Crossing Pakhuis

Still tripping from an amazing flight the other day. Not my furthest or highest or longest, but definitely one of the most exciting and fun. I had been watching the weather to try and pick a good day for going north from Porterville to Clanwilliam, over the back of Pakhuis and into the Karoo. I had my eye on Calvinia or even further if conditions were good. I even had Brandvlei (300km out) in my GPS.  I love being overly optimistic. 

Finally, a weak front pulled in and the next day looked post-frontal and really promising.  On the drive up from Cape Town in the morning, all signs were that it wasn't going to happen. It was howling SE (and I mean car-shaking howling) all the way until halfway between Saron and Porterville. Cloudbase was below the tops of the peaks and orographic. Smoke from a fire was settling under a medium inversion. But, as I neared Porterville, at 10am, I could see a different weather system to the north, with the first signs of cummies popping along the ridge. Maybe the day was going to be good after all.

On the road, cumulus popping at 10am.

Up on take off, the drift aloft was SE (over the back), with a very light SSE on take off. I rigged and was ready by 11:45am. Still no cycles coming up the front, but lovely clouds all along the ridge at about 2000m ASL. A PG pilot came down to chat about conditions after an aborted launch. I told him I was optimistic it would come up the front soon.  I decided that as soon as I saw the first cycle come up, I would clip in and take the second one.  

On take off at 11am. SSE drift on take off (over the back) but good clouds.

At 12pm the first cycle came up and the 5 PGs all got off in it. Nicely done! I clipped in and at 12:25, the next cycle came up and I was off. After hunting around a bit and getting a little low, I found a huge, smooth climb that took me up to 1600m ASL.  What a climb!  I never even felt the edges of the thermal as I boomed up. As I climbed, I could see the cloud streets forming to the north... it looked to be a great day ... I felt the trip had already been worth it. 

@ cloudbase (2300m ASL) over Bumpy Peak, looking SW towards Porterville.

Before launching, I had resolved to fly fast and risk sinking out as I wanted to go far, or be home early, and so as soon as the lift tapered off at 1600m, I turned and ran north. With a groundspeed near 80 kph, I was climbing under a fat bottomed cumulus on my way to Bumpy. I caught the PGs and passed them just south of Bumpy and climbed FAST, under huge cloud, to 2300m ASL.  I could see the street running towards Citrusdal and beyond and clouds all over the sky to the north and east. My mind was already running ahead to crossing Pakhuis, as I was hoping to be able to do. I radioed legendary retrieve driver, James Wiseman, and said he should get to Citrusdal as fast as he could. 

Porterville ridge running south to the Groot Winterhoek

Heading straight north from Bumpy, I followed the clouds to Citrusdal. I was making excellent time and found myself at 2400m above Citrusdal less than an hour after launching. From there I detoured to the east slightly to try and avoid a blue hole, eventually coming back to the N7 under an newly forming cloud that took me to the mouth of Constriction at 2100m. Pushing on fast, I got a strong climb over the Algeria turnoff that took me to 2600m. 

Looking north to Citrusdal and beyond... clouds laid nicely out for a fast run.

Decision time. I really wanted to get on to the Cederberg south of Pakhuis, but hadn't heard from James since before Piekenierskloof Pass. Just as I was topping out on my climb, James radioed in saying he had made it through the stop-and-gos on the pass and was chasing north. I asked him to get to Clanwilliam asap, and I headed to Krakadouw on a long glide.

The Cederberg

A bit limited by landing fields in that area, I tracked straight to my bail out LZ, preferring not to deviate too far to the east to get under some more clouds. In doing so, I got pretty low and thought I may have to land, but got a lovely low save just west of Krakadouw that took me all the way to cloudbase (2500m) just south-west of Pakhuis. 

Tracklog of the climb towards Pakhuis

It had taken me a little over 2 hours to get there, and it was only 2:40pm.  I could see clouds over the back and could taste Calvinia and beyond! I radioed James, who was still short of Clanwilliam and told him I was going over. He said he would follow. I told him if I didn't hear from him again, I would stick to the main road heading north, as there is no cellphone coverage back there for retrieve. 

I turned and followed a cloud street over the Pass. It is a LONG way over, over unlandable terrain. I got over the crest of the pass at 2000m and climbed under some clouds as I drifted over. Ahead of me was the karoo, dotted with cumulus as far as the eye could see. It was incredibly beautiful and wonderfully exciting. 

Going over Pakhuis at 2500m... clouds stretching north as far as I could see.

I got my bearings and headed out along the road. Cummies were dotting the sky, but there was no obvious cloud street on my direct route. Still, I was high and I figured I was bound to bump into some lift. I flew out towards Traveller's rest and then turned and flew for the Biedouw Valley turn off... an area with rocks and valleys and a little ridge I was convinced would work. I glided through the smooth air trying to feel for any drift or turbulence. Nothing.  As I reached the little ridge, I thought this was my last chance. I searched a bit on the ridge, but found nothing. I kept moving to my intended LZ, hoping to find something kicking off behind the ridge, but before I knew it I was making my last turn into finals and zooming in for a no-wind landing.  

Bittersweet: On the ground at 3pm, after an amazing flight, but with an incredible sky still beckoning. 

I couldn't believe it!  I was euphorically disappointed  :)  There was not a breath of wind on the ground and it was deathly quiet. Karoo hills all around. No cellphone reception, no line-of-sight for radio. A magic spot!  But the sky... the sky was amazing. It hurt to look at it. 

Deathly quiet, and no comms ... what a spot!

Still, I was really happy. It had been an amazing flight. Definitely one of my all time best flights. It had been breathtakingly beautiful, incredibly exciting and a real privilege to have been able to experience. Crossing Pakhuis was something I have wanted to do for a long time, and it was really good to break new ground.   I just hope I'll get another chance someday to take it further.

Heading back home...

Many thanks to James Wiseman for a perfect retrieve, and Coral Benn (FlyPorterville) for organising.