Delphinus | Flying in Inversion

As promised, here more of an update on Delphinus, on my flight on September 5. Higher up wind from the east, but in general an inversion layer at 2000 m (as reported by Alex, from his ultralight).

I was soaring on the ridge itself for about 30 minutes. Good thermals, although pulsating, typically coming through for about three or four minutes, and then a break of around one minute. The thermal releases come up unevenly across the hill, with the strongest surges at 5.9 m/s. Typically you see the releases working their way up the hill, on the grass, or the trees below. You could probably sustain yourself up there for a long time, if you stay nimble.

At one point, I gained more altitude (see below) and then ventured east, hoping to catch thermals further out. There weren't any clouds, but I thought maybe the thermals would be blue. No luck! I slipped into the inversion, and it was all the way downhill from then.

The landing site is good, but as mentioned, plenty of sand.

The lesson is that this is a great mountain even during powerful inversions, but there's little to be gained further out. Stay close to the ridge.