Southward, applying the speed bar ever so cautiously. By the time I reach the pair of Kelly and Olle, I am two hundred meters below them and back under the inversion.
The factory complex below is generating a reasonable thermal, but not enough to push me through and up to them. My altitude log takes a sawtooth pattern as I climb and fall across a five meter span, while the wing is continually trying to reorient itself within the churning mass of trapped turbulent air.
The pair above decide to push back north, to try for better lift along the foothills. I remain, drifting westward, continually searching for a gap in my invisible ceiling that would allow an escape.
Further to the south and west I spot a town that may have what I need, a tall church tower. The large thermal mass of pavement and buildings surrounding this trigger could give just the rocket I need. A plethora of fields surround the town, allowing for multiple landing options if my gambit fails.
Crossing the river, and down through yet another inversion at 600 meters, I reach the town. The air mass turns violent, sending the wing and I in sharp climbs and drops. Just in time for...
"Mark, what's your status?"
Hands plenty occupied, the query goes unanswered.
Again, the query.
Again, unanswered.
The air becomes increasingly angered.
Relenting, I single hand the toggles and reply with location, altitude, and sportiness of the air.
A single reply,
"DON'T. GIVE. UP."
"Understood."
30 minutes pass.
Then the wing does something I have never seen before. It levels out and slides diagonally forward and right. At first I fight it, then recall comments from Kelly regarding the esoteric technique of following a thermal as it slides around under an inversion. I allow the wing to guide me out of the churn and into a climb.
Break through
...and fall back in.
Fatigue quickly sets in. I get word that Olle has landed. Picking a path that will follow a two lane highway westward, I drift with wind over the expanse of farmland.
Twenty minutes later.
I land, pack up and text coordinates for retrieve.
Another notch in the XC belt.
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