New pilot to Värmland

Hey all,

My apologies for writing in English--I haven't yet learned Swedish.

I'm Harris Hancock, and am a paraglider pilot originally from California. I've just moved to Karlstad for a student exchange program at Karlstad University. I've already met a couple of you via email, but wanted to introduce myself to the rest of the community here, now that I've finally gotten settled in at the university and acquired internet access again.

The weather here in the past week hasn't been terribly encouraging. I assume the flying season here is ending?

Harris

harris skrev:

Hey all,

My apologies for writing in English--I haven't yet learned Swedish.

I'm Harris Hancock, and am a paraglider pilot originally from California. I've just moved to Karlstad for a student exchange program at Karlstad University. I've already met a couple of you via email, but wanted to introduce myself to the rest of the community here, now that I've finally gotten settled in at the university and acquired internet access again.

The weather here in the past week hasn't been terribly encouraging. I assume the flying season here is ending?

Harris

No, no, no Harris, it isn´t ended yet. We got a long indiansummer beginning next week.
Welcome to the Swedish syndicalistic para society

bernt skrev:

No, no, no Harris, it isn´t ended yet. We got a long indiansummer beginning next week.

Not we, Bernt, but they - or have you decided to enjoy the indiansummer here and scrap your escape-to-Ager plan for next week?

Most welcome Harris!

As Bernt said, the season can still be expected to continue at least over september if our swedish weather gods can provide some sunshine

Thanks guys! I'll keep my eyes on the weather and the forum, and hopefully will see you guys out somewhere soon!

http://www.yr.no/place/Sweden/V%c3%a4rmland/Torsby_Kommun/detailed_long.html

I have found the short-term (for the present day and the next) forecasts very useful, regarding the variations in the course of a day of cloudiness and wind speed and direction.

P.S.: The wind direction seems to be problematic for you, but not for me, if I stay at home, where I have a few small but useful sites for winds between W and N:
http://www.yr.no/sted/Sverige/V%C3%A4stra_G%C3%B6taland/Stenungsund/detaljert_langtidsvarsel.html

If www.windguru.cz is right (and this is by no means certain yet!), then conditions will be very nice on Thursday at several NE facing sites.
I for one would have great difficulty choosing between Branäs and Åstebyhöjden, so perhaps I'll choose neither, to make sure that I won't have to regret that I was at one and should have been at the other instead...

I bet there'll be a mass meeting at the SW facing site Tosseberg near Torsby (one hour's drive from Karlstad ,according to Bernt who won't be there then) next Saturday.

It appears, that the sunny day with SW wind is postponed until Monday.
Perhaps I'll be there then, but that won't make a mass meeting.

Hey Peter, thanks for the links and info... would those small sites you mentioned be coastal ridge soaring sites? If there were any coastal sites within relatively convenient reach of public transportation, I'd be interested in hearing about them!

would those small sites you mentioned be coastal ridge soaring sites?
No

If there were any coastal sites within relatively convenient reach of public transportation
Not on the Swedish West coast, not if you come from Värmland, not if you want a sandy or grassy take off.

, I'd be interested in hearing about them!
That would be either in Denmark (mainly for W and NV wind) or in Skåne (mainly SW wind).
May be we could organize a posse for a trip to Denmark once the land thermal season is over. Fortunately, it isn't yet, so I'll be off to the other side of the Oslo fjord to paraglide on Tuesday.