Wind Blog

6-- sled above Viva Naughton

2012-01-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

The hills above Viva Naughton lool like a snowkiting meca,
if there was just more snow.
We sledded to the top for a view.
Cool place.

5--Bondurant 17M

2012-01-28T13:54:00.000-07:00

2 full days here, and not even kiting in the same area 2wice.

4--Bondurant 17M

2012-01-27T13:13:00.000-07:00

Matt and I drove to Irv's Thursday night for the first cold overnighter in the RV.
Irv's cabin door was frozen shut, so the shots were in the RV.
Friday AM we were off to Wyoming to kite.
Bondo is like Strawberry on steroids. HUGE
The hill to the right in the photo is the big gliding hill.
We camped on the road by the kite spot -12ish.
Cold, but we survived.

3--Lake Creek 11M

2012-01-24T19:26:00.001-07:00

Both Matt and I felt guilty for leaving work
since we are leaving for Jackson Hole Thursday.
That guilt passed fast once we were back at the kite spot
at the top of Lake Creek.
Probably my favorite place but the wind could have been stronger and longer.
Avy forecasters said it could blow in the 30's on top
and it was windy in the parking lot.
I decided to leave the bug kite and just take the 11M.
As sweet as it was to be back there kiting, it didn't last long.
Good news is that the sledding we did for the rest of the afternoon was
some of the best ever.

2--11M Skyline

2012-01-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

Finally some pow to snowkite in.
Still early season conditions,
but nice to get out.
Some very fun hovering jumps with kiteloop out.
What a fun feeling.
Second ride on my Never Summer Legacy board.
Rode for hours, with no quad burn.
that also translates to supurb board smothness.
Normally it take me a month to get the quads to not burn.

1--Rush 9M, 5M

2012-01-17T19:10:00.000-07:00

Reports from Rush were coming in that it was frozen and a little snow on top.
I thought it would be a goodwcall for Jim to get a taste of the winter kiting.
When we got there it was a Warm 54 degrees and strong winds.
Jim put up his 8M and I put up the 9m foil.
We were both overpowered, mainly because of the fast surface and no edge.
We then took turns on my 5M frenzy.
If I lived in the midwest and only had this type of winter kiting as the only option,
I be pretty bummed.

5--Monte Sled

2012-01-14T22:18:00.002-07:00

Matt and I went with Bob for a very unexpectedly great day on the sled.
Bob knows Monte so good that we found powder stashes
even though it has not snowed for weeks.
We found a ridge that looks good for south winds to try to snowkite someday.
Matt rode my old sled to get the bugs out after winter and changing the front end out.
It runs really strong and the new narrow front end worked like a champ in the powder.
It feels like it needs dampening in the rear end. Time for a new shock.
That sled will be great for me to learn how to wrench on,
if I fuck it up I still have my XP and wont be out a ride.
And I need to put the man cave to good use!

4--Sled Soapstone basin

2011-12-10T16:44:00.000-07:00

Matt and I rode the roads.
47 miles of nice snow.
It's so nice up there.
We just need lots more snow so we can get off the trails
without worry of damage by landmines and other hidden dangers.

3--Uinta Roads

2011-11-26T21:04:00.002-07:00

Many Thanks to Jon for going on a 'road ride'. Snow was a little sparse for much off trail riding. The trail, however, was near perfect, almost as good as when they groom em. Traveled 44 miles. I had a great day. Beautiful sunny day, gorgeous scenery and views. So... nice. Looks like no snow for a while. Matt was driving down from a kite session as we were packing up.

68-11M Rush

2011-11-23T18:31:00.002-07:00

Doug and Vern on 13M, I rode my 11M.
Very nice for late season session.
It's such flat water, I like it.

2-- Sled Uinta roads

2011-11-22T20:38:00.002-07:00

Brian drove up and we unloaded at Mill Creek road.
We took many side roads and found some easy access to some future powder stashes.
The photo is At Lake Creek where we rig kites,
we have discussed a shelter for some years.
This spot in between many close together pines
and is where we are going to try to keep it dug out and
sheltered from the wind, we'll see how that works for us.
Over 50 miles today.

1--Sled Duchene Ridge

2011-11-19T19:55:00.002-07:00

Matt and I drove to 9400' Wolf Creek campground
and unloaded the sleds for a sweet early season road ride.
We ended up at Lake Creek.
There were patches of good coverage
but mostly air pockets under the sagebrush.
So we decided against snowkiting.
There were a few grassy areas that we could get off the roads with the sleds and make some carving turns.
It was colder than expected, or we both just still have thin blood.

67--Rush 11M

2011-11-18T18:09:00.002-07:00

Me and Doug and Todd
got the slickwater at Rush for a great November session
before the cold north wind and storm came in.

