Well, Edmonton is officially snow covered. I broke down this evening and dug out the shovel for the season and while I cleared the walks my thoughts turned to strapping into the ski boots before my course on Dec 15th. Is there anything I'm waiting for that the course will save me from? I'm uber tempted.......

I took a look at your course outline (it is cut and pasted at the end of this - so that others know what course you are taking and can give feedback)

The course is offered through outdoor education department of the University of Calgary. Depending on your kite skills you might learn a lot by waiting,... It also might be better to wait till there is more snow (the first pulling out of the snow shovel might not be enough). Waiting till your local lakes are and the lakes are very safe to head out on., then you don't have to worry about wrecking your skis on rocks on a field. Make sure your skis are sharp if it is icy conditions.

Safety stuff on the ice and snow is what you'd need to learn most.

If people are out at Cooking lake - one of your local spots- you might learn something from them before heading down for the course - you'd meet some of the locals. www.pipelinesurf.ca - they have demos at cooking lake when it is safe on the ice.


W08OKSS102- Dec 15 Kite Skiing
Event Status: Event Is Full
Available Spots: EVENT FULL Cost: $98.00
Start Date: Dec 15,2007 End Date: Dec 15,2007
Description: Event DescriptionPre-requisitesEvent ChecklistEvent Itinerary
This one day course will teach you to launch, fly, and control a kite. You then use the kite to generate power to pull you across the snow. You may also learn to steer and tack to get you back to your starting point.
Due to wind requirements, the date and location of this course may be changed on short notice. Please make sure, that the Outdoor Centre has your current phone numbers and e-mail address.
Additional dates to the ones advertised may also be booked. To book an unadvertised day, call 220-2601 or e-mail John Janssen.

The course takes place on a frozen lake near Calgary.
Call 932-6760 (or 804-8411) two hours prior to the start of the of the course to find out which loacation will be used.

BRING: __ your own downhill skis (or snowboard) __ boots __ Ski helmet
Recommended: __ knee & elbow pads (in-line or downhill cycling)
Rent these items from the Outdoor Centre at a 10% discount. Call 220-5038 to book.

Any questions, please contact John Janssen.
You must sign a waiver, in order to participate in the flight class. If you are under 18, a parent or guardian must sign a consent form.

Withdrawal/transfer before Dec. 05, 2007 is subject to a $15 fee.
No refund on/after this date, even if the course is rescheduled due to wind conditions.

Day Start Time End Time Start Date End Date Location
S 11:00 15:00 Dec 15,2007 Dec 15,2007 Call 932-6760 @9:00 Dec 15
M=Monday, T=Tuesday, W=Wednesday, R=Thursday, F=Friday, S=Saturday, U=Sunday

Hey Mac,

I'm going to audit the course on Saturday Dec 1. I'll post a review on Sunday, that way everyone in the Calgary area will know what to expect from the program.
The U of C kite, hang gliding and paragliding courses are all taught under contract through Muller Wind Sports. I know the instructors really well and I can tell you right now that you'll have a great time; Marty and Keith are a lot of fun to hang out with :singing::singing:

I'll be in Calgary over Christmas. I have never heard of Cooking lake??? Can someone tell me how to get there ? Also what other locations to go to locally. I'll borrow a car but not sure if I will have time to hit Banff or Kanaskis .

I have heard that the Weisel head + dam is off limits ? How strict is that rule ? I'll be right there ! :ticking:

MacBoy is from Edmonton (I think) - but he is going to the course in Calgary.

Cooking lake is close to Edmonton.

A friend of mine in Calgary has been out on Lac des Arc - (the shallow lake on the way to banff) - Cochrane Lake and Frank Lake - so far this season.

Thanks Glide Guy - I'll watch for your review. Maybe tell me how much snow you see there too. If it's mostly ice I'll make sure the skis are freshly sharpened.

snowbird - I'm in Edmonton and PW is right, Cooking Lake is about 25 minutes outside of the the city (Edmonton). I'm quite new to this but I'd suspect that Calgary has far more to offer in terms of variety and conditions so I know you'll have a great time. I know there is one spot on the highway to Banff that is so perpetually windy that the branches only grow on one side of the trees! It's super cool! I think that might be Lac Des Arcs....yup - just checked on Google Earth. That's the one! Crazy windy - ALWAYS! If it's frozen over, make time. You won't regret it.

I'll be doing a ton of scouting around the area this winter and will be sure to post any findings here. We Edmontonians have grown to a group of about four and I hope that continues as we all step out of the shadows and admit our addictions....

Yup,

Lac Des Arc has been used by wind junkies since I can remember ! Often it is completely clear of snow so ice boaters just love it.

I am hoping to get out someplace just a little closer to home. I can probably hit Lac Des Arc if others will be out ? Is there a site that Calgarians post if they are going out ?

Did I here someone is using Ghost Lake ? How about Chestermere ?

