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| photo by Dawson Henderson |
The Sproul Slope Soaring Site
This newly "discovered" flying site is located just to the west of Merriam Crater. The Sproul is a 200' tall crater with a dramatic knife edge ridge on its SW side.
You do have to hike up to the ridge to fly, but the effort is well worth it. The lift is excellent in our prevailing SW winds and the views are outstanding. The sharp ridgeline produces great front side lift... and for those willing to fly into the "dark side" is ideal for Dynamic Soaring (DS).
Please note that most of the Crater is on State Land, but the very SE edge is private. There are homes nearby. Please respect the private land owners. Do not drive off road and please pick up your trash.
Access:
From the Townsand-Winona and Leupp Road intersection drive 11 miles NE on Leupp Road. Look for a dirt road (left) about 100 before the Sheba Crater turnoff.
Take this dirt road 2.5 miles N then NW to The Sproul. You will first pass a row of mail boxes and then a soccer field (on the left). About 1.2 miles in you will hit a wider graded road... bear left onto this road. At 1.4 miles bear right. At 2.2 miles you will pass over a cattle guard (fence line). At 2.4 bear right on the main road... and then park. I park on the West side of the road.
You should see the flying area... the second saddle from the left (black cinders). It is about a 1/4 mile walk with a 200' elevation gain. Just hike up the slope to the saddle and fly.
Dynamic Soaring (DS)
The back side of this crater has excellent conditions for Dynamic Soaring (DS) in SSW-WSW winds. The sharp ridge allows the wind to form a very clean shear line. You should be able to DS this site in very light winds.
We will post some video soon.