The second leg of the US paragliding nationals finished on Saturday, after four valid tasks.
Chelan was, as usual, an incredible playground for creative lines and endless transitions. This year, the pilots had the opportunity to avoid the flats and explore possibilities in the mountains during the first two tasks, with the first task going toward the beautiful town of Mazama in the Cascade Mountains, and the second task taking the pack almost to Canada with a 130 km race to goal, in Oroville.
Day three was cancelled due to strong conditions at launch but that didn’t stop a few pilots from going far. Donizette Lemos, Mitch Riley, and Matt Henzi, flew to the Idaho boarder for a 250+ km flight on their rest day.
The last two tasks were tricky but exciting: the third task saw only eight pilots in goal who survived a 50 km glide over green irrigated fields. The fourth and last day was the most challenging, with stable conditions and winds that made the first part of the race difficult, forcing half of the pilots (including the leaders!), to land before the first waypoint.
In the end it was brazilian legend and distance record holder, Donizete Lemos, …read more
Source:: Ozone Paragliders