th on the descent is respectable. A curiosity in this part of the race is an inconspicuous, slow-climbing athlete who then made a lightning-quick descent. Nearly a minute ahead of the next contender, he earns the prestigious "Dust Devil Award".

Speeding to the MTB finish line

Next comes the trail run, and it is my nemesis. After two-and-a-half hours of hard exertion in the 30+ degree heat, this 5.5 km run-up from the beach to the paraglider launch is not to be taken lightly. Indeed, while I had felt good on the bike, as I tread upon the village's hot sidewalks my legs feel rather leaden. But the real worry are the cramps, which tend to attack me mid-course to the point where in past races I was nearly defeated by them. To alleviate these I carry a can of Japanese spray-on potion called "Salonpas" that works well if used correctly. My pace is now seems limited by the heat and my heavy legs; I seem to slowly shuffle forward, but a glance at my heart rate shows it is already maxed out. I expect some relief at the 3 km mark where the route finally leaves the hot pavement and enters the thickly forested mountain and welcome shade takes the edge off the heat. Here the uphill climbing begins in earnest - good for me since I am a lot better at it than running. But just here, my hamstrings are suddenly quite ready to cramp. I spray on a modicum of the magic potion and proceed cautiously, lifting my legs awkwardly over obstacles and not bending the knees which would surely make my muscles seize up.

Trail run mass start at 9 AM

Many other runners have mass-started some 15 minutes before me, while I was still on the MTB course. Now I begin to catch the slower ones as they struggle on the steep uphill trail. But, a slightly faster athlete catches up to me; looking at his number tag I realize he is also a full-entry racer! So for the first time in my X-Athlon racing career, I am passed by another full-entry athlete. This floods me with motivation and endorphins, curing my exhaustion as well as the cramps. Determined not to let this young, fit athlete open up a big gap, I pick up the pace, passing other climbers one after another. In the end, although my performance on the flat part of the course was truly pathetic, 16th place for the climb (where all but two of the athletes ahead of me were fresh off the start) is not bad at all.

On the punishing 'trail run' climb

The race timer stops at the trail run's goal line. Unlike the Dolomitenmann, the X-Athlon paraglider race is not timed; instead, one collects pylons (up to 18 of them) by overflying specified coordinates. In addition, if one makes it back to the official goal at the beach, there is a chance to score up to 3 more points by hitting a target accurately. The total paraglider score is then subtracted from the race time as a percentage. A perfect score of 21 points had never been achieved so far in the history of the race. Today, the conditions seem difficult but possible for collecting all the pylons. But to do so, one must negotiate a long transition over a flat, wide valley, collect pylons over a remote mountain ridge on the other side, then re-cross the valley again without sinking out. With today's relatively low cloud base and weak lift, the chances of doing this are marginal. At the paraglider launch, the racer who just passed me quizzes me on local flying knowledge. I tell him all I know, taking into account the expected conditions as well. I fly here about 260 days a year, whereas this is his first time, so it is only sportsmanlike to reduce my home advantage. Even so, he is only 2 paragliding points ahead of me. To win, he will have to maintain this advantage tenaciously!

Changeover between disciplines

I take some time to change my sweat-soaked clothes and to hydrate, and since other gliders are already taking off and soaring away, I promptly set up my gear and get airborne. The air race is all over the place: some high-aspect gliders are soaring over the mountaintops, even at cloud base, whereas many of the lower-rated wings are going straight down, not even reaching the beach. I gradually gain some altitude and slowly and gingerly begin ticking off the easier pylons, taking care not to get low. I am joined on the radio by Shane, who has reached the trail run goal and taken off about 20 minutes after me. I find a good thermal, get high and strike out for a few harder pylons out along the flats. Shane follows my lead. Halfway through yet another excursion, with all but two pylons on this side already collected, I suddenly realize it makes sense to risk it and cross all the way to the other mountain range. I make a low save there and proceed to take five more pylons. Shane makes the crossing too and we cooperate to take the final and hardest pylon on this side, getting low but finding a climb just in time. By now several other gliders have also crossed over but they are having great difficulty staying up. Shane and I part ways, taking different routes back toward the main mountain and the beach. An unusual convergence forms over the sea coast and is discovered by Shane who glides on right over the beach, tagging his final pylon 2 km beyond and returning to goal with height to spare. I spend 20 minutes scratching the mountain before I am able to do the same. As it turns out, we both tread on the 20-cm inverted flower pot that marks the target center, earning ourselves perfect scores of 21 points each. But because Shane's flight took less time, he takes first place in the paraglider category.

Shane on course to win the paraglider race

Several more pilots get respectable scores, though no one else is able to tag all 18 pylons. In fact, the scores seem evenly distributed between full and no points, showing that the race conditions were in fact ideal. My main rival ends up with 10 points, a nice score but not enough to stay in first place. Shane's great flight bumps him up to 3rd place in the full entry category; sharing the podium with him twice shows that we are a great team ready to tackle the Red Bull X-Alps 2019 head on!

It was a really fun race for me, maybe the best one yet! But I am even happier as an organizer, that the whole, complicated event went off rather smoothly from start to finish. Considering that 350 people are involved, the organizers are all volunteers, and that the success of the race depends critically on their coordinated work and movement, I think it is amazing that it all works out every time. We organizers work for half the year to put this event together, and we are very proud of it! W
And, we hope to see you too at the starting line next year!

