We had absolutely clear, blue skies over Minden yesterday, but that
west wind kicked in and did its thing from mid-morning, tumbling down
the Sierra escarpment and creating the standing wave for which Minden
is so well known. Two pilots flying with SoaringNV launched around
11:30, got off tow at 7,900' MSL (3,200" AGL) and were at 18,000'
within minutes. We opened the Minden West Wave Window using the new
protocols (an involved process that is described on the Pacific Area
Soaring Council web site with copies of a Power Point presentation I
made to them last November 1) and up they went.

Henry Retting, a pilot out of Florida, turned around at 25,555' MSL
while Matt Herron pushed on to 27,400' MSL, so both earned their
diamond altitude badge and lennie pin once we get the files downloaded
from the flight recorders and sent off to The Badge Lady.

Later in the day Hugh Milne, who usually flies his 26E but instead
opted for our ASK-21 so he could take a friend up with him, climbed in
the window to 24,000' MSL.

All in all it was a beautiful day with outstanding visibility.
Looking ahead there's more wave coming this way, although some of it
will arrive with enough moisture that it might not be flyable. The
wave that's coming is good news following the paucity of wave we saw
in January, and we're excited by the forecast conditions we're seeing
out for the coming fortnight.

Fred LaSor
SoaringNV
Minden, NV