Patience - 21 Aug

My first flight at Annecy was like most - a continual chase. Mad Dog blasted from high above the Dents behind launch at Planfait, and I followed across the lake to Roc des Boeufs. Connecting to the base of the ridge was easy. The pitch is steep near the lake and with the exposed rock there, the lift is plentiful after the sink of the crossing. After the ridge begins to climb more slowly however, only "zeros" are offered with occasional thermals. In the back, even the zeros are hard to find, but when thermals present themselves, they are good ones. I was too eager to reach Mad Dog 1000 feet above me and climbing as I charged deeper and lower in the back. I crossed a fearsome power line that would not let me return when my windward scratching below the ridge line put me lower. Eventually, I had to give in to landing in one of the expansive pastures to the north. It was in the town of La Chapelle - St. Maurice.  I spent the next three hours hitchhiking along roads covered with Tour de France graffiti and waiting for a very late bus to take me to the Doussard LZ while MD charged for more than 3x my distance. His three hitches ended him up at the LZ 20 minutes before me. The beers were especially good hearing his story. My lesson: This was not ridge lift. It was ridge-induced thermals. I needed to stay at or above ridge height, returning to lower sections if need be. Expect zeros and troll for thermals.  Have patience. I suspect this is a common mistake for a monkey that's used to mechanical lift.