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Super Condition in Central Kyushu

The weather forecast looked promising for north-central Kyushu, with a large calm spot forming in the upper layers, likely to be the result of meeting convergences that were not resolved in these GFS model data. Combined with a high inversion layer at 2400m with an almost equally high cloudbase (graph not shown), it seemed clear we should go to Aso for Sunday and take advantage.

And indeed, the forecast matched expectations. Quite unusually for this area, calm average winds allowed free travel over a 60x60 km area (at least), as long as one could find and follow the various convergence lines. Away from the convergences, and/or down low, rather stable and windy conditions prevailed. Thus, gliders taking off from the usual Daikanbo launch had trouble getting up and were even bombing to the base of the caldera.

I chose the Kabutoiwa launch, where the rim is south-east facing and works much better in the morning. Taking off at 11am into a lot of lift already, I quickly went about 10km southwest to Futae pass and back, then crossed the wide 'bay' in the crater rim eastwards to Daikanbo, where I worked hard to break 1800m, the usual minimum altitude which allows movement. It wasn't working so I crept back west toward Kabuto, this time forced low and scratching along the the rim of the bay. A convergence emerged ahead over Kabuto, stretching north-east from there, so I took some risk of bombing out, which duly paid off and I was now near 2000m over Kabuto. Things looked easy and it was still early so I detoured for another out and return to Futae, regained the convergence and set off north-eastward. The convergence curved gently to the east and led me straight to the Kuju range. I noticed there was quite a lot of north wind originating from the basins to the north and the distant sea, brewing up a cloud bank over the range. I proceeded just along the southern end of this bank, just south of the convergence proper so as to avoid flying in the clouds. After traversing the whole range I reached sink at the east end of Kuju. Eeasterly seabreezes were in evidence.

I could have easily returned but instead, remembering the northerlies on that side of the range, I set off bravely north-westward into an overcast no man's land, soon sinking below the height of the steaming volcanic peaks (at nearly 1800m, the highest in Kyushu). But, as expected, I soon hit the north winds which allowed me to ridge-soar several steep mountain faces, and regain the convergenence line. This was perhaps the most enjoyable part of the flight, adventurous and scenic.

The day's lift was maxing out and it was hard to see what to do next with clouds everywhere. In retrospect I could have easily gone as far as the isolated Mt. Waita about 10km to the N but the extensive overcast meant I would have to trust the convergence and not get low. I decided to follow my way back to Daikanbo. The convergence hadn't moved so I had to bypass Daikanbo and end up at Kabuto yet again. Had I gone straight to Daikanbo I would likely have been caught in strong southwesterly headwinds, but actually where I was the wind was easterly or nil.

From Kabuto the wind was west again and it was an easy downhill run to Daikanbo where I thought I would top-land and call it a day as it was getting quite late. But, the famous 'afternoon glory' convergence line appeared only a little ways east, and it was too tempting to pass up. As it turns out, two more gliders from Daikanbo hooked up with the convergence line and joined me on the out and return trip south to Aso's main summit Takadake.

This was the first time ever anyone else ever rode this line, and the first time in my experience that it was both so conveniently located not too far to the east and also not too strong as to require great skill to ride safely. We enjoyed the trip back and forth as if we had motors attached!

The active Aso crater was snoozing today, its smoke trailing alternately to the west or the east as the convergence line moved back and forth. To the east, a large grass fire was burning, and the air was full of soot which got in our eyes. The convergence line ended abruptly before the actual mountain, but I ventured to ridge soar the rocky ridges for a while before returning (much lower) to reconnect for the way back.

All three gliders made it back to Daikanbo where we top-landed with smiles on our faces. What a great day!

My XC distance froze at 87km as I ran out of turnpoints with this rambling flight, but the trip to Takadake resulted in a 66 km FAI triangle, worth a few more points on X-Contest.

This chart illustrates a common (but by no means fixed) upper convective layer convergence pattern (thick blue lines), and lower level winds (blue arrows) in the Aso-Kuju area. My flight is superimposed in red for reference. The convergences can of course appear, disappear, and move considerably; this is especially true for the 'afternoon glory' line with runs N-S from Kuju to Aso. In fact, my track indicates that this time it was considerably further west than marked on the chart.

Flying on big islands such as Kyushu does have the advantage that winds from all directions may meet near the center of the island, creating these wonderful skyways. It takes a variety of skills running them of course. It is usually very important to stay high and monitor their movements, which may be sudden and unexpected. Always try to stay on the side which has a higher cloud base (in this case, usually west and/or south of the lines), and be careful of the moist air sneaking underneath you and enveloping you in cloud suddenly. If you see clouds forming on the clear side, hit the speed bar and head in that direction as quickly as possible, even and especially after you find yourself in fog, which almost certainly will happen in that situation. Near the line itself expect very strong lift (10 m/s is common) and associated turbulence. In fact, if it's rough you know you are in the right place! Keep in mind that on the moist side over-development may easily occur. Don't take chances when the forecast shows unstable conditions. Convergences peak in strength later than individual thermals, usually around 4 or 5 pm, and this is when the danger of sudden OD is greatest also. When low and off the mark, always run downwind, whichever direction that may be. In the case of the afternoon glory, which usually exists as a vertical wall all the way to the ground, if you find the sweet spot you can make an amazing low save from as little as 100m AGL, but it may be very rough! Anyway, one could write a book about convergences. This is just the tip of the iceberg!