At last - the wind stopped blowing so hard. This morning we had just 10kts Northerly so whilst the launch point at Arambre was still reliable we weren't destruction testing the airframes. I used the trusty T6 wing dolly to tow out still adorned with last year's mustard sachet taped into place in homage to the mighty Dane Dickinson's awesome sense of humour. Jay's undercarriage collapsed on take off which delayed proceedings briefly but we were all in the air by 1230 and ready to head North.
This was a little tricky as things in the Serres valley were pretty stable and we had to jump ridges from Arambre to St Genis to Chabre to Gache always below 5000 amsl to get started. 
A decent climb on Trainon got us to Auribeau then Blayeul and out to the cumulus where things really got going over Cheval Blanc. Heading North we worked up to the 11,000' cloudbase and into Italy where surprisingly the first person to work out where we were was Ben. There's always a first time.
A decent climb on Trainon got us to Auribeau then Blayeul and out to the cumulus where things really got going over Cheval Blanc. Heading North we worked up to the 11,000' cloudbase and into Italy where surprisingly the first person to work out where we were was Ben. There's always a first time.We poked our noses into the Modane valley and decided it looked crap so climbed over Sestrieres to head towards Mt Viso on the Italian border. Geoff was the first to circumnavigate the peak so the gauntlet was thrown to the floor and it was up to Ben, Andy and I to take up the challenge. We ran round the peak at 11800' and marvelled at the good visibility in the Italian Po valley.
After this things got messy. Steve and Ryan were low near St Crepin for a while, Ben opened his brakes to help out Andy and Geoff and I ran for home. I got to the Malaup at 5000 and the day was dying so climbing here wasn't going to happen. I could see a 10kt Northerly so set off across the valley for the Chabre which I reached low down at 4000' on the treeline. The singing vario showing 7 kts was music to my ears and I climbed back up to 5500' and was back on glide to Serres. Geoff joined me later and we were both mighty relieved. A phonecall from Ben advised he and Andy were down at St crepin but were aerotowing home.
After this things got messy. Steve and Ryan were low near St Crepin for a while, Ben opened his brakes to help out Andy and Geoff and I ran for home. I got to the Malaup at 5000 and the day was dying so climbing here wasn't going to happen. I could see a 10kt Northerly so set off across the valley for the Chabre which I reached low down at 4000' on the treeline. The singing vario showing 7 kts was music to my ears and I climbed back up to 5500' and was back on glide to Serres. Geoff joined me later and we were both mighty relieved. A phonecall from Ben advised he and Andy were down at St crepin but were aerotowing home.The wind had dropped at site so it was ripe for the first decent beatup of the week, made all the better by a beer on hand as the canopy opened as the on-site restaurant was open for the night. The St Crepin dirty stop-outs soon showed up and we feasted on Lardon salad, chicken pasta, cheese and ice-cream for supper as the sun gently set as a backdrop. Tomorrow is at last forecast to be a good day which should make up for the mediocre weather we've so far had to put up with.
For those that missed it, it is worth checking out the Serres webcam for the personalised message service. We have proof.
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