Anyone Power Kiting in the Hudson Valley? Where do we go?

Hey, yes and the bottom line is, IT AIN'T EASY around here!

We have hills, trees, buildings and usually all the above in close proximity. The only clean wind to be found around here, unless you're on the Hudson, is in HUGE open corn fields. And that is also affected by the surrounding mountains we lovingly call the Catskills. The school fields have their size limitations and now, of course, time of day. With fall back, after school happenings and weekend games take even those out of the picture.

The best hope for us, is to get a lot of snow and seek permission from landowners to kite on their property. Offering them a waiver, or better yet, doing chores in exchange, may go a long way. Frozen lakes are popular up north and, if you aren't worried about going through the ice, offer another choice.

There is the Wildwood Buggy Bash coming up...this one will be my first, but they do it twice a year. Looks like a hoot for landkiters!

U2U me if you'd like to know where I've had good luck locally and even had my Apex boosted up. There isn't anywhere around here until winter to really make use of that 7.5m There is some pretty good static flying spots where you can get a great workout and hone flying skills if the northeast wind gods shine on us. Be ready to drop everything when that happens! - Jim

Where are you in the Hudson Valley...?

New to the sport, having the same issue! I am actively searching for possible locations here in lower Orange County. A few ideas, will let you know if any pan out.

Quote: Originally posted by Psychotronic

New to the sport, having the same issue! I am actively searching for possible locations here in lower Orange County. A few ideas, will let you know if any pan out.

If you haven't already, you might want to peruse the Orange County Facilities Guide put out by the Parks & Rec.

http://www.orangecountynyparks.com/images/stories/PDFs/Orang...

Beatrix Pelton lives a few towns NW in Chester. She is one of the organizers of the Wildwood Kite Festival (not to be confused with the Buggy Bash), and probably has a list of fields closer to home. You can contact her through Facebook or the Sky Festival Productions website.

Knapps View Park in Chester is where they hold their yearly kite festival. It's a bit hilly, buy might still be doable.






Believe there is also a field attached to the Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center, but it has been a while since I have visited it, so my recollection of it is kind of fuzzy, but most of the folks in Sugar Loaf are fairly laid back and mellow, so I wouldn't expect getting permission to be too much of a hassled.

If you're feeling really ambitious, you might want to check into getting permission for using the fields outside of the Mid-Orange Correctional Facility. It was closed down in 2011. 40 acres of the facility was secured within a perimeter fence, but 686 acres were outside the secured perimeter.

Contact info for the current property owners:
Michael Morse
Sr. Director, Strategic Business
Empire State Development
518.292.5200

Bit of trivia about the prison: "This facility was involved in a controversial case in which a correctional officer, Christopher Nuttall, started taking in cats left astray in the area. In collaboration with inmates, he cared for the cats and fed them. He was suspended and later fired on charges of "contraband and collaboration with inmates". Two months later, he was hired again, with the assistance of Council 82 (statewide correction officers union)." Some things just make you smile. :D

ATB,
Sam

Sam, you are just amazing !!

Cheezycheeze, We should be riding these places! The hill looks like some decent open space...I'm checking in to what wind direction look the cleanest

Quote: Originally posted by jrhook

Cheezycheeze, We should be riding these places! The hill looks like some decent open space...I'm checking in to what wind direction look the cleanest

Exactly what I was thinking !! Looks like we are forming a little hudson valley crew...

Phsyco, are you on wheels or still flying static..?

Quote: Originally posted by JamKiter

Anyone Power Kiting in the Hudson Valley? Where do we go?

Jamkiter where are you located...?

Quote: Originally posted by cheezycheese

Phsyco, are you on wheels or still flying static..?

I am on wheels -- mountainboard, specifically. Knapp's View was the place I was alluding to in my post above, and I've spent much time there over the last 6 weeks or so.

So...on my Trampa board, and flying my trusty HQ Rush IV Pro 350, I've made several attempts at getting rolling there. And so far....it's not great. Most of the grass/ground there is quite lumpy and bumpy, and even pointing straight downhill, I could barely get rolling. I am waiting for sufficient snowfall to try snowkiting, as I suspect it will work much better for that.

I will reconnoiter both of the other locations mentioned above as well (Sugarloaf Arts Center and the old prison) and will report back. Also scouting another location a bit North of there and will let you know what I find. Stay tuned.

ALSO, I think I am already outgrowing my current kite and am considering the Flysurfer Peak 2. 9m, perhaps?

you will absolutely need a mowed field/hill to have any hope of rolling a board with that Rush Pro and your upwind potential with that will be minimal on a landboard. Snowkiting with skis or a board could change the equation by a lot but its stability in the window will be questionable. That 9m FS ought to solve the power problem if you feel confident enough for that as your next kite! Holy mackerel, that's quite a step up!

Keep us posted on you're progress and location scouting. Come on, SNOW ALREADY!

Well, I'm a big guy at around 265 lbs., so I think stepping up to a 9m depower might be the way to go. Naturally, I will be starting a thread about it when the time comes to decide. I suspect 6m may be a tad small for me. We'll see what the kiting community has to say about it.