66-10M 7M Willard

2011-11-04T20:56:00.000-06:00

After the boardshorts and warm water in SPI
it was hard to climb into the big bulky drysuit.
Comfort kiting quickly became overpowered kiting on the 10M.
I was about to ditch the kite behind the wind shadowed trees
when Dave drove up and landed me.
I quickly rigged the 7m but was stalled by a dude that had a hard time getting out,
he came back in and dropped his stuff on top of mine.
It flew away and over me, lines and all, I grabbed a line and it slammed into the power station,
ripping it in many places, I finally got his lines off my gear and went out
to a slightly under powered second session.
After kiting we hung out in the RV.
It was nice cause Vern locked his key in his car,
so we had comfortable place to wait for AAA.

65--10M SPI

2011-10-29T19:26:00.002-06:00

Kitequila day.
More tequila than kiting.
twin tip then surfboared then rapid wind decline
then tequila.
Gulf looked very nice today, to light of wind, oh well.

64--10M SPI

2011-10-28T17:28:00.002-06:00

Jon passed his cold to me,and I didn't get much sleep.
Jim left today, and we had to go to the airport to get our rental car.
Hammered and on dayquil, the session was short but pretty fun.
North winds brought out the rubber today. 63 degrees.

63-10M SPI

2011-10-27T16:35:00.002-06:00

Jon and I chased up to the North wind kite launch area,
while avoiding the B&F'n wind surfers and found 10M++ wind and buttery smooth water. Like first tracks on the groomed corduroy. AHHH...

62--11M,10M

2011-10-26T19:18:00.003-06:00

Very nicely powered early session.
The surfboard session in the flats sucked
because of weeds on the fins.
Surfboards belong in the gulf.
Probably won't happen unless I go alone.

61--11M SPI

2011-10-25T16:32:00.004-06:00

I had 4+ Hours of kiting
It was very pleasant.

60-17M, 11M SPI

2011-10-23T16:26:00.003-06:00

First Kitequila day is great to get in the books.
Light wind that rapidly ramped up.
Almost could have been on the 11M from the start.
(that's why Jon's 14m kept up with the Zephyr, ha)
Afternon session was on the 11M but could have been on the 10M.
The forecast was for dying winds, not increasing winds.
That is why I over rigged, twice!

Photo of Gulf, Padre Island, Laguna Madre, and the mainland.

Harlingen airport.

A flock of blue Zephyrs

59--DC 11M

2011-10-16T19:06:00.002-06:00

Pretty strong winds for DC.
Colder than I dressed for,
so after a few crashes and getting chilled,
I Kited up to ride with Sarah and Linda windsurfing.
Then it started to lighten up and the race back was on.
I didn't quite make it all the way back in,
floated the last 100 yards or so.
Good thing the launch is straight onshore.
Now it's time to pack gear for SPI !!!

58--17M PV

2011-10-09T18:44:00.000-06:00

The building high pressure was in place
But not as clear as we wanted to see.
It came in late, like 4 ish
The few clouds made it gusty, lully stuff.
We only got to ride for about an hour.
Hiked in to middle inlet.
There is finally enough beach to launch.
Just me and Vern.

57--Willard 10M

2011-10-05T21:53:00.002-06:00

On the water by 10 and the rain ended my day at noon.
Twin tip first but the surf board rode the chop smoother.
Would be nice to have 2 hours of kiting by noon every day.
Hope this cold weather coming kills Rush weeds.

56--DC 11M

2011-10-01T20:18:00.000-06:00

Lots of kiters at DC today.
Typical puffy inland lake stuff,
not the smoothies like last week.
11M was to much work early on,
but nicely powered for the second half of the session.

55-DC 17M

2011-09-25T12:49:00.001-06:00

Really good day at Deer Creek.
I could have been on my 11M.
My timing was off and crashed and splashed.
But since even a small jump looks cool to bystanders,
I went over where cars were watching by the turnout on the road.
Then my timing and confidence came back.
What a show off,,,ha
The second half of the afternoon
I rode my surfboard, even jumping it.

54--11 SC

2011-09-18T18:54:00.002-06:00

Looked like a Pineview day, so I went up for the first time this
year to check the beach for launchablity.
No real launch at Middle Inlet, maybe a downwinder from windsurf beach is possible.
Any way, Jon Guay called as I was driving around PV.
Asked about Sulphur, and off we went.

Lightly powered, and gusty, lully stuff.
rode with John, Todd and Jason, K
for about an hour when it died off.
It came back for a short time, but no one trusted it to keep blowing.

53--17M ULLB

2011-09-03T21:16:00.000-06:00

Doug and I did light wind day at Lincoln.
Lots of new kiters floundering in the light winds,
and walking back from the reeds.

