Selim Pass

With S wind, it should be possible to fly at Selim Pass. Yesterday, i decided to find out. I went at 10 am, unfortunately I had to wait a long time for the minibus. It finally left at 11:30. From Yeghegnadzor I stopped cars. I arrived late at 3 pm. Not really the time for XC.

However, I found quickly a takeoff spot and lounched. As expected, there was lot of wind. But I could play around a little bit. As the valley was in shadow because of a big cloud, I decided to topland and wait for the sun. Unfortunately, the wind turned and I had to pack my glider instead. Because of the long journey, I decided to stay at the pass and try tomorrow again.

There was also a russian, who was exploring Armenia by foot, and a french couple with a camper. I spent the night in the shelter. It was not as cold as expected (the pass is above 2200m) and I could sleep well. So well that I missed the sunrise :-(.

Today, I took off early due the strong S wind. I was able to thermal up in the vally to the right. It's more sheltered from the wind, and I could find something which kicked me to the cloudbase. Because of the strong S wind, I tried to cross the plateau direction NW. There was a big, good looking cloud. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything. It was a gamble.

So I hiked back to the ridge and tried again. The takeoff spot was not so good, and I could only glide to the bottom of the valley.

The first ride was a transporter. I was sitting behind eating apricots and chatting with two nice ladies. No picture but :-/ . The 2nd car drove me straight to Yerevan. Cheaper and much faster than yesterday!

All in all an interesting trip, not much flying, but still fun!