Just how much trouble would I cause down at the weasel head ? I will appoligize my way out if / when I get busted. I just don't want to cause trouble for locals !!! I'm more than willing to beg forgiveness ! + claim ignorance ! :?:

There are some easy access areas that are not bad, like Ghost Lake, Chestermere & Cochrane Lake. All of them are within a 30 min drive of Calgary, but they don't tend to hold much snow & are generally icy.

If you head further west near Canmore; the Spray Lakes area has good snow, and access is easy. Check out Craig Parson's website http://www.rockymountainkiting.com/ he has some great maps showing the areas he uses for instruction.

If you're a back country skier, Sunshine Meadows can be good, but it's no place for a newbie. Anyone using the Rocky Mountain back country should be well versed in avalanche avoidance and rescue, and be carrying a beacon, probe, etc.

Ken, if you poach the Glenmore Res, be prepared to pay the fine. It's well posted and the fire department will probably be dispatched. They take it very seriously because the weather here is so variable and the lake ice isn't really stable.

EEEwwwww ! A fine

I wouldn't want to consider the Dam so early even if it was allowed. I was looking towards the weasel head. Is it also part of the ban ? :?:

How about above, in Glenmore park ?

I was hoping to stick closer to home because I'll be borrowing a vehicle. I'll check Craigs website ! Thanks :cool2:

I read about an ice fisherman being fined for being on the reservoir. The Fire Department was dispatched to "rescue" him. I don't know what the fine is,... but anywhere on the reservoir I'm sure some do gooder would report you. I'm not aware of any kite bans for any of the parks around the reservoir, but on the water I think they take it too seriously. Chestermere can be good. If your skis are sharp then icy conditions can be no problem. Eagle lake near Strathmore is also an option. www.calgarykiteboarding.com has sporadic conditon reports.

Hey macboy, you will really get a lot out of the course! I was addicted to snowkiting after taking the course in March 2006. We had to wait on Ghost Lake for a couple of hours before the wind showed up so be prepared for the session to be cancelled (bummer since you are coming from Edmonton). I was in the last session they offered in 2006 so it was crowded with people who were making up cancelled ones.

I keep an eye on the AMA camera on Hwy 1 near the Cochrane turnoff for the current weather in that area.
http://www.ama.ab.ca/road_report/camera/1-06.htm

Muller Windsports offered discounts to us and the guys were willing to help you out anytime you could join them on the snow.

When they asked if we had been or seen snowkiting before I mentioned Lac Des Arc but they did not like it for kiting - if you are that close to Spray Lakes you might as well go there.

Think snow & good winds.

Bill

The wind wouldn't blow today, but everyone is keen to try again tomorrow. I'm just posting to see if my photobucket link will work.

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff208/GlideGuy/100_0757.j...
:singing:

Dean

Thanks Bill! I'm super stoked...and yes, I worry about cancellation. Glide guy will be able to let me know if he saw any snow - I'm not sure what kind of winter Calgary's been having but we just got our snow a week ago. As long as I know there is snow I'll only have to worry about wind. My wife's brother lives in Calgary so we're sleeping free and get to visit so it won't be all lost (though I suspect I'd have a hard time not pouting on the way home. heheheh)

Sadly PW was right, our first snow isn't great. I took the Rage out yesterday and scudded about for a half hour or so (although my shoulders and forearms today make me think it was the whole afternoon ; ) The tracks I was leaving were bare grass despite a good 3-4 inches of standing snow.

Simultaneous posts - love that!

Thanks GG. Are you going to head out tomorrow then? I use the clear sky clocks to monitor winds. It's pretty accurate when you have no intention of flying and then exactly opposite when you're planning to go but it at least helps a guy plan. Here's the one for Cochrane - http://www.cleardarksky.com/c/CchrnABkey.html?1

The main page is - http://www.cleardarksky.com/csk/

Getting good weather info is really important...and really hard when you live as close to the Rockies as we do.

I like navcan weather, if it's good enuf for those buses with wings, it's good enuf for me.

http://www.flightplanning.navcanada.ca/cgi-bin/CreePage.pl?L...

Second choice is Environment Canada, I figure if I'm paying taxes to support it, I might as well try and use it.

http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pages/ab-61_metric_e.htm...

Dean

How on earth do you use that NavCan site? Holy confusing!

If you use the NavCan link in the above post, the first thing to do is click the "Plain English" button.
You need to know the International Aerodrome code for the airport closest to your kiting site. For Edmonton you can use CYEG.
When you get to the METAR/TAF page, go right to the bottom and just read the TAF (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast) The biggest problem I have is figuring out what time frame the forecast is for. All the airport forecasts are based on GMT so you need to add 7 hours to everything (in Alberta). There's a 24 hr clock at the bottom of the page, but when I'm looking at it before my 1st coffee in the morning I get a little befuddled. There is a really good FAQ page on the NavCan website; it's written in plain language so you should get what you need there without having to register for flight school.

Dean

International Aerodrome Codes for a few places in Canada...
CYYC - Calgary
CYBW - Cochrane (Springbank)
CYVR - Vancouver
CYEG - Edmonton
CYQF - Red Deer