52-- Rufus 7M

2011-08-31T23:32:00.000-06:00

Best Rufus swell ever!!
Bus size from side to side.
I'll never be the same, life changer.
Quite the workout, only had one session in me.
The surfboard in that, is the real deal.
Slashing and carving like in my dreams.
Not quite blown off the water,
but really would have been sweet on a smaller kite.
The forecast is lighter wind Thursday, yeah!

51-Rufus 7M

2011-08-30T22:11:00.002-06:00

LIT,,,BIG SWELL, all day long.
These are the days that keep me thinking Gorge all winter long,
and make me want to return and just camp at Rufus and never leave.
I don't know if I can sleep tonight, I'm so wound up, yet exhausted.
Jon, Roy and I headed up to the Wall for the early session.
Then Jake joined in the afternoon, and back to the Wall we went.
Such big swell, it was easy to loose sight of any one else out there.
EAsy to ride the swell from the wall all the way back to Rufus,
then head back up wind, and do it again.
Sounds like we get to do it again tomorow.
Strong winds for days, the swell could be the best ever.
I need a 5-6 M kite..... REO? ,, probably..

50--Rufus 7M

2011-08-29T21:18:00.002-06:00

Super Rufus day.
Surfboard sessions in big swell.
Fires on the hill, made for a hard to breathe day.
Everyone got off the water with dry throat and headaches.
But soo worth it.
Jake joined us for the fun, kitequila.

49---Rufus 11M

2011-08-28T22:01:00.002-06:00

Later than yesterday,
Very smooth start, then the front passed.
The last half was gusty, then nasty.
The forecast is looking promising!

48--Rufus 11M

2011-08-28T12:29:00.003-06:00

Only 1 day kiting at home since the last Gorge trip.
It was blow drier smooth wind, later in the day.
great for tricks and transitions.
excellent Tai and tequila at shangRayla, afterwords,
with Ray's mum and her John, ha.

47--Sulphur 11M,17M

2011-08-07T07:57:00.002-06:00

Saturdays in the Summer at Sulphur,
is a great way to beat the heat.
The wind came in looking strong and very consistent,
with a friendly northerly cant to it.
I got a few rides before it turned to its normal southerly, gusty stuff.
hung out watching Doug and Jim windsurf schlog.
Doug convinced me I should take windsurf gear,
I did, it was great ballast in my van...
I rigged big for the second session, nothing great.
Jim came with his jetski.
He rigged his Zephyr for the first time and took off to dying wind.
I rode the ski out to retrieve him.

Gorge photos (Jon)

2011-07-28T20:52:00.004-06:00

46--11M,10M Rufus

2011-07-28T19:00:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we hung out in the RV, Wendy,
Playing cards, snacking,& tanning,
Waiting for the wind.
It came up at 2, rigged and worked hard on all tricks,
Mostly front rolls, with height, got some but not all.
After a short break, i rigged down and rode surfboard to exhaustion.
Zoomed into Rays to go to Baldwin for very nice dinner, then a movie.
Today rode motorcycles with Jon and Roy.
What a treat, thanks to Ray for the loaner bike.
Puckering trail riding like I've never seen, such a challenge and thrill.
Wonderful parking at ShangRayLa with such great hosts, bravo..
I'm sitting at DeadmanPass, rest stop, having dinner with Wendy,
Looking forward to returning next month...

45--Rufus 10M

2011-07-26T22:01:00.000-06:00

Much calmer day today.
Twintip fun first, then surfboard.
Not much swell until later.
I followed Vern to the wall,
for some much better water conditions.
Good day, my legs are burning!

44--Rufus 7M

2011-07-25T21:51:00.001-06:00

After a pool day, then a fun motorcycle day,
The wind came back with a vengeance.
LIT 7M winds, huge, head high swell,
It was so much fun.
I may be shopping for a 5m.
Less power with the surfboard would be nice on days like this.

43-11M Rufus

2011-07-22T22:38:00.002-06:00

A long drive alone to the gorge.
Got the driving cobwebs out by a couple of sessions on the water.
Nice to be at shangrayla again.
Looking forward to a fun week .

42--10M Rush

2011-07-17T19:16:00.002-06:00

Been blowing at Rush all week,
but couldn't get out there, till today.
The weeds in the water make it so flat and smooth,
it was very deceiving what to rig.
Went out overpowered on the 11M and quickly rigged down.
Very fun afternoon of good winds and smooth water.

41--17M Rush

2011-07-03T19:28:00.000-06:00

Just a big kite, light wind hot day,
Vern and I only got a few rides,
We were stuck on the opposite side with no wind for a while,
Then we got one last puff to get us back.
Nice to know we could have walked back if needed.
Really reminded me of the learning days at Rush,
When we would go, no matter how light it was.

