Since I was off work today and the weather man called for 10 to 15mph winds, I was off to the lake. Actually this was only my second try at snowkiting and found it to be nothing short of amazing! My first attempt was in a field and winds were dissapointing, gusty with lots of lulls. Terrible conditions for a first try, but oh well it happens. This time I had 60,000 acres of lake and smooth steady winds. Since I'm so new, all that I had was my 4 meter beamer with handles. Turbo bar and access SB harness still on order. I figured that since I still had some old skis in perfect working order, I'd use those instead of my good ones. They couldn't have worked better, 205cm straight skiis with all the edge that I ever needed. Was able to get some really fast runs cross wind and even upwind runs getting me back to my truck. I was by myself so I didn't want to end up doing the walk of shame. I didn't know my legs were so out of shape until today. Got about two hours worth of runs untill my legs couldn't take it anymore. The only complaint I had was that the lake had lots of bare spots with hard pack snow around those. Made it much harder to keep a consistent edge. Will have to wait for more snow or find some better fields in the meantime. I now realize that a harness and a depower kite would probably make the experience that much better. Need to start saving. Thanks for listening.
Rob.

60,000 acres. Wish I had that much land to kite on.

Wahoo!!!!

I'll never forget my first time....that moment that all the "this thing is gonna rip my arms off" turned into peaceful coexistence....me, the wind and my kite.

Bliss.

60,000 acres. Where are you flying? Are you actually flying in Green Bay? Like out of Edgewater or someplace?

Hows the ice? when did it freeze over?

Wicked curious.

I was actually kiting on Lake Winnebago, our states largest inland lake. It's actually 10 miles wide by 30 miles long. (137,708 acres (557.28 km2). Sorry, I was off by a tad. I sometimes forget how fortunate I am to have lots of frozen water in the winter. I actually live in Green Bay ("The Green Bay Packers" for you NFL fans). The lower bay of Green Bay has actually been frozen for sometime now. Ice fisherman have been driving their trucks/cars out already, if that tells you how much ice there is. There just hasn't been enough snow on the bay yet, which makes kite skiing difficult. Green Bay is so open that if we get snow along with lots of wind, it simply doesn't stay on the ice, which has been the case with the last few snowfalls. Lake Winnebago and other area lakes have more snow right now, but that isn't saying much. I'm praying for more!

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Originally posted by Cheddarhead[/ Ice fisherman have been driving their trucks/cars out already, if that tells you how much ice there is. There just hasn't been enough snow on the bay yet, which makes kite skiing difficult.

Ice Skates?

The Packers was what I thought of when I looked at your location the only thing I know about that area. Oh now I know that you got good snow and ice in the winter ... on a lake :ticking:
Sounds great I'm jealous, as always

I did my first kite ski experiment on a frozen lake. a very small one. only a few hundred feet.

and I was on touring ski's with NNN bindings...

It didn't go that well but it went better than everyone said it would!!

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Originally posted by Cheddarhead I didn't know my legs were so out of shape until today. Got about two hours worth of runs untill my legs couldn't take it anymore.Rob.

@cheddarhead-What do you suggest to get the legs in shape...?:puzzled:

@cheezy, if you are not a runner (I'm not) try just walking at a fast pace. Put on your favorite tunes, and go for a power walk! I've got 2 pit bulls that I walk, one at a time, twice a day. Usually the morning walk with the dogs is followed by a 1.5 mile power walk over hilly terrain. Probably should start doing more, 'cause I still tend to flag out early! Snowkiting is harder work than it looks, or I really am 52!

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Originally posted by cheezycheese Quote: Originally posted by Cheddarhead I didn't know my legs were so out of shape until today. Got about two hours worth of runs untill my legs couldn't take it anymore.Rob. @cheddarhead-What do you suggest to get the legs in shape...?:puzzled:

try squats--they'll make a man out of you if you've got the guts to do them--which most people dont

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Originally posted by tom kite Quote: Originally posted by cheezycheese Quote: Originally posted by Cheddarhead I didn't know my legs were so out of shape until today. Got about two hours worth of runs untill my legs couldn't take it anymore.Rob. @cheddarhead-What do you suggest to get the legs in shape...?:puzzled: try squats--they'll make a man out of you if you've got the guts to do them--which most people dont

I was on the ski team in HS and we use to have to sit on the "green bench" to build strength and stamina.

Basically you press your back against a wall and squat down so your hips and legs form a 90 degree angle at your knees. Now hold that position for as long as you can and repeat for a few sets. If you've never done it before don't be surprised if you can't hold if for more than 60 seconds.

We used to do it for 10-15 minutes with no break. Get to that point and you can ski all day on the steepest terrain snapping off turns like nothing. Same would hold true for kite skiing stamina. (as you get better, sit on one leg with the other crossed and alternate that position. Also rise up on your toes to get the calves involved).

For the icey spots send your kite up to the zenith and get flat on your skis and skim over the ice to the other side. Or sharpen them up good and bear down on them to hold the edge against the power.

Yeah, getting a harness and hooking in will make the experience even better. Speaking of lakes, I am fortunate enuf to do most of my kiting on Lake of the Woods, which is huge. I did some reseach and found that is is roughly 1 million acres, with about half of the lake in Minnesota and the rest in Canada. Plenty of room out there to explore, get lost, or at least kite till your legs are ready to fall off.

Kiteyakker, good to see you have lotsa free range in the winter as I do. Summer time is a different story. Sooooo many trees in Wisconsin, it's hard to find as much space with good winds. I was out again today, but winds were only pushing 8-10mph. Enough to move, but not too exciting. How much snow do you have on Lake of the Woods? We have very little with bald spots of ice showing. Need more! As for my harness and Turbo bar, they are being sent from Coastal Wind Sports. As mentioned on earlier posts, Angus stated that some of the Ozone stuff was on perpetual backorder. I guess I'll just have to be patient. My order was in on Jan 1st.

I'll have to do the snow dance, take care.

Rob.

For leg strength, just do a horse stance for about 5 minutes at a time, twice or three times a day. That'll build some leg strength. Promise!

We have good snow out there, a Christmas snow storm dumped around a foot on top of what was already there, so there is plenty. The lake froze over quite smoothly for a change, usually it is windy when the cold temps hit. I was out there today and it was awesome, just gotta be on the lookout for the occasional ice chunk and LOTS of fish houses.

Hey Invertedforce, could you describe a "horse stance?" Never heard of that one.