Female Cross Country Record

The Highway

Clem Cadario sets a NZ womens cross country record

i’ve been quietly dreaming about this flight for a long time. i spent countless hours looking at the map imagining what it would look like from the air and where the thermals would be. After a while the obvious line to take stood out like a highway!

I have been in these remote mountains in the past; hiking, climbing and skiing so I appreciate the effort it takes to get there. This dream has remained in a little part of my head for too long to let go, I had to fly “The Highway”.

I suppose the great Virus of 2019 was not a complete disaster: work slowing down opened up new objectives, ambitions and more opportunity for things that I never really took the time for, notably XC flying in New Zealand. It has always been a hard balance flying tandems and taking the time off to fly solo. Usually I dedicate my time off to climb mountains but this flight had become an obsession and I was looking for a new kind of adventure.

I was determined to start from Speed Peak as it is only a short 15 minutes drive from my house and a great start with its easterly facing launch. Speed Peak is actually an unnamed knob above Moke Lake, point 1495, that has been unofficially renamed many years ago by the late Ben Letham, who started doing winter speed flying laps there before work on early mornings and the name stayed since. It would also be ok to call it Steep Peak! as it’s a pretty vertically demanding hike that leads you to the best possible thermals to start your adventure.

I have been up there many times in winter and summer, flying solo, tandem or just hiking, but this day was a bit different. It took me an hour more than the usual, I was in the wrong head space, my pack felt heavier than normal, I was tired and I was moving very slowly. Despite a great forecast, the sky was not very inspiring, it looked stable and blue.

Above; Crossing the Shotover towards Mt Greenland

To top it all off I even forgot to take my lunch from the car. Nothing really felt like this would be a great flight.

Luckily I was not alone, my friend Thomas “dragged” me up there and made it feel less painful with his ongoing jokes and positive attitude. It was just a bit annoying that he ran out of water and I had to give half of mine:) (But he did make up for it by sorting out the worst line mess I have ever seen on a glider!; ))

Feeling deflated we sat a little while on launch, discussing options, considering flying back to the car and just going to work, the bail out option it was just one of those days, it didn’t feel meant to be. It was already getting quite late when we heard on the radio that familiar voice, “I am crossing to Mt Aurum, it’s on!!!” Thanks Ben K! You gave us back the little thing that was missing that day.

Fired up, we hurried to get ready as all we wanted now was to be in the air with two options in mind: If it feels on then we will head up “The Highway” and try to get to Makarora which is almost 100km through some really remote country.

Option 2, go towards Glenorchy and up the Rees Valley which was less likelihood of a 12 hour walk out. We finally got airborne and what a relief! I instantly forgot the last few hours of struggle and was ready for a great adventure. It was on, very on, the clouds were popping everywhere and there was no longer any doubt, the Highway was laid out in front of us!

The first crossing was the hardest because it was quite long, also this is where you decide to commit and you won’t turn back from there. Past this crossing was just a matter of following the ridges and the clouds in the heart of great mountains, lakes, rivers and sheep. I was so happy when we reached Mt Aurum, finally! It is quite an intimidating mountain with its rocky sharp summit. It is also the “half way mark” where it is faster

Left; Flying above the French Alps in Annecy where she learnt to fly

Below; Track of the ‘Highway’

and closer to get back to civilisation by pushing on.

We then crossed the valley onto Mt Greenland over the Shotover River, where things got interesting very quickly! Approaching Mt Repulse, (the name felt very appropriate afterwards) I got myself in a bad spot with strong turbulence and losing a lot of height incredibly fast! After such an easy start this shook me awake and made me focus again. Maybe I was just having too much of a great time absorbing the scenery around me. The exit to my north through the Shotover saddle into the Matukituki valley was so close but felt far all of a sudden! As I was getting lower it crossed my mind that it’d actually be a very scenic place to land, however this was not part of my plan!

I had to turn back and try to find my last thermal, scratching low in the valley, I suddenly felt extremely far from civilisation! It seemed to take a long time, but finally I found the climb, beautiful, strong lift and before I knew it I was back on the highway! I am still unsure why I lost so much height there, sometimes taking a slightly different line makes a very big difference.

I was relieved and incredibly happy to exit the remoteness of the Shotover into the more familiar and friendly Matukituki Valley. What a pleasure to see others gliders, to have a little social time flying in what felt like a gaggle with 3 or 4 other pilots after a few hours lost in the mountains. We got out together and were undecided whether to fly toward Wanaka or into the East Matukituki, which looked very dark and shady.

Then that same voice on the radio, “Keep going guys, go, go! To Makarora!” Thanks Ben, we shared a few thermals on Rob Roys Ridge with him and 2 others before heading towards the east Matukituki! It was getting shaded very quickly there, but it was on, light smooth lift. We followed the ridge lines and the edge of the clouds, it almost looked like it was raining in the distance.

The ease of the conditions made that part of the flight enjoyable and quick, but as the day was shutting down Makarora came into view and the last few climbs and glides were all about extending the flight. A few hours later we finally landed close to Makarora, and what a great feeling! The plan had worked!

On our way back Thomas was teasing me that I took the women’s national distance record... for now! A great little cherry on top of that amazing flight, but the scenery and the emotions I felt during this incredible day is what will bring me back for more next season!

Above; Flying above Mount Repulse towards the Matukituki Valley

Left; Thomas above Speed Peak on a different day

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