40--7M Rush

2011-06-29T22:37:00.002-06:00

After cutting the barbed wire,
and trimming the brush, for better access to Rush.
We only got an hour of good kiting,
between stormy weather, and then the nuclear prefrontal wind.

39--7M Rush

2011-06-28T22:37:00.000-06:00

I got the late start,
Lit on 7m.
Chasing Jason way south to the flats on his speed board that he bought years ago ,just for Rush.
He GPS'ed something like 49mph.
We were kiting together, he turned off the wind, and it was like he hit the turbo switch.

Rush was Plush!

38--11M,12M SI

2011-06-25T20:06:00.003-06:00

The AM Session was somewhat underpowered,
Edge and twintip.
Should've tested the big Ray 145.
It was Still light in the afternoon,
I rigged my Catalyst, and Surfboard.
Very fun combo, smooth, relaxing ride.
As it got lighter, I did get the big Rayo.
I need to ride it side by side with the misfit,
But it ripped up wind,
and smoothed out the chop very nice for a big board.
I want to try it with smaller fins.

37--11M SI

2011-06-24T20:25:00.002-06:00

Got the nice early AM session,
then the wind really went away,
until the late afternoon.
Then rode surf late session for hours.

36-- 10M SI

2011-06-23T20:26:00.001-06:00

Morning session was great,
The afternoon was just OK,
I'm getting the forwards down better,
Gonna make it my goal to have em nailed.

35--10M Sherman Island

2011-06-22T23:33:00.002-06:00

Brian joined me for a trip to SI in the new, to me, RV.
We drove until we got tired, then camped between rigs at a truck stop.
Got to SI and had one good sessions, then relaxed and had lunch in RV.
A fight between some gang bangers and some kiters, had everyone on edge.
Gangs came through parking lot showing a gun.
Finally, they cleared the area, and the beach so we could go back out to kite.
It had backed Down to much for the 10m, but rode for a while.

23J NEW VIEW

2011-06-17T18:47:00.001-06:00

34--10M Rush

2011-06-05T21:55:00.002-06:00

Rush is back, full on..
Such a fun place to kite, and practice new stuff.
It is getting deep enough that there was actually swell
in the channel with the straight south, winds today.
Long session today, with just a short break.

33--7M Rush

2011-06-01T14:52:00.000-06:00

I arrived at 10:00 and rigged 7M.
It was fine, but not lit.
SE winds are sweet, and pretty smooth.
Fun AM session.

32--9M Rush

2011-05-31T21:48:00.000-06:00

Arrived at 4:00 to nice wind.
Rigged the 11M, but quickly rigged down.
At times the 9M was very lit, it blew most off the water.
After a break we all went back out to a very nice smooth sunset session.
Rush is Plush!

31--11M Rush

2011-05-26T08:14:00.002-06:00

Rush is Plush,
What a great after work session till sunset.
Kinda funny that the chatter on UWA is that it never blows late a Rush,
Then we go out and make em eat crow.
Smooth SE all evening.
Most of the crowd stayed in front of the launch, and had less than perfect wind,
and they left early?
Some of us went upwind to get the clean flow and long reaches.
It just got smoother and stronger as the evening progressed
until it almost blew us off the water as it got dark.
Saweeeeet

30--7M SPI

2011-05-20T20:44:00.002-06:00

Bonus!! High wind day.
What a way to end the trip.
With a tear in my 10, and the Edge looking to big
I rigged 7, and got lucky, it ramped up to be nicely powered session.

29--11M SPI

2011-05-19T17:08:00.002-06:00

Little gusty, for SPI.
Deja Vue going on.
Twin first session,
Surfboard second session.

28--10M SPI

2011-05-18T17:04:00.001-06:00

Another great day of kiting,
Until I slammed my C4 and it tore a panel.

27--11M SPI

2011-05-17T21:17:00.003-06:00

The wind was up today.
Powered twintip session early,
Then lit session on the surfboard later.
Everyone is having a good time.

26--11M SPI

2011-05-16T08:12:00.001-06:00

The day I forgot to post,
It just all blended together,
like Jason's Mango margaritas

25--SPI 11M, 17M

2011-05-14T21:38:00.002-06:00

Jason and I thought hard about a gulf downwinder,
But the NE direction, turned yesterday's wind swell
Into a washing machine looking mess.
So off to the flats we went.
Not bad 11M wind.
Second session was lighter Zephyr wind.
Then a surfboard session.
Rusty, but still made almost all my vibes.

24--SPI 17M

2011-05-13T20:24:00.002-06:00

Not the the greatist wind, off shore, for sure.
But the up side is we got to kite on the first day here!
The forecast looks like better wind as the week goes by.
Looking forward to some waves in the gulf.

