It has been a great season at Ghost unfortunately shortened by 2-3 weeks by ridiculously high temperatures over the last 2 weeks. Nevertheless today, on 103-rd. day of the season, in 21 deg. C temp, conditions could not be better with good ice close by and perfect white velvet 1 km upwind. As of today white areas (90%) had 36 cm ice with 55% strength and black areas had 35 cm ice with 25% strength. It is day to day from now on. White will survive but black may be questionable tomorrow.

In depressingly hot weather it is comforting to realize that there remains 1-2 months of kiting at Spray, wildlife permitting. Apparently bears are already on the go and cougars always are. So bear spray is essential especially for solo outings.

I suppose bears and cougars do make for serious conditions..we have this one nasty yorkie at my beach you wouldn't believe and the owner Coco is quite the cougar

Hey now!

I may have to visit your fine beach and view the 'wild' cougar.

What kind of spray do I need for cougars? Not to repel..to attract!:P

...maybe some spray to 86 the Yorkie...:evil:

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Back to Kite Skiing(been very quiet on kite skiing section of forum) ......

How cold was the New England winter of 2015?

It's April 1 and I kite skied just 14 mi. north of Boston today. Ice was still almost half a foot thick. Flying across lake in 12-20 mph winds on skis and loving it.


What a season!

Who else is still kite skiing?

We are.:D

At this rate we may make it to May up North.

How to bang out 100 mile tour in 5 hrs. (I apologize for the music if it's not your tastes.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=...

Not surprised....just good to hear...and see.

Good camera angle in video with a 'step back POV' to get you in there and get a better sense, of not just the kites angle of attack..but YOUR angle of attack and body reactions.

Special camera mount system? commercial or your design/mod?

Looks like the Chrono and old school Rossi's.

Ice looks good. ..Hard..( I like a hint of softness for less than sharp edges to bite) ....Little pressure ridge jumping......

Is that on Lake Winni.?

The Depeche M was fine for me...though I notice the first word of lyrics was 'death'....:o

I'm still kite-skiing. 3 hours on Lake Sunnapee today splashing through puddles!!

Chris, that is the coolest camera mount I've ever seen!! Beats holding it in your hand at 50MPH.

Yes skimatwashington, that was Winne. With the recent rain and near 70F the broads are going to be dicey pretty quick. We rode them the day before this footage was shot and it was pretty soft but the day of this shoot the temps were cooler and the surface a lot firmer. Fresh edges were mandatory.

The footage was shot using the Wizmount CU2, one of our offerings on the HWK website. http://www.hardwaterkiter.com/small-parts-accessories.html

I've tried several DIY things and never really had a lot of success. This thing, though maybe seemingly on the pricey side, works amazingly well. The footage in the video you just saw was shot with the pack a little on the loose side and at higher speeds on rough surface you get the shakiness. I have some footage of what it looks like when it's fitted correctly and the surface isn't as rough. Cheddar got one and has been playing with it. I haven't utilized it nearly enough but I'm working on it.

Attached is a still from the newer footage. You can mount pretty much any camera you want to the thing. Either GP or 8mm.

This is how it's supposed to work...

http://youtu.be/gmK4MTvScz0

Thanks for the condition report Prussik. I have been back to the buggy on sports fields in town but will give Ghost or Spray a try this weekend. Too bad we have not been at the same spot yet this season - too many choices, too little time for me.

The guys in the East just joke about bears and cougars but have no clue what dangers you have faced while Spring kiting in the Banff area. I appreciate the advice and will have to get a can of bear spray!

Doneski and I back to Sunapee this weekend.

No Wizmount CU2 or HD camera quality..but here's something...


Start the day


Dog Day Afternoon




Kiter meets Kite Winger

Sunday was a good day. We rode the hell out of Winne. The Broads are pretty much done and the ice by The Witches is definitely done so no more flying passed the Wiers to Meredith this season. Still, this is the latest we've been on the Broads and not seen open water. Though some of the ice looked about to candle.

Here's a shot from further north yesterday. Still winter up north of here. Still driving on Umby for crying out loud.


