After waiting out the storm and lots of shoveling.... the sun broke out.
I decided to go to my lake to ride. Winds were still gusty with a strong sustained base wind of 20-24 mph and howling to up to 40 mph in prolonged gusts..

Surprised to see a Kite Winger around bend of cove trying to set off. Think there was much anxiety and hesitation for conditions...a couple drops...and then never left launch site. Change of heart?

The surface was surreal and constantly moving like a sandstorm... the snow was hanging mostly low, like white salt blowing in massive sheets across the surface of thin, low terraced sastrugi with elongated rounded mounds- like speed bumps- evenly mixed in.

Looked like a snapshot of a rough white sea. The Wind pack of the sastugi was soft- if a bit dense- and carving a turn not too unyielding.

I would be going quite slow and then take off good with the gusts...bouncing over the surface. Winds at time seemed even stronger than last thought...gave me some caution. Made it a short session and went away a little hungry perhaps, but Wind was Gusty, a bit shifty, and unpredictable and Blizzard-y. Quit while ahead and smiling. Some fun rides though in blizzard speed winds.

Below zero windchill but stayed warm and comfy. I could have just 'chilled' out there and camped out to watch the beautiful animated surface around me.




Boston has been pounded by snow and city is becoming nearly immobilized. more snow coming too.:o

Molly and I went out yesterday. Winds were 5kts gusting to 35-40kts. Rigged to ride the gusts so it was a roller coaster of ripping a long one second and dead in the water the next. Windslab developed in some areas, waves in others. Tracks dissapeared in minutes. The last few weeks of just epic powder have been great. It will be interesting to see the surfaces today after last nights wind.

fyi

Sastrugi, or zastrugi, are sharp irregular grooves or ridges formed on a snow surface by wind erosion, saltation of snow particles, and deposition, and found in polar and temperate snow regions. They differ from sand dunes in that the ridges are markedly parallel to the prevailing winds. Smaller irregularities of this type are known as ripples....//drift similarly to barchan dunes of sand

i always get smarter hanging w/ you...i like to think

I always want to have a dog named "Sastrugi". I'd call her "Sassy" for short.
:D

sometimes creamy...sometimes firm and styrofoamy but breakable




Yeah, tracks were covered in a minute.

"saltation of snow particles' is exactly what snow looked like.... pouring horizontally over this surface...like a horizontal waterfall of salt. Magnificent.

Boy Chris.. dealing with winds of 5-40. :o
.. wait, zoom, wait, zoom wait, zoom

Super abrasive crystals. Strips wax our of your bases fast.

In the picture above, which way is the wind blowing to creat this effect?

FYI
SkiMtWashington?????
yea right...winds 118-128 E....-70 windchill
gulf of slides and lunch rocks empty

I've got the Styrofoam stuff, really pritty but it really makes it hard to ski. My skis keep droping below that stuff when I try to switch dirrections, I wiped out twice yesterday! Hard on top soft on the bottom.

Just reheat and serve... if you call 17 degrees warm compared to single digit temp of yesterday.

The white compressed salt called me back to play and tempted me to turn around and watch the blowing granules instead of facing kite. The cold of facing into the wind and the temptation to look back at the scene might have turned me, also, into a pillar of salt- like Lot's wife looking back at Sodom:moon:.

Nope...I stayed warm and flexible and had a grand late afternoon riding. The gusts were less severe but still in the 30's, I had a bigger kite than yesterday, and so I was moving more than stopped. Some fast bouncy rides and carves. I'm fairly gyro' on the styro' Getting to like Sastrugi!

No other kiters

No real wind tomorrow but snow is not going anywhere. May boot up and ski local hills instead.


Gulf of Slides is an old haunt and maybe due for a revisit in spring, after too many years in other ravines away from crowd at Tucks on Mt. Washington. (Wanna go?)


Gulf of Slides has taken some lives as it lives up to it's name.:o



The wind direction in sastrugi pic would be from NE. I had to look at surface today to figure it out.



More snow coming to Boston. Severe cold locked in too. Roofs leaking from ice dams all over.

But good winter for riding!! :D

Be careful out there.

Man dies in kite skiing accident
http://www.wcsh6.com/story/news/local/2015/02/17/man-dies-ski-kiting/23543059/

Anybody know Adam Tsapis?
R.I.P.

Sounds like he was lofted....

I did not know Adam but a few of our local kite community did. My understanding was that he is not an experienced kiter on snow with limited experience on water. His passing has really affected the local kiters especially those who did know him. And needless to say this has devastated his family.

In light of this incident I feel compelled to state the obvious and remind everyone that as much fun as this kite thing is, there are real consequences when things go bad.

Have your program dialed when you go out to ride.

Know your environment. I can't count how many of our students, with prior kite experience, has little to no knowledge of how topography and surrounding structures affects the wind. This is very basic kiting knowledge yet somehow it gets over looked. This isn't a criticism, just an observation. This is critical knowledge here where we fly as the topography here has a huge and often dangerous influence on the wind we ride. Know what the wind is doing and know your surface conditions. If there's a death crust or wind slab etc. and the winds are gusting 8kts to 35kts, maybe you should stay home and watch Netflix.

Know your equipment. Now how it works and how it reacts in certain conditions. Know which kite you can handle in which conditions, don't simply assume based on the manufacture's wind ranges. And most importantly know your safety systems and how to use them. Practice using them. Practice to the point that you can used them without looking and in any physical orientation. And have a back up plan if in the event they fail. Because safeties, especially if they get packed with snow or frozen, do fail to function at times. I release my safety every time I hook in to be sure it's functioning and I check it to be sure it's clear after I've crashed to ensure it can't freeze up.

Know yourself. Put aside the ego and any pretense that somehow kiting makes you an extreme sport badass. I'm going to tell you now it doesn't. Be realistic about your skill level and focus on learning how to be the best kiter you can be. Don't let you ambitions out run your skill set. Know your limitations and when in doubt seek help from those that have the most experience. And don't blow off advice from the people who have decades of experience because you're too proud or have a little experience and think you can figure it out yourself. I can guarantee that as much as you think you've got things figured out, you are probably missing something important and you want know it until the time when it comes and bites you in the face.

And here's the kicker. Even if you do everything right and by the numbers, things can still go bad. The wind is a variable that you have zero control over.

this is very sad...my condolences to the family
heard a hiker lost her life in the Presidentials as well
you cant take winter too seriously...be safe all

It was not a good day in the mountains of New England for adventuring with losses of both a kiter and hiker .

The young woman hiker has received much criticism for her attempted plan in such conditions(-70 wind chill) to summit several high peaks including Mt Washington, that included likely some full exposure in her route to 80-100 mph winds above tree line .

She activated an emergency transmitter/beacon to receive help by physical rescue in late afternoon. Brave rescuers went out in the extreme conditions(although delayed 'till morning) to find her, alas much too late.

yes, condolences to the family.

Getting away from sad notes and back to the blizzard snow left on the lake...

Wind was back up strong today after an absence last two days. Threat of a warm up and cold rain this weekend inspired me to get the goods that lay waiting, despite -15 to -20 wind chills.

The wind was about 15 - 31+ mph. The snow was more wind packed this time and I was staying higher in it...which made both speed and turning faster. Wanted more But had to get ready for work and leave after two hours.

This was the best day yet out on my local lake on snow this winter. Hard to believe such adventure lies in the middle of a large town, just a half dozen blocks away from my door.

Back for more tomorrow?