Ellenville, Easter Sunday March 23rd
Laura (Mark's daughter) needed to get back to Poughkeepsie after her spring break, so I accompanied them and got dropped off at Ellenville on the way. The sky was totally blue, and the temps were cracking 40deg, but there were few pilots for a Sunday at E-ville. I heard the flying was great the day before so probably everyone was still thawing out. I brought some T-shirts to sell (BUY YOUR T-SHIRTS!!!! EVERY ONE LOVES THEM!!!) and they were getting snatched up.
Mark helped me get my stuff together and I was rushing to try to get in the air with the XC crowd, but I launched too late and they had left the valley by the time I had gotten up high. Paul Voight said my launch was a little weak, but I only remember having to take 3 or 4 steps, it was a nice cycle. It was a little scratchy out front and I thought maybe I'd be having a short flight until I moved to the north and hooked a strong thermal. I wasn't so committed to going far back into the mountain- consequently I was falling out the front side a bit. When I finally did commit, I would up getting up nice and high. It was pretty cold up there but I had dressed well and just my chin was feeling it. I played around with another glider ( a U2, I think) and I pimped off of him when I went out into the valley low. He later got really low at the airport to the north and I was glad I didnt follow him out there. I just bombed around the familiar mountaintop and when I lost feeling in my fingers, I tried to find the sink that had been so abundant earlier. Now that I wanted to get down- it was hard!! I cored some 600fpm down and got positioned over the LZ, but there was something kicking off there and that huge field seemed the size of a dooryard all of a sudden. My approach had my heart in my throat, and I probably could have climbed out again at 200' over the deck, but it worked out nicely and I had a perfect landing on the spot for a change. When my hands started to thaw out, I was in tears on the ground writhing in pain.. It was a little while before I could get unhooked and get my helmet off.
It was a great start to the season here in the Northeast, even though I didnt go XC like I wanted. The air was so nice and strong but smooth- no ratty crap for March like there usually is. Paul had a long flight later but we had a big drive back to Rochester. My Easter dinner at Taco Hell revisited me right around the time I laid my head down that night. I really didnt want to see my taco salad again but at least it was just food poisoning and not that horrible disease Mark had for a week.

Airtime: 1:10
Altitude over launch: 3800'
XC miles: 0