23--Lake Creek 17M

2011-05-01T08:41:00.005-06:00

With all the good snow down low this year,
we haven't made as many sled trips to kite the high country.
The snow at Lake Creek was Feb like Pow.
It was so deep, that we had to rig a size bigger, just to pull us through it.
The usual half pipes, are so full of snow, they are now just depressions.
The spots that usually have windblown hardpack, were covered with feet of new fluff.
Perfect for practicing some new moves, because the crashes were like landing in cotton balls.
The storm broke just as we arrived, then moved back in, reminding us to take a lunch break,
then cleared for the late afternoon session, then moved back in as it was time to pack up for home.

I bought a new Never Summer Legacy 170
It may be the best board, water, or snow, that I have ever had on my feet.
The length is wonderful, the camber, rocker combination,
make it so it feels effortless to ride, yet so responsive, I'm in love.

22-Strawbs CC, 17M

2011-04-10T19:41:00.002-06:00

WE hung out at the View area for quite a while,
but it never cleared up,
Headed back and found better visibility at Chicken Creek.
Soft new snow was nice all afternoon.
Good fun, but lacking terrain features that VA has.

21--Rush 11M

2011-04-02T18:53:00.002-06:00

I found an old girlfriend today.
It all started when I unfurled that wonderful material that covered those little nipples.
While I was playing with them, and the shaft went up and down,
everything got firmer, to the point of explosion.
After everything was firm, off came the clothes, and on went the rubber.
Then came penetration, 1",,, 3",,, 6" then as deep as possible,
As time went on, it turned back from full penetration, 10",,6", 3" then time to change position,
I did it with this old girlfriend, over and over, again, and again and again.
She made me spin, she make me jump for joy, it was wonderful.
But it could only go so long, before the climax, it was time to cool off and take a break, I didn't want to get off.
The next hour was spent stroking her weeds with a rake, removing as much of the brush as possible, before the second penetration occurred.
She was really ready to go this round, I was hanging on for dear life as she was whipped into a frenzy.
I got off (the water) so many times, and with more force, until I finally had to yell for mercy and admit she had won this round.
Now that it is over and I am home, all I want to do is fuck her some more.
But I know she will be leaving town again in a few months. I will miss her.
Rush, I love you!

20--Strawbs View Area 17M

2011-03-27T20:29:00.002-06:00

Fricking awesome day at VA.
Powered Zephyr wind, new soft snow,
and killer terrain park like features.
So much fun.

19--Rush 11M

2011-03-20T17:28:00.002-06:00

This is such a great time to kite in Utah.
After 2 fun snowkiting days, water was the call today.
Rush has been gone for years, but is back with a vengeance.
42 degree air, and cold , yet shallow water, (3') makes it easy to do cold.
11m was the call and good for a while, but soon was overpowering.
Later we would have needed to rig 7M,
but just didn't feel the love to make it happen.
Coulda been a great 7M session, if it was warmer.

18--Skyline Reserve 10M

2011-03-20T08:50:00.000-06:00

After a fun night!!
We headed to Skyline to find Derry blown off his 9M,
and telling of crusty conditions.
We headed to the reserve, to find hard pack, yet kiteable conditions.
Still unable to explore everywhere because of where the wind was.
The snow got softer as the day went on, and we found stashes of pow, hear and there.
The 10M C4 was the call, and was lots of fun to be on.
Ray and I, took turns on it all day, and ended up being just the right amount of time out there.

17--Skyline 11M

2011-03-18T20:40:00.000-06:00

Ray, Sophie and Roy are in town and get to experience the best of Skyline.
SE winds gave up some rides on new soft snow.
It was not east enough for full on exploration, but still great.
We left earlier than maybe we should have, hearing that the wind came back up really good.
But we saved energy for the next day.
We rented a cabin and went to the Triangle for shots and pool and darts.

16--Lake Creek 17M

2011-03-09T12:00:00.001-07:00

Not much wind in the forecast,
but Noah was in town and wanted to kite, or sled Lake Creek.
We arrived to super light wind and horrible Sastrugi conditions.
We later tried a session on the south ridge by Bald Mountain,
in better snow conditions, but still very light wind.
We decided to go sledding...
Much better day carving up the pow in the trees than kiting.
We all had a great day after all.
We had to fire the new guy, so I'm gonna be stuck at work again, bummer.

15--17M SKM

2011-03-06T18:47:00.002-07:00

Rigged big for the KIte N Seek event,
find three flags at Skyline that have a bucket with a coin,
The fastest kites to get all three coins, get first choice at the swag table.
Fun event, I got all three coins, and was in the middle of the pack.
Kept the big kite up and headed back to the west ridge,
for the creamy snow out there.
Overpowered, but hung in there for as long as I could.
Went back to rig down, but just stayed low for the last session instead.
Rode a Decosse custom board all day, very nice feel.
Going to wait for the Billy Bordy Decosse version.
Great vibe all weekend, tons of freeriding by all event participants
less race/competition feel, back to the roots!

