Bruce writes: "This is a photo taken a few min. after launch below Cutthroat Pk., seen here in the background, with David Harris in foreground finding the thermal which will shortly carry over the peak."

Bruce took this stunning photo looking southwest while flying above Cutthroat Peak on Sunday, October 20. Whistler Mountain is left in the foreground. Highway 20 runs across the valley 4,000 feet below. Rainy Lake is on the left. Lake Anne is above and to the right. Between the lakes is another ridge from which we hike and fly, on the Maple Pass trail loop. Frisco Mountain is the left summit, with the Lyall Glacier further left and below. Corteo Peak is the "chunky" dark summit on the right, with Goode rising above and beyond.

Looking NW from Point 7,350. Golden Horn is left of center, with the cloud shadowing the summit. Tower Mountain is center.

-----Original Message-----
From: Bruce Tracy
Sent: Sunday, October 20, 2002 11:08 PM
To: Paul Klemond
Subject: Methow Rocks; Newbee XC pilot bests the master

Sat pm 10/19: hiked up to top of Goat Pk. to W launch at 6800'. Launched [like in the old days, before the drive-to lower launch opened in '97] in perfect 8-12mph from the WNW. Climbed to 1k' over, boated in fall Methow splendor for 50' till Marie hiked back down to the summit trailhead. Flew 11 mi down valley nearly to Winthrop. Later, with sweet Marie, savored the full moon, campfire, good wine @ our Twisp R. cabin. Thought of the gang having great fun at Baldy.

Sun, 10/20: Seeking an accomplice to fly near WA Pass, I find that David Harris, [flying only since 2001], is eager to learn more of an old guy's secrets today. Instead of the standard sledder from Maple Pass, I choose the W slope of Cutthroat Pk. [Downwind Dave and I flew it back in '91 or '92.] While hiking up ~1850' we note redtails doing 360's, and a few cummies forming at ~9500'. We haven't seen cu's in the Methow for weeks!........We are about to taste a special treat. Marie regrets her waffling a bit too long on the tandem option. Shortly after launching @ 14:08 hrs @~6800' from the perfect grassy slopes below W face Cutthroat Pk., a desultory thermal leads timidly up, then builds nicely, taking me ABOVE the 8k' spire to 9k'. Shortly, David finds the lift, joins me, and a big chunk of N. Cascades real estate now belongs to us. Decisions, decisions........?, fly NW to Ross Lk., or NE towards Mazama? The drift is negligible from the W. David is flying well, and clearly has the 'fire in the belly' that xc over this extravagant terrain requires. We head E. a couple miles along the high E-W ridge from Cutthroat to point 7350', just N of and high above WA Pass, topping out there at 9150'. I suggest we head directly N. towards "the Needles" and Delancy Ridge. En route, Dave tops out in the thermal at pt 6750', while I miss the main core of it. The upshot of that error is that I land after 64' of gorgeous serendipitous late season xc ~3 mi. short of where David lands at the Klipchuck CG access road, for his PR xc of 10 mi. And what a flight/place to accomplish it! An earlier start would have likely yielded a much longer flight to Mazama or Winthrop, or Twisp, etc.