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Mountain flying - April 2008

I had a week of courses and conferences in Denver, Colorado, so decided to go out a couple of days early and try flying in the Rockies. I have never flown over 6,000 feet and there are no mountains in the UK, so a course was what I needed. This was all fixed up with the Flatirons Aero Club in Boulder, Colorado. On Saturday was ground school and a quick familiarisation flight where I did 2 dreadful landings. But there were strong winds over the peaks so no mountain flying was possible. But the following day when I got to the airport at 8 am the weather was perfect - the first good flying day of the year. How lucky can you get?

Just click on the first image for a larger version with captions, then click on the arrow keys to work your way through the photos below.

A beautiful clear day at Boulder, just right for mountain flying
A beautiful clear day at Boulder,
just right for mountain flying
Denver in the distance
Denver in the distance
Flatiron mountains
Flatiron mountains
Continental divide
Continental divide
Rollins Pass
Rollins Pass
Rob and I
Rob and I
Final approach to Glenwood Springs
Final approach to Glenwood Springs
Glenwood Springs
Glenwood Springs
Hagerman Pass
Hagerman Pass
Turquoise Lake
Turquoise Lake
Final for Leadville
Final for Leadville
On the ground at Leadville
On the ground at Leadville
Climbing for height
Climbing for height
Old mine workings
Old mine workings
Breckenridge ski area
Breckenridge ski area
More mountains
More mountains
The final ridge
The final ridge
The final climb
The final climb
Boulder in sight
Boulder in sight
Final for Boulder
Final for Boulder
Back on the ground
Back on the ground