First 123km FAI triangle of El Chalten - Patagonia

3 years flying in Chaltén for 123km FAI Most flights ended early. Either the wind increased, conditions are stable or I was climbing. The forecast for the 21st looked unbelievable. Light south wind, which is important, to come back from the Estepa. The instability seemed good, quite some cloud development, which I prefer in unfamiliar terrain. Hiking with friends to Loma de las Pizarras. Clouds started forming, so I launched early. Cloudbase was low, but instability was great. I felt well and the plan was to fly the first leg towards Chile along the east faces. Progress up to the north end of Vespignani was faster than expected. The west faces were not yet working, so I returned the way I came without opening. Later, the west faces began working, I continued toward the 2nd turnpoint near Los Álamos. After leaving the only dirt road, I went deep into the Corron del Bosque. I misjudged a venturi, was pushed into the lee, sinking to 1100 m. My only chance was to stay in this horrendous air until it hit a north-facing rock wall, where I was able to climb out. I was happy to be below my Zeolite2 to make my way out of there. After a few stimulating minutes and back at base, I figured I'll fly more conservatively across the plateau to tag the FAI sector closer to Lago Viedma. By then, a westerly flow had developed and I turned back. The Estepa is much drier, more active, it feels like a different flight. I expected returning to Chaltén especially into the windward side of piramide to be the crux, I climbed gradually on a south-west facing slope, trying to be patient until reaching the cloud influence & finally a good climb back to base. While returning to Chaltén, a strong convergence cloud formed above launch. As conditions still seemed to be good, I followed it and and got rewarded by a super high base and a nice glide into the Torre Valley for a beautiful end of the flight. The result was a 123 km FAI triangle in a sky that seemed not to be from here. Normaly I wouldn't write about a 100km flight, but flying it here in South #patagonia was a long-standing goal and felt great! @adidasterrex @petzl_official @evileye.eyewear @ozoneparagliders @xctracer #flyozone