Christmas in Bitterwasser – at 33°C and glorious sunshine
In Europe Christmas is usually associated with cold temperatures, early sunsets and, in the best case scenario, snow. In Bitterwasser, the world looks very different.
Stormy days in Bitterwasser
The flights had to be fought hard. Only a look at the wind maps showed the problem. The working altitudes in the blue thermal in the afternoon were 5000 meters MSL and more, but in the heights and already well below it was blowing at 60 kph plus. Wind shear did the rest to stir up the thermals vigorously. Only the strong and then tight lifts made it all the way up. Lots of clubs and a high tolerance against shaking were the order of the day. If you liked that, you could also bring together decent daily distances, like the Italian TwinShark team Pietro Sileri/Gaetano Benincasa with almost 800 kilometers.
Another challenge awaited the returnees when they had to land in the 30 knots northwest with gusts of up to 46 knots. The photo shows the current weather on the afternoon of November 26th. In Bitterwasser that wasn't that big a problem. On the large pan, it was possible to approach and land exactly against the wind.