14--11M, 17M Skyline

2011-03-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

The first day of the Snowkitemasters.
The first session was NW winds.
I underrigged and found only one good spot on Bosco hill,
but soon, everyone else found it also.
The afternoon session found Chasta on the hill first,
but I was there right after him, 15 minutes later, everyone was back at it.
Very fun session in the fresh, soft snow, Until it just died,
almost everyone packed up and rode down to a short walked back.

13--Mt Terrill 11M 17M

2011-03-02T18:25:00.002-07:00

Chasta is in town for the Snowkitemasters.
Ozone sent Pascal to photo shoot Chasta for the 2012 kites.
Perfect time to try to summit Mt Terrill 11500'
Chasta rode my Rev, Boogy on Heathers sled.
We rode the sleds into the forest service cabin and spread out lunch,
then off to rigg, 11M for me, Brian, Chasta and Boogy, 13M.
we all charged up the hill, but at the summit,
they packed up their foils and snowboarded down the mountain
and back to the cabin.
The second session was lighter, and I rigged my brand new Zephyr.
Good snow, but kinda gusty winds.
After kiting we had a very fun sled ride back to the vans.
Very fun day.
Remember to click on these photos, to see the larger version
I'll post good photos Pascal and Brian took, when I get them

12--CC 11M 10M

2011-02-28T19:47:00.002-07:00

My favorite private property on Wyo border,
really gave up the day, that we have been dreaming of up there.
We always said "if there was enough snow we could....."
Well, today we could.
Covered tons more ground than we ever have in the past.
Everything is covered in deep snow.
half pipes, cornices, hill climbs, long powder downhill turns, everything!!!

Wayne, Will, Chaz, Pascal and Fox
stayed in my driveway last night,
we cooked up fresh eggs, and made a plan for the day.
Good choice, for sure..
Surprised to see 4 kite up when we got there.
tons of room for all 10 of us.

11--Lake Creek 11M EDGE

2011-02-28T07:56:00.002-07:00

We started with a crew of 10,
we ended with a crew of 2, me and Matt.
The powder was the best we have ever had up there,
not just stashes, but full on coverage.
Not a bluebird day, but not bad visibility either.
Got to use my favorite kite, at my favorite place!
Could throw any trick you could think of,
and if it went bad, just crash in the cotton like soft pow.
We had 3 sessions, and still didn't want to stop.
It was cold and getting dark when we sledded out.
Top snowkiting day, for sure....

10--Buckskin Flats (Monte) 9M, 11M

2011-02-13T19:23:00.002-07:00

Doug rode my Rev. There were pretty strong winds.
We picked a hillside that was kinda in a hole.
Conditions were very gusty. We started mid hill, but moved down to get out of the strongest wind.
I had foil issues because of last weekends frenzy fly away, that I didn't properly fix.
Foils are kicking my ass this year.
So I moved lower on the hill and rigged the 11M Edge.
The snow conditions were pretty fair, with only small patches of hard pack.

9--Lake Creek Zeph

2011-02-11T20:23:00.002-07:00

I haven't had a LC day yet this year,
It was worth the wait, so much fun.
I love the little rolling features to jump off of,
and the slopes and the funneling winds.
The snow was just like sugar, really nice.
We also found some powder stashes to carve up on the sleds coming down.

8--Skyline 11M Frenzy

2011-02-06T19:20:00.001-07:00

The new Frenzy is the best turning foil I've ever flown,
Fast and responsive, with good pop.
The new snow was soft and nice to carve up.
Matt and Brian went exploring on the north side of the road.
I didn't trust my foil flying ability to explore, in the gusty shifty wind.
I won't leave my inflatables home ever again.
Great weekend of kiting with Matt and Brian, in central Utah.

7--Mt Terrill 9M

2011-02-05T19:40:00.002-07:00

MAtt, Brian and I loaded the sleds,and headed south.
We unloaded at Fish Lake and rode the groomed trail to Mt Terrill area.
Huge area, major potential, plus a warming hut!!!
The winds were almost overpowering strong, and shifty.
The snow was soft, not icy.
We cover lots of ground, but only scratched the surface,
After we derigged, we hit the hut, warmed up,
then went sledding in the tree, in the powder.

6--Skyline 12 MIII

2011-02-04T23:24:00.002-07:00

Matt and I headed south for the weekend.
Sleds and kite in tow, First stop, Skyline.
The winds were out of the North, limiting the area to enjoy.
Mostly soft new snow, where we rode up and down,on the face of Bosco.
Not the normal across the hill.
Fun jumping down the hill, kitelooping and landing going up the hill.
Met up with Brian and Heather for Brian's birthday, at the Triangle,
then mexican dinner.
The plan is to take the sleds to Fish Lake, and ride to Mt Terell to kite tomorrow.

