Starting the year off right.

Today was our third flying day of the trip out of three so far. Conditions have been awesome. Yesterday, we had a little task that put lots of people on the ground in various places and some of us grovelled in various places for a long time before completing the practice task. Today started out with big New Years Eve hangovers, and sweating. We still managed to make the voyage up to launch though and the conditions were a little different than the classic days here have been. Convergence had setup almost over launch and was being pushed by a stronger NW wind. Hangovers in check with no real plan or decision making processes working, but to just fly straight to the lake and get a nap.
My plan was none at all given the copious amounts of tequila that I was made to imbibe the night before. So, we bobbled around and left over the back for the first time. Got into a nice position that made me actually want to try to fly for real and keep going. With RC behind and another unknown pilot in tow, we made the crossing towards Mesa D and found a nice climb to 11,700ft or so with a convergent line forming towards the Butterflies and the big Pass. So we pushed on to the East and hopped up on the ridge under a fat convergent line and clouds indicating the way over the Pass. Established at base over the big Pass and the Butterflies secured, I decided to head Southeast for a bit and work the clouds. Being behind the Pass and pushing in to the NW wind lower down we found ourselves using lots of speed system just to get back to the big ridge before Mesa D. From the lee, we pushed and pushed, where I finally arrived just above the ridge and where the big lift was. RC had to bailout downwind. He was'nt gonna make it onto the ridge in the leeside so chose to bail down to the town below. Better than tree landing in the lee. I found abundant ridge lift for awhile before hooking in where I noticed AM ridge surfing. We tanked on up to base, him heading over the ridge downwind and me pushing back in to the wind from the NW trying to make it to the lake. Following some clouds and strongish lift I topped 12,0000ft where I had a nice tailwind. Dropping down through the inversion the wind was now back from the NW, so I pushed and pushed into the strengthing headwind. I passed Los Saucos, San Ramon, Tanque de Gas and was approaching the lake with no clouds, no lift, and a 20kph or so headwind. I ended up only 5km or so short of the lake and stoked on the great flight. A bit hypoxic after landing, I stumble around in a daze, fold up, find a taxi and head down to the lake, find my friends, talk about our flights, drink a beer, then siesta. All in a days work here in VDB.
SM