July 11. Forget all I have said till now about big mountains. Big is a measure of your experience, just like heavy is a measure of your strength. If you are not very strong, then little weight feels heavy. Well I hadn’t seen any big mountains till now. Now I know what a big mountain looks like!!!!! I had a great little flight today, now further then 10Km away from launch but at the highest point 3300 metres above it. We went up to launch at 11 and it must have been after 12 when we launched. Again the airflow was across the hill but the thermal cycles were more frequent then yesterday. I climbed a bid further up the mountain then Mukrim but by the time I had my Vario working I was at the same level as him. We scratched around for a few minutes maintaining height and then I shot across the canyon that empties out the Ultar basin behind Karimabad. It saved the day for me as the lift was much stronger on the other side. Mukrim stayed behind and slowly sank out. The mountain crows showed me the way and later avulture took me to cloud base. I flew around the Lady finger and soared up to the top of Hunza peak at 6270 metres. I took some video and photos of the surrounding scenery and although I totally enjoyed the flight it was only when I saw back the images that I realised how totally awesome it was. I could have flown far but I paced myself and was happy to just boat around. When I walked up back to the hotel, Grey drove past in a mini van, just arriving from Gilgit. He has had enough of driving and has a soar bum because, like me, he hasn’t got much meat left on his arse.
We go out for dinner to the same place I went with Mukrim last night and we stuff our face with delicious mixed veggies, chicken and potatoes with pancakes for desert. It is great to be able to eat vegetables again and the effect on body and mind is noticeable.
July 12.The sky is filled with cumulus cloud early in the morning and by 10am it is OD ing. We have another rest day, fill ourselves up with food and visit this little town. We talk with many of the shop keepers and locals. It is the inauguration celebrations for the spiritual leader of the Ismalis Muslims, the predominant Muslim religion around here. As part of the celebrations the locals lid fires all around high in the mountains last night. Traditionally they would envelope big boulders in timber and roll those down the hill burning. The boulders have been replaced by used tires that they set alight with petrol. The effect is quiet spectacular in the dark. The tyres role for hundreds of metres down the hills leaving behind a trail of fire and at some point they would do a free fall of several hundred metres and then explode in a ball of fire at the bottom. A great way to get rid of used tires, NOT. Now we are all ready for some big flying tomorrow.