(2)--Haystack Mtn, Uintas. SLed

2011-01-29T21:35:00.001-07:00

What a great day to get out of the valley inversion.
Sunny and warm, even at 10,000 ft
The snow has set up for exploring.
soft layer on top, but solid base.
Early in the day, we found softies on the small lakes of the Uinta's,
we could carve around, there were no tracks, since the last storm, weeks ago.
Climbing steep stuff through the trees was effortless.
The scenery was amazing, we couldn't quit stopping, to take in the view.
We may have found a kite spot on the north side of Haystack Mtn.
Cut and paste this link and check it out on google earth...

http://goo.gl/9rPf5

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=40.65165,-110.99309&ll=40.65165,-110.99309&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

5--Skyline 17M

2011-01-23T20:08:00.002-07:00

The winds were super light when we arrived,
but got better as the day went on.
Another Zephyr day, I rode mine at first.
but user error, and the deflate valve let go.
Glad I was close, and it was hard packed.
When I got back, I just rode the new Zeph after Brian came in.
Found some powder on lower Bosco and mainly played there.

4--Skyline 10M C4

2011-01-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

The winds were cranking, and it was poor visibility,
but the forecast was looking like it would clear, it never really did.
The new snow was nice, but super narley winds.
Not a lot of fun, but the C4 is a great gust buster.
The foils were hating it. ('11 Frenzy looked pretty good in the crap)
Went to the bar for a couple of hours for the band,
then back to windzup to crash.

3--Skyline 17M

2011-01-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

Working down south gave me excellent reason to hit Skyline.
I stopped at Windzup and picked up Brian's new '11 Zephyr.
Rode it back to back with Patrick to see the difference.
Number 1 is the new Boston Valve for inflation, killer idea, great for cold.
other than that the new bar feels nicer and has more thro
Also the kite fluttered a little more, but feels the same.
The snow was half soft, half crusty, on Bosco and the west ridge.

2--12M Makena, Big Beach

2011-01-13T22:43:00.003-07:00

Crazy shit going on here in Maui. It rained so hard last night,
that lots of streets were closed, businesses flooded,
knocked out cable, which is our internet.
The radio advised not to go in the water because of all the overflow from septic tanks and wash out from the cattle fields above Kihei.
It was red water around the beaches, from all the dirt washed down the mountain.
But,, as it cleared late in the day we headed to Makena,
Big Beach, and it was clean like normal.
I rigged the 12M Catalyst for it's virgin run.
Underpowered is not the way to deflower a new kite.
But felt very stable and very easy to use.

1-- 10M Kihei

2011-01-10T18:28:00.002-07:00

Who'da thunk the first kite day of 2011 would be water?
Had to use up miles or loose 'em. Maui it is...
Not the best forecast, and the waves are on the north side.
But still got to kite in boardshorts in January.
Rigging at the Maui Sunset condos, is like rigging on a golf course.
The south winds were pre frontal, not usual trade winds.
Somewhat choppy, some small wind swell, but I want to do real waves.
It may not happen the whole trip,
so I'll just have fun with what is available.

1/2/10 Most excellent day sledding

2011-01-02T22:15:00.002-07:00

Matt and I kinda thought about taking our kites.
Some days are meant for burning gas.
Some serious powder stashes in the trees above the Mill Hollow trail,
over to Lake Creek.
There was light wind at LC, but didn't feel like we missed any kiting.
Turn after turn in deep un cut POW.
No stucks all day, most excellent.
I messed with the clutch, clickers, and really felt the extra power when needed.
Matt left his brakes on and started a fire inside, we threw snow on it before any major damage.
Next post should be written in board shorts, from MAUI!

95--Woodland Campground 12MII

2010-12-26T19:28:00.001-07:00

Matt and I planned on just sledding.
At the last second, we packed our kites.
The east wind opened up new possibilities for us.
We didn't have to travel very far to find an open ridge with wind.
Fun hill, that we carved up for a while.
Then after the wind got light, we sledded till almost dark.

94-- Chalk Creek 13M

2010-12-05T19:25:00.001-07:00

Not much snow, but good wind.
It started out very sticky, and hard to get around.
Then changes to good sliding,
just as the wind got lighter.
Me and Doug

93--Skyline old 11M

2010-11-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

Snowkiting is on, good early season conditions.
Lots of bushes still showing, so I chose to use my old kite,
just in case it went down and had to slide across the ground.
Matt, Brian and I headed to the west ridge, always my favorite.
We all found our own little un tracked patch to cut up.
We just got out of the van from a break, for the second session,
and the wind just completely died,
kites falling from the sky and kiters walking back.
Looong drive home.
Excited to get to Lake Creek soon.

