3 m/s downdraft (sink) forces paraglider to execute an emergency landing in a forestry cutblock

This flight was taken on a spring day with a lot of convective air. After a really smooth takeoff and gentle thermal lift in front of the launch I fly into a strong downdraft causing me to lose altitude quickly.  You can hear the vario (variometer) tones indicating my high rate of descent. I was originally intending to fly over to the creek draw where there is usually reliable lift allowing us to climb high above our launch site.  I'm not fully certain exactly why I encountered so much sink but I think it may have been the cold downdraft from a strong nearby thermal - probably in that creek draw!  Pilots are trained to always have a few emergency landing areas in our mind at all times should you need it - the cutblock road was my best option. I had turned north into the prevailing wind to execute the emergency landing but a  downwind rotor near the ground changed the wind direction to a tailwind which made my groundspeed on touchdown too fast and I ended up falling forward with the momentum.  Fortunately I was able to land on the old road and avoid any stumps or slash in the cutblock and I walked away with no injuries to me or my wing.  at the end I got on the radio and advised my friends still flying to "stay away from the gully".  They did and found good lift to the north.

#paragliding #emergencylanding