Day 6 - The Magic Carpet (1st competition day)

Eighty-two pilots registered for the competition on Saturday. That was more than double the turnout in 1993. Unfortunately it was very windy most of the day. The young tigers, competition pilots from Alberta, British Columbia, and as far away as California and Colorado, launched in late afternoon and battled the turbulence. They flew north with the prevailing wind but most didn't get very far.
To the recreational pilots who asked, Willi Muller said, "Don't launch in this garbage. Wait until 7 PM. There should be a big glass-off tonight. Go south. You'll glide for miles." He was right.
Willi launched just after 7 and headed south. A number of recreational pilots, some of whom had never flown cross country before, followed him. Bob Hannah and Michelle Leialoha of Seattle launched tandem and tried to get high over Mt. Seven. Not having much success, they turned south and reached the next peak without losing any elevation. About 50 kilometers later they were still going up. A handful of other Northwest pilots including Marty DeVietti and Pete Reagan of Portland, Oregon did the same thing. After sunset, flying straight down the center of the valley, they had to fight to get down.
Many flyers decided not to go cross country that evening. I needed to pack for my climbing trip so I chose to stay near Mt. Seven taking photographs. When the glass-off kicked in, I boated around 9000 feet over the valley relaying messages between Pete Reagan and his chase driver. After 2-1/2 hours, trying to get down after sunset, I learned several things: Holding a B-line stall for more than 30 seconds is exhausting. After two dozen spirals, I'm ready to throw up. If you can't get down in the center of the valley, try the side.
I think what we experienced that night was more than just a glass-off, but I don't know what it was. Bernard Wagenbach of Switzerland won the day with a flight of 88.5 kilometers.