Session 7 of the 2018 season: Cass Lake with steady SW winds and a lack of snow cover

TOB:    2:30-3:30

Gear:    11M Z1 kite and TT

Surface conditions:     1-2 inches of powder to windblown bare ice

Wind:   steady 15-20 from the SW

Weather:  25° , bluebird day

Highlights: Started out with decent conditions but the steady winds scoured most of the freshies into drifts leaving icy bare spots.

Session 6 of the 2018 season: Snowkiting Lake Cadillac, with a wind scoured surface

TOB:   1:15-2:30

Gear:   Burton TT, 11M Z1 kite

Surface conditions:   Wind scoured of any decent snow

Wind:  SW steady 15-20mph

Weather: 100% cloudy,  30°  

Highlights:  Lack of snow, bare ice spots and warming temperatures resulted in poor snowkiting conditions. Met up with Mark at Katie’s waterfront apartment and kited out of the backyard on Lake Cadillac. SW winds were in the steady 20s, temps near 30 and a dusting of freezing drizzle that fell earlier that morning.

Rigged the 11M and searched for some good snowpack on the lake. 

Gave up after and hour of searching. Fierce winds on Sunday scoured the lake of precious snow.

It was a tiring session with constant edging on ice and sparse snow drifts that were crusted with frozen drizzle.

It’s been a darn good week of excessive consumption on the snowboard, (binge kiting/snowboarding).
6 snowkiting sessions and 5 downhill snowboarding sessions most sessions with fresh powder.

Session 5 of the 2018 season: A rodeo at Little Glen with 10-40 mph winds

TOB:   3:00-4:30

Gear:   Burton TT, 7M Naish kite

Surface conditions:    Deep heavy windblown powder 

Wind:  SW gusty 10-40 mph

Weather: 90% cloudy,  30°  

Highlights: Another brutal day, although it’s warm, 30° at launch time. Winds gusting from 15-40 from the SW, 3 inches of additional snow but l don’t think that mattered, plenty of windblown heavy packed powder on Little Glen Lake. Decided to rig the 7M kite after the last few days with the 9M which was a handful. 

Rode for 1.5 hours until I was exhausted from the heavy snow. Quite the workout just rigging the kite in knee deep snow like this.

Overall a brutally fun session, lots of carving up the snowscape only to have it quickly resurfaced.

View the ride

Session 4 of the 2018 season: Another brutally, cold, complete whiteouts, challanging snowkite session

TOB:  3:15-4:45 

Gear: 11M Z1 kite with TT snowboard 

Surface conditions:  Deep windblown powder - too deep sometimes

Wind:  10-30 mph from the NW

Weather: 8 degrees and a black and white environment

Highlights:  With 3 days of nearly constant lake snows the windblown powder was bottomless. 

At times during the vertigo I couldn't figure out if I was moving, or how fast I was moving. No reference points could be spotted due to being in the white room. I would hit a deep drift and bury the board and coming to a crashing halt. A workout of a session, totally spent every once of energy I had after this session. And then had to walk the 100 yards back to the car in thigh to waist deep snow drifts...And this is fun?

Session 3 of the 2018 season: Brutal snowkite session on Little Glen Lake

TOB:  4:00-5:30

Gear: 9M Z kite with TT snowboard 

Wind:  20-30 mph from the NNW 

Surface conditions: Deep wind packed powder almost never scrapping bottom

Weather: 10 degrees with brutal wind, heavy snow and blowing snow with whiteouts and vertigo conditions

Highlights: A grey and black northern Michigan typical conditions. About the only highlight was the down wind carving runs.

Session 2 of the 2018 season: Nearly perfect snowkite session on Lake Mitchell

Carving endless turns on the downwind runs

TOB:  2:00-4:00

Gear: 9M Z kite with TT snowboard 

Surface conditions: A nice hard packed base of an inch or two, nicely formed 6-10 inch powdery windblown snow drifts and of course some wind scoured bare ice spots.  

Wind:  15-35 mph from the SW 

Weather: 16 degrees and bluebird, wind and blowing snow at times made conditions brutal

Highlights: Nearly epic day of snowkiting, enough snow cover and wind to make endless carving turns. SW winds gusting to 35mph made it challenging. But the downwind drifting the kite and carving the turns was epic. 

Just me and my shadow

Session 1 of the 2018 season: Happy New Year Orchard Lake Snowkite

TOB:  1:30-2:45 

Gear: 11M Z1 kite with TT snowboard 

Surface conditions: Smooth ice with a dusting of snow, bare ice and some 2-3 inches of powdery drifts   

Wind:  10-25 mph from the NW

Weather: 10 degrees and bluebird

Highlights: A workout trying to hold an edge on ice with a bare minimal snow cover.

Mark came out a did a first time session, definitely not good conditions for your first time out. He got a taste for and he'll be back.

Check out the Orchard Lake Snowkite Session