I meet Marko for coffee and a thorough briefing. He is competing in the serial cup. Later I walk to Camp Gabrije where Sergei welcomes me and offers me a ride up to launch.
I arrive on Kobala’s launch, just in time for the competition’s briefing. At present the wind is still quite strong from the East, Bora is what I think they call it. It’s expected to ease up later in the day.
A few pilots are in the air. One apparently flies into a rotor behind a ridge, has a collapse and autorotates down and out of sight. No reserve. That’s how fast you can bust your back. Soon enough, the pilot is on the phone with the race organizer. He’s unharmed. They call mountain rescue to help him.
I’m antsy. The thought of flying over stretches of unlandable terrain gets to me, as does the accident.
The window opens and a hundred pilots launch. They gather up high for an air start. The day is definitely on and the Bora has subsided. I suit up to what might be the last launch of this trip.
In the air, an unbelievably smooth 4m/s thermal lifts me up to cloud base. I point both towards the main mountain ridge. Away from civilization and away from landable meadows.
When I reach the summit, it’s tougher than I expect to get back up to cloud base. I start following the ridge East, further into the abyss. There’s a SSW wind helping me, but it’s more than 16 km/h strong. I don’t want to know how the wind in these tight valleys is. Nerves aside: the landscape is beautiful.
Eventually I make it to Sorica and know I’ll make it through. Soon I start hitting controlled airspaces and head south until I’m low enough to sink below them. I glide super low through a valley out of the mountains and towards Skofia Loka. Here the journey ends, and Ljubljana international airport’s CTR begins.
One last thermal to enjoy and feel thankful. Then land and pack. I catch a bus to Kranj and buy a train ticket home.