The first weekend in December
has been reserved by me for the Red Rock Balloon Rally held in Gallup, New
Mexico since 1984. This year was no exception as I once again dragged my
fair weather fliers to the land of snow and ice and sub-freezing temperatures.
We are used to temperatures that drop into the low 60's. It is not uncommon
to have temperatures in the teens and even zero in Gallup.
Undaunted and prepared for zero degree weather we set off for Gallup. Armed with cold weather gear and snow chains (like we even had a clue how they go on the truck) we made the 12 hour drive in a record setting 10 1/2 hours. We arrived and were greeted with unseasonably warm weather (low 30's) and figured the bad weather was coming in behind us. We hoped for at least two days of flying before bad weather hit.
The first evening was filled with greeting old friends making new friends and swapping last year's balloon stories. Pilot briefing was at 9:00 P.M. We were assured by Peter Procopio, and Karl Lohman that weather looked good for Friday's flights.
Friday the 100 or so pilots were divided into 3 groups. New Mexico pilots would launch at the Golf course and fly over town. Out of state pilots like myself, were given the opportunity to fly out of Red Rock State Park, the reason I come back year after year. A small select group was to launch from the school next to the park.
Morning came and we were excited and ready for the first flight of the weekend. Temperature was about 27 degrees, warm for this time of year. My crew was armed with many layers of clothing and electric socks, a hard item to find in Southern California. I headed for the briefing. The weather report was given by Karl who gave it to us as he received it. "Synoptically Speaking" he said as he started to summarize the brief, "winds at 18,000 were 270 at 40, 12,000 250 at 28 and....." My thoughts were still hung up on the term "synoptically speaking." "So here it is... It will get windy quick so fly high over the ridges and don't fly long." That's what I needed to know. Karl then added "If possible turn left so your crew can get to you easily." I was off. My crew had the balloon laid out, I charged the tanks with nitrogen and started inflating.
The winds were calm as the first balloons started to lift off. My turn to launch came and we were off. A very controlled and slow ascent with Joel who came with me and Kelly who was a local medical student. I watched the other balloons and stayed as low as possible to stay to the left, photographing it all as I flew.
I noticed the ground going by
quicker than anticipated but saw other balloons moving slower near the road.
I headed for the road. Speed increased as we flew over the ridges. My capable
crew had caught up to us. We had been aloft for approximately 30 minutes.
My intent was to land near the road and change passengers.
Missed...! My first attempt was met by higher ground winds. The rest of the pack was now moving quickly over the rocky, tree riddled ground. I radioed the crew telling them I would fly over this ridge and catch the road on the other side. I was hot and climbing when I encountered the downside of the rotor. Burning the whole time I was descending, I realized a large manzanita bush and I would be meeting shortly. Securing my passengers, the basket breezed through the tree. I was high enough that the envelope was out of harms way. The next instant we were stopped in mid-air. I had this horrible pain in my left leg. I looked down and saw the rip line wrapped tightly around my left leg. I quickly glanced over my left shoulder to see my rip line also wrapped around the only strong branch of the tree. I looked up and saw what I expected to see. The top had been pulled out. I looked ahead and saw that it was clear in front of us and we slowly settled to the ground.
The strong but flexible branch had snapped past the lower portion of the uprights and caught the line. No harm, no foul, a very soft landing 100 yards from the road. As we finished packing up the envelope I sent two of the good looking women to the road to flag down another balloon crew. We were definitely going to need help getting this sucker over the four foot high barbed wire fence separating us from the road.
As we loaded up, the other crew was telling us of a pilot who ran into church rock, not nearly as flexible as our tree, and that they had sustained significant damage to the aircraft. I watched others land as the winds picked up and was thankful we were already on the ground.
The weather continued to worsen as the day progressed. The next morning we were ready for yet another adventure but were greeted by 15 to 20 mph winds. That evening we were to participate in the annual Christmas parade. We did...and it snowed on us and the thousands that had come out to watch.
Sunday's flight was cancelled. It was snowing!
To end a less than perfect adventure we missed getting through Flagstaff, Arizona before a number of large trucks jackknifed and stranded us for hours. Our 12 hour ride to sunny Southern California took over 18 hours and most of our driving skill.
An adventure like this would sometimes deter even the most dedicated people from a return visit. Not this pilot. Having attended every event since 1984 and knowing that the goal of the rally committee is to have 200 pilots in the year 2000 which will be the 20th anniversary of the event I will be dragging myself and anyone who will go with me for at least 2 more years.
Red Rock State Park is one of the most beautiful places I have ever flown. I'll be back. I might make a change of location for the rip line but I'll definitely be back.
