Alberta Soaring Council

The Alberta Soaring Council operates two major soaring camps at the airfield:

the Cowley Summer Camp starts on a Saturday and runs for the 10 days ending the Monday of the August long weekend. The Summer Camp is the largest annual soaring event in Canada. Pilots and families are most welcome with free camping at the airfield campground. On a historical average, wave can be expected on 30% of the days.

the Cowley Fall Camp starts on a Saturday and runs for the 10 days ending the Monday of the (Canadian) Thanksgiving weekend, which is usually the second weekend of October. This is not a family camping affair at this time of year except for the hardy – visitors often choose motels in nearby Pincher Creek. The weather is highly variable and at the airfield elevation of 3900 feet prone to freezing at night and a fair chance of the first snowfall of the year. At times the camp has been cancelled at the last minute due to a bad weather forecast, so check ahead by e-mailing the ASC office before committing to the trip.

F2024 Cowley Camps

Summer Cowley : July 27 - August 5, 2024

Fall Cowley : October 5 - October 14, 2024

Camp Registration

All participants must register online to participate in the Cowley Camps. Registration form for Fall Cowley 2024 is available here.

Camp Account Administration

Introduced in 2022, Take Up Slack (TUS) will once again be used for all daily flight tracking. All deposits from Pilots will be credited to their TUS account, and all fees (registration, tows, winch, O₂ refills and any other merchandise purchases) will be made from their TUS account.

If you don't already have a Take Up Slack profile, navigate to https://takeupslack.com/signup/ to create one. A Link to the TUS usage video, at this link please view prior to the camp if you're unfamiliar with TUS.

E-transfer is the preferred method of payment. No debit or credit cards. Cheques or cash will be accepted on site but e-transfers are preferred. E Transfer to: payments@soaring.ab.ca

Prior to attending all pilots Must Read the Cowley Guide (here)

Note: 2023 was the last year to redeem any outstanding ASC Tow Tickets or "Wimpy" stickers for credit into your TUS account. Staring in 2024, we will no longer be accepting these as a form of payment for tow fees at the Cowley Camps.

Camp Fees

Cost of registration is $100 for the week or $25 per day if you are only planning on staying a few days.

Tow Charges are $20 / 1000 foot.

Winch Launches are $14.

O₂ refills will be $20 per fill.

Camp Schedule

The first Saturday of the camp will be used for camp setup, airfield maintenance and glider rigging, etc.

Daily, mandatory Pilot meetings (start on the first Sunday) and held at 09:30 by the cook shack.

The Camp wind-up dinner will be held on Saturday, October 12th, at the Lundbreck Hall.

General Camp Information

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The Cowley Guide

Details of the camps, flying operations, and the flying conditions are in the Cowley Guide here.

Cowley Airfield

Camping is free and there is water available but no power. The campground has a cook shack which is the centre of soaring camp activities. The camps are entirely a voluntary effort, and everyone on hand is expected to help out in some respect such as taking a shift as time-keeper or field manager out on the flightline.

Cowley, AB (CYYM)

The Canadian Flight Supplement for CYYM can be viewed here.

Alberta Turnpoints

The Alberta Turnpoint files can be downloaded here.

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The Livingston Block Airspace

The Livingstone Block is an airspace reservation that begins at 18,000 feet and is normally capped at FL280. It is this airspace which has supported Diamond FAI attempts and record-setting flights in Cowley.

Visiting Pilots

Information on the Transport Canada requirements for foreign pilots planning to visit Cowley can be found

here.

Forest Fire Smoke Forecasting

Cowley can be affected by summer forest fire smoke. Get the latest updates and forecasts

here.