Map of the Rhonda Run
I was unable to join Dean's trip to Crete since I had important work commitments that clashed with those dates. So I emailed Baz Rhodes of Andalucian Experience if he could fit me in for a week from Friday June 11th. With Ryanair doing a late afternoon flight to Jerez, it was looking good. Even better, Mike Archer was able to join, and he could even get back just in time for a wedding do.
We picked up a hired car from Jerez's bijou and convenient airport. It should have meant just an hour's drive to Algodonales but a missed turning meant we were on the motorway halfway down to Seville. No matter, we took the back roads and arrived at 11.30pm but dinner was still running (the Spanish keep such late hours). We met Baz's other clients of the week. It reads like a Who's Who of the paragliding world! Tony Johnson, CFI of the Caley club and former associate of Dean's, Richard Newton 2000 BPC champion, Robin (?) another CFI and one of the pioneers of British paragliding. I immediately felt a little daunted if not actually intimidated. They all had paragliding airtime measured in thousands of hours.
The next day (Saturday) was hot and sunny as you expect in Spain in mid-June. We got up to Lijar a 1000 m mountain that dominates the north of the little village of Algodonales. This hill offers excellent launch points in many wind directions. With W'lies forecast, Poniente was the take-off point for the day. Conditions were quite stable and mild initially, which is great for a top to bottom to grease the flying wheels and get a feel of the Spanish air and the landing field which was not visible at TO but easily spotted from the air thanks to a small bullring. There were few light thermals but my poor technique could not exploit them and it was a 15 minute glide to the landing zone. Mike managed soar with the Griffon vultures. He came to land in the field where a rather stern bull was stalking. I have never seen him walk so fast!
It was back up the hill in Baz's rickety but trusty van, his air-conditioned minibus having mechanical problems. By now the sun was booming down. As we prepared to have another go, the wind suddenly kicked up to 25mph. It looked canned for the day but Baz, being ever optimistic said it was worth trying at 5pm. We went into town for some Tapas and back up the hill at 5.30pm. I had a few thermalling tips from Baz, which would help me greatly for the rest of the week. It was still very strong but enough lulls to give it a go. We launched and were soon soaring in a mixture of dynamic and thermal lift. Penetration was not great but I did get a grand ATO and was bumbling about taking pickies when after 40 odd minutes Baz radioed to say conditions at launch is now blowing hard. He suggested not to use the official landing field but head for a lower field 2 km downwind. I did as he suggested and turned for the run with loads of altitude. My GPS was reading 60 kph over ground which means a tailwind of 26 kph (16mph) behind me. No wonder it took only seconds to make the LZ, about 5 K from launch, landing almost vertically. A good first day, and a lesson in how changeable conditions can get.
The next two days were blown out. Baz, to his credit tried hard, taking us to El Bosque, a lower site but it was howling. We had a trip to the local Sunday Fiesta which was quite colourful. On the Monday, on a trip down the valley where we lost Ben his collie who finally turned up back up the hill looking rather sheepish!
Tuesday dawned bright and full of promise. The wind and frontal clouds of the past two days has freshened the air and as we geared up it was looking like a classic XC day. NWlies were forecast, and small but developing cumulus was already forming at 11.30am. There were eight of us, the pro's Tony and Rob, the champ Ric, Ian, Mike and I with Baz our guide. Baz, who's language is colourful gave a simple enough brief: "Take off, get high and F@!! off!". We didn't argue and launched in succession. Initially the thermals were rough and sketchy, but as I worked patiently at successive bits, eventually found a good core and was spinning skyward. After 20 or so minutes or so, most of us were high at 2,500ft ATO, Baz radioed in to say we were going for it. All except Mike who was still low, could point our gliders downwind for the run. I was well behind everyone else but had height so glided SE to join in the foray. On the lee of Lijar I picked up another lift so topped up my height. I could see Ian getting low and sinking out. Tony and Rob were already halfway to El Gasto and the Twin Peaks. I could see a good cloud developing and headed for it. The vario started screaming and it wasn't long before I was at the base of the fluffy stuff. I just glided and drifted with the cloud and it was working well and I gained some 5 Km without much effort. I joined up with Baz at this stage. He had forgotten his flying suit and was only in a T-shirt and visibly cold and flapping to get warm. "Hello my China," he called, "I am freezing my b@lls off!"
Leaving the cloud street, we were now in a large blue hole. By now we were not far from Ronda la Vieja, a ruin Roman amphitheatre built on a large plateau fortified by cliffs. I was sinking fast and needed another lift. Baz suggested going left towards the cliffs, and sure enough before long my vario was singing happily again. Spiralling up back to cloudbase was a breeze in my Syntax. The others gazed jealously and Rob (on a Vertex) called saying "I want an Artax" and Tony (Aeron) called "Stuff the Artax, I want a Syntax!"