I agree, I'm finding that going upwind is nearly impossible for me with my current setup, so I've been doing the walk of shame quite a bit. Also agree about the stability in the window, or lack thereof. I've learned a lot over the last 2 months of doing this, not only just getting out there and doing it, but also by just reading this forum!

every now and then conditions set up enough...waiting for better wind and more snow to bust out of that football field and grab more kite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__HI3l0bUcg

I love it! nice job. I really like the 2013 hornet. I've been trying to get my boss to sell me his 4 meter that he hasn't used for a year now.

Quote: Originally posted by jrhook

every now and then conditions set up enough...waiting for better wind and more snow to bust out of that football field and grab more kite https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__HI3l0bUcg

Jim you are killing it !! Way to go bro... I have a pair of snow blades. Give me a holla next time...

Very nice video, Jim! Looks like the blades are working for you. Did you grow up a skier? (I guess what I'm asking is if the blades are easy to learn on?)

SSayre...Yes, the Hornet was added for its forgiving handling in janky ass wind, which is about all we get. Especially Northerns! You can put that kite anywhere! Also, it'll be great to watch the wife learn to handle some serious pull vs. the 2m which she is getting pretty good with.

Mark, more snow dude! We need more snow! When it comes, we can meet at Berger Hill if God sends us a north wind. I won't be leery of hooking in to the Apex wilth all the space over there. At the field in the vid, I would still be trying to get that off the goalpost or out of a tree. That field will improve dramatically with enough snow and a north or south wind.

I've been skiing for 100 or so years and picked up these blades on eBay on a hunch that they would come in handy for the exact conditions I had in the video. Hardly any snow but just enough. They are funner than they look! Back in my day, everyone learned to ski on short little things and slowly progressed in length each week or so. Get some blades!

that looks fun- I really need to get a kite in the air. thx for sharng

I'd like to be in on the Hudson Valley crew....If you don't mind someone including someone from NJ.

I hope you all will be able to get up to Tug Hill this Feb. Snow might be a bit deep for blades, though! http://tughillsnowkiting.com/rally

Managed to get the kite to pull me UPhill last week. I need to think about a harness, though, as my arms were beat to hell from working the kite and hanging on in 20 mph winds.

Aronma - anytime but the normal unpredictability of this endeavor is magnified up here. Wind direction dictates location more so than more open space. Berger hill is a good example, IF there is enough snow, the space only works with a northerly, and that if the place isn't packed with sleigh riders. Lakes give me the heebee jeebies unless there is a tractor trailer sitting on one to assure me. Although last year we had 14 inches of solid so that wasn't a problem. When are you going back to Ivanpah?
Bob
Would love to get there, I'm registered and have the weekend off. Not crazy about heading up to places with huge lake affect snows in an old Jetta but we'll see. It just over 3 hours in ideal roads. I'd love to ride out there AND film others riding. It's a freaking awesome looking location to kite. The Norway of New York! Where do most people stay?
Psycho
The only reason I didn't have my Apex up when I shot this video is the lack of space due to just the mowed area of the field have enough snow. It's 4-5 times bigger than what I could use. I will say this though. You get a full body workout with handles even though it's a real #@%$#! trying to get your line square to the kite. Loosing track of which direction to loop the kite happens as opposed to just spinning the bar to get lines straight. More wind would have blown my arms out much sooner.
We should all get together and start a list of viable locations with best wind directions etc. I'm looking at Orange Lake in Newburgh as a real opportunity. Cheezy, have you seen that sucker? We could both be there in about 30 minutes. I saw a short vid of an iceboat on it already this year so we need to get over there and check it out man!

Anyone is planning to snowkite tomorrow ??? How about locations ? Did anyone scout some spots ? I would make a trip up North if there is good amount of snow .....

Hey, just saw this...there's potentially a big enough puff brewing to float the Apex so I'm either at Esopus Ave in Kingston
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Esopus+Ave,+Kingston,+NY+1...
or Berger Hill
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Berger+Hill,+Rhinebeck,+NY...
Sunday and or Monday...hoping!!!

.... No more need to go North .... We will get snow heaven in few days here in NJ .... lol ... But I am sure I will be coming your way this winter sooner or later ,,,,

Pre-Blizzard action on Sunday...my #1 accused me of PLAYING too much...is that possible?
http://youtu.be/5gqPmE4xLgs

fantastic ... lol ... See you in near future ...

Quote: Originally posted by jrhook

Hey, just saw this...there's potentially a big enough puff brewing to float the Apex so I'm either at Esopus Ave in Kingston https://www.google.com/maps/place/Esopus+Ave,+Kingston,+NY+1... or Berger Hill https://www.google.com/maps/place/Berger+Hill,+Rhinebeck,+NY... Sunday and or Monday...hoping!!!

Hey Jim, i have been eyeballing that field on Esopus. Is it good...? I might be able to get out on Sunday. But my blades probably need a waxing...

Hey Marc, the field at Esopus Ave. is a good size IF it would just completely fill with snow! Videos I've put up show just the mowed area used for football and soccer as being rideable for now. The non-blizzard of '15 only slightly helped that situation. That's why I haven't strung up the Apex yet...just to hard to swing it past all the obstacles. I'm real close by so will keep you updated as to when/if that sucker opens up completely.

I've had decent rides with north or south winds over there. Let's keep on eye out for anything over 10mph steady...usually accompanied by gusts of 20+ but that's par for the course around here, right?

plinking around the other day with the 3.5 no less...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy6cjaFe7cc