I quickly hike up the face of a familiar mountain, glider packed tightly against my back as I glance over my shoulder to verify the weather is going to hold.  Please, just long enough to get in a quick flight….my soul needs this today.  As I continue upward I find myself humming a song I haven’t heard or thought of in years.  Boom boom, ba boom boom, ba boom boom….The familiar words exhale as I continue marching upward.  “You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, know when to run.” I start laughing, but realize over the last several weeks, these lyrics from Kenney Rogers’ “The Gambler” are actually quite fitting.

The last several weeks have been….well, a bit different actually.  I wake to a warm mountain sunrise.  Two hours later I have 4 inches of new snow on my lawn, and six hours later I sit under perfectly clear blue skies and sunshine with howling winds.  I know this is just another typical spring day in the mountains of Utah, but I am getting anxious to seeing winter in the rear-view mirror, and for a bit of consistency.  It makes flying much more predictable.  Yet, these daily weather challenges offer up unique opportunities to fly and progress in various conditions.

We all know that spring flying is the most demanding (dare I say dangerous) air of the year.  Mostly due to the large temperature swings not only throughout the day, but throughout the altitude profile.  When you lock that wild spring thermal and start to rapidly climb upwards….you may just not stop, which can be a scary and dangerous proposition.  Likewise, with variant temperatures, air heating and cooling across wet and dry earth, there is bound to be variable winds, often strong winds that are difficult to always predict.  I know many pilots that do not fly all winter long, and are just now dusting off their gear from the long dark winter, now looking for a little airtime.  Add all those risks and issues together and flying becomes, well a bit of a gamble really.  That is why I smile as I continue hiking up and reflecting on the events of the last several weeks.

I am breathing harder now as I continue hiking up…getting closer to launch.  I am not much of a card player, but I know enough to understand the nature of a gamble.  As I reflect back on the many flying adventures over the last few weeks I am keenly aware of the decisions I have had to personally make to insure I return home safely.  A sudden onslaught of unleashing wind caused me to “run” back down the mountain.  Other times sitting in questionable or difficult conditions making the hard decision to “walk away.”  A skill that is good to exercise now and then.  I have had moments while flying in good lift, realizing that conditions are such that it was “time to fold ’em” if I wanted to get to the ground safely.  Other times when climbing in a strong and turbulent thermal, wanting to turn out, but deciding to “hold ’em” and continue to cloud base and venture onward.  One of the important and entertaining observations was the decisions of my friends.  Some decided to “hold ’em” while I decided to “fold ’em.”  Or times when they decide to “walk away” while I decide to “hold ’em” which quickly lead me to “fold ’em” and get on the ground as quickly as I could.  I learn great lessons from my friends, and hopefully they have learned just a touch from me.  After all, that is what we do as pilots, learn the thresholds of the gamble from others, so we can all be better and safer pilots.

I reach my launch site, face sweating and feel the gentle but cold breeze on my face.  Look up and see the birds circling up towards the clouds.  Thru experience, knowledge, training, and staying current with your flying skills, you can better “know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, know when to run.” As I lay out my wing, clip in and look skyward, today is going to be a “hold ’em” kind of day.

May we all use good judgement in these spring conditions so we can know when to walk away, or fly away.  If you have any experiences you would like to share here, please do, so we can all learn.  I hope to see you in the sky soon.