Remember that post about me getting to fly in the
Cessna 206 turbine? Well, it happened again!
The weather was clear and calm, as so often is the way at 7:30am in Colorado. We departed Boulder Municipal Airport right on time, knowing that our area was expecting a record setting temperature of 94 later in the day. With it, winds were expected to pick up.
High temperatures mean high density altitude. Not ideal for landing and taking off at North America's highest airport. Leadville.
The flight to Leadville, at approximately 38 minutes, took us up and over the Continental Divide. Jeremy seemed well at home navigating the mountains. Whether it was job related or something to do with having summitted many of the 14'ers on foot, I'm not sure. All I know is that what appeared as a bunch of beautiful white and grey rock formations to me, were adventures with names, for Jeremy. It was contagious. Well... at 14,000 feet, the intellectual part was far from contagious, but the enthusiasm was unaltered by oxygen deprivation and I was enjoying the flight!
Understandably, going over mountains is more hazardous for cars... what you are looking at above, is the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel. It carries I-70 under the continental divide! Almost 1.7m long and at an elevation of 11,158 feet above sea level, it is also one of the highest vehicular tunnels in the world.
Lake Dillon...
It's easy to see the majesty in the mountains. Here is what is really interesting... the manmade scars on the landscape that also lend themselves to colorful photography. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
Then the vast valley opens below and the runway appears. It seems to beckon with a "take your time in the pattern" sort of vibe.
Leadville Airport itself was really quiet.
One lonely helicopter pilot manned the office. His job description ranged from chocking the aircraft to administering achievement certificates to handing out Elite Traveler magazines... A $50 publication if you move in circles where paying that much for a high society magazine is deemed appropriate!
Jeremy was a good sport. Knowing he had been to Leadville many times before, it was my job to make it new and interesting for him!
I started with the "tourist photo" and then proceeded to invite him to walk down the runway with me... Yes. Pilots
walking down the runway. At a quiet airport like this, its kinda peaceful and the view is really quiet expansive even when the backdrop isn't Mt Massive. I like walking on runways. I recommend it!
All too soon it was time to go. Time for me to take off... literally.
The C206 powered into life and raced down the runway. Jeremy gave it full right rudder and I added some aileron to keep it on centerline. Yep, it felt different... but thrilling. I was warned to not pull back to much, given our altitude. Not a problem. I'm used to a C152 and it goes with the territory, regardless of the density altitude!
Seconds later we hit rotation speed and Jeremy had me lift it off the ground. Leadville was warm (in the 70's maybe) and at 9,927 above sea level but even still, we climbed easily at 1,100 feet per min. It wasnt long before we passed by Twin Lakes and watched the road disappear into Independence Pass as we continued south for a bit.
The sky was less clear now and there was the occasional little bump. The weather was changing, just like it had been predicted. We flew east, close to Fairplay and back through the Class B airspace over Denver, then north to Boulder.
The landscape changed every few minutes and I was mesmerized by the bright green aspen trees, meandering streams, open valleys, towering mountains and a sky that seemed to be empty, except for us.
All good things must come to an end and both Jeremy and I, gainfully employed, needed to go back to work.
Good start to a work day though, right? It was 10:30am and I had spent the last 3 hours flying in the mountains... just because.
Thank you, Jeremy :-)
