January wave -- Finally!

January is the big month for mountain wave in Minden, but this January
seems to have been slow to live up to our reputation as the best wave
location ever. We've had 2 or 3 days of wave, but it's been somewhat
tame compared to previous years.

Finally today we got a super lennie over the Carson Valley in the late
afternoon and I towed Jeffrey and a customer from Mexico in
SoaringNV's K-21 over toward Kingsbury grade around 3:45. I was
flying the tow plane and showing very nice lift just west of Minden
Airport, without a lot of turbulence on tow. That's always a nice
feeling. When I have to hold on to the overhead bar and press my
forehead into my arm just so I don't crack my head against the windows
I know the guys behind me in the glider have their hands full just
staying right side up.

But this afternoon's wave sat in front of a single well-formed lennie
right over 395 and was not difficult to tow into. Jeffrey released at
9,200' and said he climbed very easily to 12,000' before deciding the
shadows were getting long on the valley floor below him and it was
time to head home.

Tomorrow (Thursday) should be an even better day for our classic
mountain wave if the moisture holds off. If I were trying for it, I'd
try to launch by noon and perhaps even a little before and try for a
nice XC flight to Reno and Topaz. After that the jet stream forecasts
are not showing much likelihood of wave for at least a week. Maybe
all the wave will come at the end of January.

Fred LaSor
SoaringNV