A fantastic forecast realised. A good part of our group…Mike Paul, Håkon, and Rob reached Avila, with the former three getting a good way back towards the pass. I flew the tandem with Tom, and getting overexcited by the epic Cus forming after Amavida,  ignored a climb and from 3700 at the pass landed near Muñotello. Mike went above cloud base with Paul near Avila, the base being 4000m and Mike popping out at 4200m.
A great forecast for the week ahead.
Photos by Mike Lowe

An amazing skyscape with the convergence Cus running to the horizon. Tricky at launch due to early backwinds and dust devils. I did a tandem flight and was soon climbing to near 3000m is abundant lift. I found it difficult to land near Piedrahita so crossed the valley to find sink, which only happened after 8km of gliding. A shame it was a changeover day and I was waiting for clients to arrive in the afternoon as it was perhaps the biggest day I have seen this year. I am sure there will be a few 200km+ posting on the online XC contests.

Seven consecutive flying days, and now on the last days the conditions have really switched on with light breezes and powerfull thermals and a base rising to near 4000m. With these conditions many of the large classic circuit flights can be made, but as we are on the last day and with the added pressure of prize giving ceremony at a respectable hour, I went for a 80km race around the valley. This is the typical race slowing zig zagging out into the plains as the day improves. The day did take quite a while to really switch on, but by the ends pilos were pushing fast along the last 20km of the route without turning.
A near photo finish at goal with Raul Penso and Ronny Helgesen in first. Things are tight at the top, and as the French pilots in 2nd and 3rd place missed todays task (returned to France for their Nationals) it looks as though Ronny may have taken the top place of the event.
On leaving goal around 5.15pm, there were around 60 pilots in, with more on their way before goal closing at 6pm

Today we set a circuit to Avila then back to near the Menga Pass then to Amavida Goal. There were approx 30km of positioning along the mountain before the start gate opened at 3pm, with then 90km of a very fast and demanding race. The leaders reached the Avila TP around 4.20pm, followed by the vast majority of the field. With the headwind component back to the Menga Pass the field thinned, though the leaders were reaching the last TP by 5.30pm. Some used the mountains, and other took a straighter route over the flats. The last leg was into around 10-15km headwind, some finding a lifty line and making it with ease, many others, who looked on a good line dropping within a few hundred meters of the Goal.
Wim Verhoeve, who was winning the overall event at the end of task 3 got to goal in the first group so may maintain his lead. First in was also yesterdays task winner, Marco Littame.
Tomorrow the weather is looking superb, with a very high thermal quality and little wind from the south. I will have to underset the task as being the last day we need pilots back quite early to arrange the prize giving. Futher details with scores and further details of each days task can be found at //www.piedrahita2011.com/

A lighter WSW wind but with an inversion at 2600m. To not make the same mistake as yesterday we decided on a simple race to Goal with some pre Start Point manouvering along the ridge (corral, then to Santiago de Collado for the start). Smooth climbs and a fast run for the winner with around 1.30 minutes for the 60km race section.
Near goal a Japanese pilot threw his reserve at the end of speed section (pushing the bar too hard!). He came down ontop of some HT electricity lines, luckily for him they were the only ones on the West side of Avila which are not live. The firebrigade came to help get it down, one of them being Julio, our local HG pilot.
He was the same pilot who threw his reserve 2 days ago. He has decide retire from the rest of the comp now.

The forecast today was for winds around 20-25km W winds, moving round to the North. A dog leg towards Sotalvo castle and then back into the cross-headwind to Muñogalindo made the task impossible when the wind in the Ambles Valley picked up to over 30km/hr. With the imposibility of pilots making the turnpoint and the danger of flying full bar into the headwind in turbulent conditions, I cancelled the task at 15.38hrs.
Tomorrow a lighter wind forecast, so hopefully an easier day.

Today the forecast gave us once again WSW wind at around 15km but with increased stability and the threat of a early end to the convective day…and likewise a late start. A short goal of 55km to Avila was set as the with a start point out infront of the Big Spine. Things were low and slow, but with few bomb outs. The first group into goal at around 1hr20mins came in on long finals not going more than 4000m above the highway for the last 10km. Soon after the first arrivals at goal the day started really kicking off with inversions breaking and cloud forming around 3500m…….so the last part of the forecast near Avila was not correct, though in the Piedrahita valley by 6pm thermal activity has dropped right off as predicted. When I left goal the sky was still full of gliders trying to get down though the thermals.
Anyway, a short task as a rest both for pilots and the organisation.

Today we set the classic goal flight to Arcones, but passing through a control turnpoint to keep pilots out of the airspace. SW winds with a blue thermals to around 3200m. Many pilots got downed at the pass as conditions were once again slow to pick up. First into goal was spaniard Cecilio Valenzuela. A much easier time at take off today with the bulk of the 130 pilots off within 20 minutes.

A very eventfull day, with he first comp task and the World Cup football final. Wilfred Melon, last years winner of the Spanish Open in Piedrahita considered it to be the best day he had ever flown here with strong smooth climbs to over 4000m and fast glides without turning for over 50km. Unfortunately the take off conditions were difficult with back winds for long periods of time. Also Cbs started to form along the convergence near the first turnpoint. The task was cancelled when a large percentage of the competitors were probably within a glide (a lifty one at that) from goal due to the excessive convection, and Cb threat.
I am not much of a football fan but was leaping around with all the joyfull spaniards in the Panera at the end of the world cup final. Inspired by this exciting bit of footie I may go back to being a Derby county fan again next year.

A big forecast and plenty of pilots to have a go at it. Quite stable early on, but by the time we reached the quarrey we finally got a good solid climb to 3000m. Mike and Colin went over (to make 30 and 50kms). Paul and myself flew back to help out with the registration for the Pre Worlds starting tomorrow. Many pilots were late to the registration, with tales of pilots going past 200km and the base rising to over 3700m.

Photos from Mike Thomas, crossing the pass and Colin Hughes approaching the Y junction near Avila.