With all the height we needed it was now time to glide over the pass and the Rio Guadiaro Valley opened up. Ahead, built on a 2000ft plateau, is the picturesque town of Ronda with its mighty El Tajo and the dramatic Puente Nuevo bridge. As I crossed the valley I hit massive sink. I was gliding out for what I thought would be the final time. Baz suggested looking for a suitable field. I spotted a few possible candidates near the main road and prepared to land. With about 150ft to go, I picked up a faint thermal. I explored it for a few revolutions and it got stronger, then found a good core and tightened up my turns and was cranking up again topping out at cloudbase. I now had 3,000 ft above Ronda and soaking up the views of Ronda and clicking my snapper. The Bullring was a good landmark, the bridge just visible. Baz radioed to say that south of Ronda is Tiger country with deep ravines and I decided not to venture any further but to land out where Baz had set down. It was a little painful at first to waste all that elevation but all good things must come to an end. Flight stats: Distance 32km Duration: 1 h 41 min.
Ronda from 3,000ft! Click for larger image
All high but nowhere to go: Tiger country beyond Ronda Click for larger image
We got back to Lijar to pick up Mike, waiting patiently and got back up the hill for an evening flight. Conditions were still good but I was tired and was in bimble mode and was not lured for another XC, even though I did get enough height at one stage. But eventually hit massive sink and sank out too close to a ridge and hit some bad air, took a full frontal but almost instantly my trusty Syntax recovered. Unnerved, I landed out. That evening Ric, Rob and Tony all made it to Ronda again, a good end to Rob and Tony's holiday as they set to leave the next day.
Flush from Tuesday's success, Wednesday looked good for another epic day. NE this time so we went to another site called Montellano. It had a great reputation for good flat-lands flying and someone recently made 60Km. We all launched but found only scrappy thermals. Eventually after 30 minutes of milking a dry udder, Baz called it quits and lunch and a siesta followed. At five o'clock that evening refreshed from a kip, we went up Pontiente on Lijar where winds now backed to a good westerly breeze and conditions were looking good. I launched, followed by Mike and Ric. Once again I worked the spines and finally caught a good thermal. It was completely cloudless blue day with inversion at about 7000ft so no clouds to chase. Soon I was at 3,500ft above TO and radioed to Baz that I was going. The winds high up were light, 6-8mph and NW so my plan was to head SE to Ronda again. Over the back, there were huge wide thermals of a smooth 2m/s up and not the shotty gut wrenching ones of the previous day. It was a pleasure just to set my 360's on a weight shift and just let the drift take me towards goal. When the thermal petered out, I headed toward the twin peaks, passing the football pitch at El Gastor. I was needing a fresh lift and headed for the knoll behind the town and sure enough the summit threw a good lift. Another glide took me towards the Roman amphitheatre but I was sinking down again. I was also getting lonely as this place was rather rural and landing out was looking likely. Then Ric radioed to say he was joining me and it lifted my spirits. I went across to the cliffs but found no lift. I had resigned myself to landing by an orchard when I stumbled on some lift over some ploughed field. Climbing out back to the inversion layer meant I now had height to make the pass. By now I could see Ric in the hazy distance behind and it was a comforting sight to have company. Crossing the valley was easy this time. Air mass over Ronda, pushed in by the sea breeze meeting the NW caused a convergence some 1 km wide with easy lift. I decided not to get another thrashing at the inversion layer and glided into Ronda with bags of height to spare. Another 32Km XC in the bag. Mike took a route to the right of twin peaks and landed in Montecorto an excellent 16Km for a first XC, well done Mike (trust you to land next to a bar)!
El Gastor and Twin Peaks Click for larger image
Launch at Lijar Levante |
Thursday was our last day and looked good again. The SE launch at Lijar (Levante) is wide and friendly though shallow. SE winds is not a good direction for XC so we were content to set tasks in front of the valley. I did a 9km triangle and Mike a 8km out and return. Usual siesta was followed evening flying in excellent valley restitution lift of the smoothest variety to end our holiday in a stunning flight. I hit 4,500 ft ATO (my best) and a 10 Km out and return (my best). I was amazed at Baz's knowledge and forecasting of local flying conditions. Mike and I thanked our excellent hosts Baz and Sam (and not forgetting the footloose Ben) and left Algo with our record books rewritten. Hamish, June 2005 |