The Team, consisting of Phil, Dave, Al & Andy, arrived safely at 1020 local on 27 Jan 10. After a much needed wash & shave break at the pleasant hotel (the Acacias), it was off to the Airfield for some introductions, orientation and lunch. It was really good to see some old friends and to have the opportunity to meet our safety pilots and the 'mechanicos' who would be looking after the gliders; weather today was a clear sky, 35 deg C.

Day 1 - Dave lucked out by flying with Alex Kaufmann in his new Nimbus 4DLM, managing 375km in the tricky (a noticeable inversion around 2,700M) conditions, while the rest of the team flew Janus Cs; Phil flew 200km with Alfonso Soto, Al 210km with Fernando Bianchi, and Andy 270km with Felipe Jarpa; weather was a clear sky, 33 deg C with a weak south-westerly flow.

Day 2 - Andy benefited from the 4DLM's performance and Alex's expert guidance today, managing 345km in difficult (two marked inversions) conditions; Phil utilised the Nimbus 3DT's performance with Alfonso for 241km, while Al and Fernando flew 230km and Dave & Felipe managed 280km in their Janus. Weather was cirrus, reducing heating on the ground, so only 30deg C today, with no significant flow other than the many valley breezes.

Day 3 – Phil’s turn to master the big Nimbus, while the rest struggled against a strong inversion around 3000M, but Al, ably supported by Alfonso, managed to break through and enjoy the stunning views above the copper mines. Clear sky, 32degC in Santiago and no significant wind.

Day 4 – Al’s turn to enjoy the 4DLM, managing 322km on an ostensible mountain exploration flight. Despite the inversions, we all managed to reach the glaciers and run down the Olivares to the south and Lakes Negra and Yesu and beyond before turning for home. 31degC in Santiago with a clear sky and negligible northerly wind.

Day 5 – Still troubled by inversions, significantly around 2800M, the height necessary at Lagunas to make progress into the high mountains. However, everyone managed to climb above 4500M and some progress made to the north of Inca Lake, with Dave especially enjoying the low-level ridge running with Arturo. Weather, clear sky, no significant flow below 4500M and 31degC in Santiago.

Day 6 – Another day heavily influenced by inversions, which caused awkward turbulence in the lower and medium levels. Phil soloed in the ASG29, and almost visited Argentina; Dave oversaw that recovery from close by the ‘big one’ and later found good wave to the south near the volcanoes, but had to leave at 6500M as O2 was getting in short supply. Meanwhile Al, assisted by Fernando, reduced the wildlife population by one eagle and Andy struggled locally with Alfonso providing sound advice. Clear sky, 30degC in Santiago with a relatively strong northerly flow above 3000M.

Day 7 – Phil flew the ASG29, Al the Nimbus 3DT (which proved to be a bit of a handicap with the wind driven thermals low down on the mountain sides), while Andy & Dave flew Janus's. Phil launched first, and we climbed into wave as it was relatively straightforward given the relief and the clearly defined lines of cumulus. Everyone reached at least 5,000M, though Dave peaked at 7,026M. Weather in Santiago was clear, 29degC and significant north-westerly flow above 2,500M.

 Day 8 - Phil at the front of grid, Dave in Nimbus 3DT, Al in usual Janus and Andy in Duo Discus XT. Andy reached the big one at 5,200M but ran out of O2 so had to leave and run south; on the way out he saw Phil about 1,500ft higher in the 29 running in to reach the top. Al and Dave ran south from Alto Leones in search of wave and reached over 6,000M, with Dave topping out at 7,224M. Santiago had 29degC with high level cirrus patches, and a strong north-westerly above 2,500M.

Day 9 - Phil launched first in the 29, followed by Andy in the 3DT and both Al & Dave in Janus's. Al was in fine form, racing ahead with Helmut as his local guide. Dave got low (600M QFE) in Portaras before running north to Y which everyone reached, though Phil & Andy managed to reach Palambras and return to Vitacura (though Andy used the gliders 'T' designation to get one third of the way home...). Santiago was clear, 28degC with strong north-westerly above 2,500M.

Day 10 - Still saw Phil at front of grid in 29, Dave in Duo Discus XT, Al & Andy in Janus's (we had decided that Nimbus 3DT had not really been suitable for previous days flying as it was just too unwieldy low down in tight/ broken mountain thermals). A really difficult start with extremely tight/ broken thermals + turbulence. We went looking to reach the big one but this was not possible due to cloud; Al turned south searching for wave while Dave, Phil and Andy pushed north to Square Lake and beyond before turning south. Dave ran down to Leonora to make it approximately 517km for the day. Santiago was clear at first, with 6/8 cirrus later; 28degC with a strong north-westerly which really broke up the thermals and caused significant turbulence, particularly at Parva.

Day 11 - We awoke to a cloudy sky!! It cleared by 1000 local, and after a quick regalos trip to the mall, it was briefing, lunch, flying... Phil in the 29, Al in the Duo Discus XT with Andres, Dave & Andy in the ubiquitous (well they are here) Janus's. It turned out to be quite good once we had all struggled past Los Lagunas, into the higher mountains. Andy led and decided to run south on the Olivaries due to low and disorganised cloud to the north; this route was followed by all, particularly when the other team members heard that there were 5-6kts wave climb further south on the Olivaries, which enabled a visit to Tupungatu. Phil and Al continued further south to San Jose and Maipo before turning for home, while Andy and Dave visited Tupungatito. A much better day than originally thought; 28degC in Santiago, clear sky and strong north-westerly above 1500M.

Day 12 - Phil in 29 off first, followed by Al and Andy in the usual Janus's while Dave followed on in the 3DT. Another difficult (multiple inversions) day with a struggle to get to Lagunas, with Al then Andy managing to thermal up to sufficient height to penetrate straight into the higher mountains, Alto Leones, Parva and up to the foothills leading to the big one - unfortunately another inversion stopped climbs above 4,700M QFE, so it was out of reach today. Santiago was 32degC, clear sky and medium west-north-westerly.

Day 13 - First day with a task; Vitacura-Square Lake-Leonores (with Blanco as a fall-back)-Vitacura; Phil in 29, Al & Dave in Janus's with Andy in 3DT. Only persistence through the inversions from Dave & Fernando paid off, being the only ones to reach the first TP, and in view of the late hour they flew down to Blanco and back to Vitacura. Santiago was 33degC, clear with no meaningful flow as we sat under high pressure (setting QFE resulted in hitting the top of the altimeters' barometric scale at 1050mb!).

Day 14 - Another low-level task to struggle with (and through) the multiple inversions; Gordo-Resguardo-Central-Blanco-Vitacura. Phil in the 29, Al in the 3DT, Andy & Dave in Janus's. While Al struggled with the big 3's handling, Dave climbed to 2,000M to start the task and finish in 2h 40m, with Phil an unhandicapped second. Clear sky, 33degC in Santiago, still under high pressure.

Day 15 - Flights home; Santiago - Madrid, Madrid - London - home... Endex.