Molly is in the circle tightening her boot. For scale. :D

Never rode on Winni and don't know the 'Broads'(?) or such...

The wind was honking wicked Sat, and a bit less on Sunday but still very strong. Good surface for dullish skis with just enough texture and barely softening ice. In the Company of a lot of nice kitewingers.( Let me try there wings in past).


Don't know if I'll get another day on ice there, or if headed farther north.... as I'm less than a week from heading to Wildwood Buggy Bash to sit(what!?) in a kite buggy on the beach..... unless I ride my Coyote Rollerblades......although someone did sand ski w/kite on beach with alpine gear.

Also like to get a day to ski on Mt Wash......

Regardless..What a great season.

Yep..............
got anther day on the ice. Kite skiing at Lake Winnipesaukee on strong winds. Started at Long Island bridge. What fun. 'Slalom skiing' with kite. It's big out there. Like a dessert ....only with water:P

My first time ever on lake.

Okay...I know what the 'broads' are..

Skimtwashington and I kited Winni today in 18-35 MPH gusty winds. Went with a group of kitewingers who have been kiting / kite winging there for years otherwise I'd never trust the ice was safe. Ice was 2 feet deep and totally carvable. People are still on lake sunnapee too. We were on 1.8 and 2m fixed bridle and it was a blast. Went for the longest tour I've ever done but couldn't keep up with the kite wings.

The kite wing group in NH liked the product go much they bought the company, moved it from Europe to NH, improved the wing and dropped the price! They were all over Winni and many had racked up 50 to 70 miles when Brian and I left. I was broken, my knees were killing me and I couldn't bend them with out feeling like an old man. Which I am but don't normally walk all bent over.

Maybe some kite buggy action at Nahant tomorrow.

We called it quits on Winne after last Wednesday. Saw a lot of the regular signs that it wasnt the best bet for safe ice. When it starts to rot like that it doesnt matter how thick it is. We'll push the ice safety for our own riding but having self rescued more than once Im not in any hurry to go through if there is better ice to ride. And I can't imagine riding it with something that can't pull me out.

We waited for the water to drain and rode up north today. Rode 45 miles on the creamiest corn Ive seen all season. Hot as hell out. Sitting on the deck soaking up the sun and eating soup. :D

We have more ice than we thought. Might get 2 more weeks.

A little farther to the northeast and we're running out of snow and ice.

Someone found me kiting in a park this weekend.

https://www.facebook.com/halifolks/photos/a.1622403997983753...

I love the "worse than usual" comment. I guess it's all a matter of perspective.

Here's a shot from yesterday's ride. I'm on an ice sheet that has settled on a large sandbar. We flew up a river to get to this point. Molly's on the whit kite in the distance.

The river is about 15-20' feet below the spot I'm riding. The lagoon is a depression in the sandbar where the plate has collapsed an then filled with water from the rain 2 days before. The temps yesterday were about 65F. Winds started out light and I was on the 18m Chrono with 35m lines. In part to get a little more low end but mostly to get the kite into winds higher in the gradient in the areas where we have to fly around corners.

Winds picked up to gusts around 18-20mph. Fully trimmed I was lit on the 18 but able to dig into the corn enough to make it manageable.

Damn it's been an amazing season. As of today we are discontinuing any further on ice lessons for the season and like finish with guides at the end of this week. On one hand I hate to see it end but on the other hand it's been almost a year since my last shoulder surgery and I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike after last season's recovery time.

I can only hope that next year is nearly as good. We really lucked out this season.

But Soon the traditional end of snowkite season depression will set in.

Nice pic of the unusual. Pretty emerald pool.

A toast to a fine season! Here's to more long safe fun ones.

HEHEHE Amen. Glad you got out onto Winne. It's a great lake for touring and for having some open space. Lots of stuff to see and places to land and get something to eat etc...

Looking at images of the broads today. Where the black ice formed off Ella it's rotting out fast. I bet there are substantial open spots by the end of the week.

It has been a damn fine season.