car up to Mt. Blanc and enjoyed the view.  I found the hang gliding launch ramp and felt the wind flowing straight in to it at 12-14 mph, the most wind I'd witnessed at a launch since arriving in France.

RAMP LAUNCH.     On page 129 of Dennis Pagen's "Performance Flying" book is a picture of the ramp launch at Grenoble.  It's steep and 2400' from the LZ.  I'd never done a ramp launch.  Franck had tried to entice me into one several times but I had always managed to find a way out of it.  No way out now.  If I was going to fly Grenoble, it would have to be from the ramp.

Walking the ramp without any gear was a start.  I stared at the steep slope of the ramp and tried to picture how I was going to walk-jog-run the launch.  Nervous is an understatement.  I used the glider set up time to focus.  Two other hang glider pilots arrived to see who was on launch.  It was too late in the day for lift so they decided to stay to see me fly.  Four tourists arrived and decided to stay for the flight.  Behind them were 3 locals.  Each person that arrived at launch added to my building apprehension surrounding my first ramp lunacy, I mean launch.

"All here to watch the American die on her first ramp launch?"  I remarked to Franck as I moved toward the ramp and hooked in.  Once standing on the ramp I was reluctant to "toe the line" of the edge of the ramp.  Franck coaxed me to the edge and told me not to look down but to keep my eyes on the horizon.  Instinct took over and I moved the nose of the glider down until I felt the light 3 mph wind flow evenly over the wings.

Breath.  Focus on the horizon.  Breath.  I tried to calm my racing heart.  "It looks good," I heard Franck say.  Breath.  Focus.  Breath.  "You can go," he said a moment later.  "I'm breathing!"  I replied.  Breath.  Ready?  Walk.  Jog.  R…  What run?  There was no more ramp, no chance to run.  It was more like Walk, Jog, Fall.

"Oh My GOD!!"  I screamed as the glider stalled.  I let the nose fall through the stall for airspeed.  "YAHOO!!!" I shouted as I rollercoastered out of the stall and into the flight.  I flew over the cascade to my left and then back toward launch.  A few high banked turns to show my colors and I was off to the LZ doing a few dives and turns on the way.

France was a grand adventure.  Perhaps in a few years I can return and thermal the Northern Alps.