Thought I'd start a thread for snow conditions in New Mexico for 2013.
Brazos - Backcountry skied up at the Brazos over New Year's Eve and Day. Lapped the cinder cones with knee-thigh deep snow. Didn't kite but drove by the parking area to check the snowpack. I'd say the snow depth is about 2/3rds of what it was last year at this time. I saw a lot more things sticking out of the snow than I wanted to. The stream in the middle of the valley was still visible.
Eagle Nest - has the park service declared it safe yet?
Cumbress - Wanted to check it out last week, but didn't make it up there.
Happy New Year!

Eagle Nest is now open, per this blurb.

Kited Eagle's Nest Lake yesterday - Feb. 17, 2013. About 1-1/2" 2" of snow over the ice. Only a few bare ice rink spots, which were easy to see and avoid. Although the ice is still 21"-24" thick, according to the ranger who called me back last week, there was limited snow coverage on the surrounding off-lake terrain. I was only able to kite up a few of the north facing snow banks, which lined the lake. Mostly BAF kiting, but for my lower geek ability I had a good time on 9M Switch Method and my tele skis...
-Barry

Forgot to add... Drove past Brazos yesterday, Feb 17, on the drive over from Chama/Pagos backcountry ski weekend. Since I was hoping to meet a friend at Eagle's Nest and Brazos wasn't forecast to blow, I kept driving. However, snow conditions looked decent enough to kite.

Aw...Eagles Nest...brings back memories when I used to live in Taos! This was way back before I got into kiting but a few months ago I came across a picture and wondered if it would be a good place to kite (aka consistent winds).

Is kiting allowed there in summer and if so, is it good. If memory serves correct, I thought they used to windsurf there?

We only windsurfed Eagle Nest once, on a Labor Day ca. '86. Once we discovered Storrie, now desperately low and essentially not sailable, we never went back to EN. Yes, you can kite/swim/windsurf EN in the summer, but the water is freeze-ass cold until late summer. Since Storrie and Conchas are essentially dried up, Ute has become our spring fling lake in NE NM. For north central NM, Heron. Morgan, a.k.a. Lake Maui, for spring-early summer kite/windsurfing in NW NM. Southern NM? Butte, but it too is drying up. Really sad about the Butte. It was once the largest lake in NM - about 1 to 1-1/2 miles across and over 20 miles long. Now, reduced to about a couple of half-square mile pools...

Re: Steady wind at EN
Only kited there twice, so don't have much experience. This past weekend was good for 9M, sometimes having to depower a bit...

Thanks for the info BW!

barry, are you going to kite at Ute this spring?
If i'm not mistaken there are a couple of local Burque guys who have been kitin up thar for years.
Tom and Armond? ring a bell?
meanwhile, why not see if you can snake a mountain board off one of these guys on the forum.
bob

Bob,
Kited Ute this past fall. Stuart Penny and [Storrie Lake ?Dave?] were there that day. I'm sure I'll be getting dragged all around Ute this spring. Misery loves company...
-B

Barry, still enjoying your Apex III You took great care of it and it is a nice kite to get me going here on the flat lakes of Minnesota. Thanks again. I will get some video of it at some point.

@BarryWind I was wondering if there were any others who took their kites out on water in NM. Just got my first kite and board (specifically for kiteboarding, been flying quadline/power kites for 10 years or so - since highschool). Any tips on better locations to go? Or any chance you want to help someone new to the sport learn?

See my U2U posting. Yes, I'm not the only person kiting in NM. Peter Wilson out of Santa Fe is years ahead of me with kiting on the water. Allen and his bro, who own and manage Ribs in Cedar Crest, are also kiters. Probably another dozen or so folks. Having just gotten back from the Gorge, my fun cup is still pretty full and I'm into mountain bike mode. However, once the wind returns this late summer and fall, will be heading out to Ute, Morgan and Butte. -Barry