Over the back

It was a lovely clear sunny day as forecast and a trip over the back to Manali was on. Conditions were light however and it took a while to get enough height to make the first crossing. I was thermalling with Richard but stupidly followed some other gliders the wrong way before changing direction when I saw Rich wasn't following; I was playing catch up from then on.

Climbing above take-off - excitement building! 

Climbing out for the first crossing with Richard

Rich was in front with a few other gliders and with a bit of work I was soon climbing up. Had a good climb on the main peak and seeing Rich thermalling up on a spur out front I went to join him. He cleared off as I arrived however (higher at this point with the thermal gone) and headed on a long glide way south along the next big ridge. I thought I could get over that ridge directly with some nice looking clouds building so took my own line.

Into the big stuff

Just need to get over that...

The inversion was around 4100m however and i couldn't get high enough to see what was on the other side of the ridge I wanted to cross. I got a bit stuck here trying to work it out (sensibly not wanting to commit to a blind valley) and eventually made a few tricky hops along the spurs to get down the ridge where it was lower - to take a similar route over as Rich had done. My chosen line would have worked it turned out, but it would have been a brave move not knowing what was beyond!

Finally over the ridge

No more thermals here

By the time I crossed, the day was already getting late and the weak climbs getting harder to find. There was nothing to get me over the next big ridge so I went on a long glide out the valley, following it all the way in weak sink to the main Kullu valley. It was a beautiful glide over the forested autumnal slopes and snaking terraces, passing over pretty villages and wooden houses. Always a special experience to view such things from above. There were a few unappealing landing options on the way but I arrived with lots of height above the town of Kullu. Not many landing options there: a crowded park in the centre of town or a clear area next to the river. I opted for the river...

Kullu

As I got closer I spotted a power line about 2/3 of the way up my landing zone, so had less space to play with but still enough. The river cuts down below the level of the valley floor however, and as I made my approach I turned over the opposite bank - about level with the ground height. As I turned I took a huge collapse, the glider didn't re-inflate and I fell 10-15m to the ground, landing on my back on a flat sandy patch.

I was seriously winded but a quick check confirmed I could still move my legs and nothing felt broken. So so so lucky! My glider landed a metre away from the fast flowing river and I was only a metre or two from one of the many large boulders on the river bank. Locals were down just after I'd crashed to see if I was OK and once I'd recovered a little, helped me pack up. One young lad in particular took responsibility for me and helped me get a rickshaw to the taxi rank and then a taxi to Manali to join up with Dan and Richard who'd made goal. Everyone was so friendly and helpful it was actually a really nice experience - and I was delighted to be walking still!

My flight plan wasn't as bad as I initially thought. I was in the right place but a map or more way points would have helped me decide if it was the good valley to cross into. Difficult as you couldn't get high enough to see what was ahead. The collapse was most likely caused by a cold layer of air above the river or flow of cold air from the higher valley floor level, as the air higher up was super smooth. Rivers: not good landing options.

I could barely walk that night but seem to have got away with some deep bruising and am recovering quite quickly. Went for an x-ray and it all seems ok (although if I was concerned I would be getting a second opinion!)

Not my intending landing spot