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The Buscot is a small low ridge a few kilometers north of the airfield on the north side of the Ahuriri River.
When the evening sea breeze easterly blows up the Waitaki after a thermal day it is often strong enough the ridge soar the eastern face of the Buscot ridge. The sea breeze is often a carpet wind, only a few hundred feet thick to a thousand or so. At ten knots on the surface the ridge is marginal but workable. At fifteen knots it is easy.
The ridge is low, barely 1,000ft above the airfield at the mid point. There is nothing easy to land on at the foot of the ridge. You must ensure you can get back to the airfield.
The good news is that when the sea breeze is blowing it is reliable and it has a clean run at the ridge, which will be working well from low level. Often you can't climb high from the ridge, with the lift commonly topping out at around 3,000ft, just 1,500 above the airfield.
Sometimes it is possible to work around the corner of Little Ben to get to 3,500 - 4,000ft.
This is hardly a great cross country experience, as the ridge is only a few kilometers long. It is very good for training in ridge flying as when it is working it is very reliable and smooth.
The Omarama Saddle ridge is ten to fifteen kilometers south of Omarama. It faces west and often works from low level in a northerly or northwesterly wind. Caution is required in a northwesterly though as the wave sometimes dumps on the ridge and makes it turbulent and unusable.
Normally to get to the Omarama Saddle from Omarama you would cross the Ewe Range and head toward Hugo's elevator. When you do this you can see the wind on the ground on the ponds near Dunstan Peaks station, or on the windsock on the airstrip at Dunstan Peaks. It also pays the check the headwind/tailwind as you head to the ridge.
Good news. There are two airstrips in the valley in front of the Omarama Saddle ridge. Both are usable. Dunstan Peaks is preferable, but sometimes has stock on it. Twinburn rarely has stock on it, but it is a one way strip. Both are narrow.
The ridge is at the head of a valley between the Ewe Range on the north and the St Bathans on the south. Often a down valley breeze from the Hopkins and Dobson valleys blows down Lake Ohau and is funnelled by the Cloud hills along the western side of the Mackenzie down to the Omarama Saddle. As the valley is surrounded on three sides by mountains the wind has to go up to get out.
There is a large spur with a track going up just southwest of Hugo's. This has an old topdressing strip at around 4,000ft. Best to arrive above the level of the strip. The high point of the ridge at the southwest end is around 6,000ft and gives a generous glide back to Omarama.
The Omarama Saddle is often used on a wave day as a wave entry point. The wave lies oblique to the ridge, allowing you to use the ridge to move back and forward relative to the waveline. Once in a good position under the wave you can push upwind looking for a wave entry. If this fails, you can drop downwind onto the ridge to climb back up and try again.
Running south from Hugo's elevator towards Naseby is the Hawkdun Range. At the north end it is around 6,000ft, rising to nearly 7,000ft in the middle and lowering as it nears Naseby. Works best in a west or southwest wind. Probably thirty kilometers of usable ridge on a good day.
Caution is required as the landout opportunities aren't very good. The first option, the Upper Hawkdun strip, is narrow, rough, and has difficult road access (4WD and expect five or six hours each way from Omarama). Aerotow may be difficult to arrange. Next is the Falls Dam airstrip. Easier road access, no fording streams just a dirt road. Aerotow my be a problem as the landowner has refused access for aircraft recently. A little further is the Hill's Creek strip. Easy road access as it has no fence between the strip and the road. Plenty long enough for aerotow.
A trap on the Hawkduns is occasionaly the wind turns at low level and blows along the ridge. Stay on top and there's no problem, drop a few hundred feet and you're no longer in the westerly but are in the low level northerly flow.
The Kakanui ridge extends from Naseby / Dansey's Pass out to the coast at Shag Point. If the Hawkdun ridge works you can often cross onto the Kakanui ridge to continue to the coast. Caution though. It can be tricky getting back and the landout options are limited.
There is often a convergence along the Kakanui ridge.
Leading northwest from Dansey's Pass to Otematata is the Mt St Mary range. This is often used to get back from the Kakanui ridge to Omarama or to cross north and run up the eastern side of the Mackenzie.
From Dansey's Pass to Otematata there are no landing options. Once you've committed, you have to go all the way.
Best to stay right on the top through here.
There is often a convergence along the Mt St Mary range.
The ridge from Benmore Dam north to Grampion and on to Burkes Pass is occasionally used in a westerly. It has a few gaps and can be affected by the wave and by the gaps at the Hakataramea, Mckenzie, and Burkes passes. Landouts are at Black Forest, Haldon, Grays Hill, Grampion, and Whisky Cutting. Road retrieves are via the north end of the basin, so can get long.
From Mt Edward (just north of the road at Burkes Pass) north past the Two Thumbs turnpoint is the Two Thumbs range. It is a big, well shaped ridge that can work well in a westerly. Be cautious though. The low level winds can be very different to the upper winds, and the wave can dump on the ridge.
Landout options are limited, Mt Hay just north of Mt Edward, and Mt Gerald just past the head of Lake Tekapo.
Briefing prepared by Phil Plane.
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