92--Willard 11M

2010-11-18T21:46:00.002-07:00

Planned on meeting Doug for a last kite at Willard.
The forecast was for light wind, but I started getting texts early.
Doug works pretty close to Willard, and said there was no wind there.
Driving there, I thought I made a mistake,
no wind, until I got to the willard point.
Rigged 11M and full cold season battle gear.
Ken was there also, I get bored riding alone.
Rode pretty lit for a little over an hour.
I forgot my helmet, which made me loose heat from my head,
other than that, I was warm.
But not warm enough for any tricks, just big jumps in the overpowering wind.
I would think that is the last water day for 2010, but I'll never say never.
Big snow storms coming, snowkiting maybe next week.

SPI photos

2010-11-02T14:07:00.002-06:00

Jim took a few pix,
as usual, I didn't

91--17M SPI

2010-10-31T19:36:00.003-06:00

After a much needed day off yesterday,
it was a good, powered, Zephyr wind for our last day here.
7 of 8 days, most were good wind days.
Early, lighter wind today, so
I put the head to head test of the Xenon and Misfit to task.
The Misfit only won out in the lightest of winds, but amazingly,
only by a little bit.
Laluz has so much more pop and "fun factor"
To many weeds, to have fun on the surfboard,
I only did a couple of tacks, and switched.
We had a great time here, but it's time to be home.

90--11M SPI

2010-10-29T14:52:00.002-06:00

We nailed it early because of the lightening forecast.
Finally rode the surfboard,
yesterdays nuker must have cleaned out the weeds.
Fun to hit the jibes fast with a downloop for speed.
Rode the twin for a little while, nailed front roll, perfectly.
I should have worked on them more.

89--7M SPI

2010-10-28T21:29:00.002-06:00

The storm came through strong.
We waited most of the day
for the nasty gusty to calm down.
Late afternoon gave up 2 strong sessions.
We kited till almost sunset.
Yahoo...

88--17M SPI

2010-10-27T21:30:00.001-06:00

We knew it would happen at least one day,
The Zephyr was the only kite staying up wind.

87--7M, 10M SPI

2010-10-26T20:40:00.002-06:00

Off shore on the gulf, so
Ripping 7M at the flats for hours,
then lighter wind for the afternoon session.
Gotta get on the surfboard soon,
even if the weeds are bad at the flats.

86--10M c4 SPI

2010-10-25T19:54:00.002-06:00

After yesterdays marathon day,
we decided to pace ourselves for the rest of the week.
The winds were 28-35 most of the day.
The gulf looked to be a washing machine,
didn't see one kite out there today.
We stayed in the flats.
We took Jim to the south flats and Vern followed him downwind,
to meet at the south flats,
for his first session staying up wind.
Getting the feel for the C4, lots of fun flying it today.
More toeside backrolls, one nice one, most pretty rough.
Having hard time getting pop on toeside.
Kitequila!

85--11M SPI

2010-10-24T20:28:00.002-06:00

Kiteqila at its best.
Party last night,
but felt good enough for over 4 solid hours on the water.
(2 sessions)
New stuff today,,, toeside backrolls.
Landed some, not pretty, crashed on more.
The Xenon Laluz is turning into my favorite all time board,
Vern said the same, very versatile, on all fronts.
Top day.
I see downwinders in our near future.

84--11M PV

2010-10-12T19:16:00.002-06:00

Not quite as windy as the last PV day,
but still a very fun afternoon.
One of those great timing days.
Someone got me stoned before I launched.
I liked it..

83--11M PV

2010-10-10T20:22:00.002-06:00

Pineview gave up one of the good ones today.
Powered 11M all afternoon.
WE rigged at Cemetery point, North.
It's In the wind sooner than at Middle Inlet.
Wish the water was this low all year.
Very good day.
Xenon 135 is perfect for powered PV.
And the super light weight make it great for packing in.

82-- PV 17M

2010-09-24T19:02:00.001-06:00

In between moving to new house,
I got a few rides at Pineview.
Nothing spectacular.

81--17M Deer Creek

2010-09-12T19:40:00.001-06:00

They had good winds yesterday,
same basic pattern today.
Pretty light, nothing to impressive.
But saw the Utah crowd, it's been a while.

80--Willard 10M

2010-09-08T16:48:00.002-06:00

80 days, looks like I'll be back on track for 100+, It's been a few years.

I started on the 11M, but quickly rigged down,
I rode the 135 Xenon which was nice in the small chop and swell,
went to the surfboard and enjoyed the slashing.
2 hour session, then back home to finish chores.
Wish every day was like that.
Half hour drive, couple hour session, then home quickly.
Sounds like Ray and Sophie's life!