Session 12 of the 2018 season: A Classis Skate Kite session at South River Road DNR

Fun skate session with Tim, 12M and Don, 8M foil. Had to search for clean, smooth ice. Found some out always and rode there for quite awhile. First time skate kiting with fellow skaters.
Set up a slalom course and figure eight course. Mucho fun session with sunny, warm, 35 degrees. Perfect wind speed and direction.

20 miles of skate kiting

TOB:   Skate Kite from 1:00-3:00

Gear:   Hockey skates and a 3M 2 line foil kite 

Surface conditions: Rough ice but after exploring upwind a good size plate of black ice was found. A dusting of snow fell during the night and remained on the ice through the day.

Wind: 10-20 SSE direction

Weather:  Bluebird day 35 degrees

Highlights: A fun day joined by fellow skate kiters Tim and later om Don. Rode 20 miles on the hockey skates. 

Session 11 0f the 2018 season: Snowkite with frozen granular conditions

Generally frozen granular snow conditions. 
Thawed and refrozen snowpack spotty at best. Nice little 10-20 yard speed strip of frozen granular snow along the beach. Also found the “wave” spot where the snow was deep and wind blown into the 3-4 feet high water eroded cliffs along the shoreline. "Ride it like a wave"
By far not the best conditions but probably the last Snowkite session on LSC this season. With a warming trend forecasted for the next 10 days that’ll probably thaw most of the ice.
Gear for the day, 13M Z kite and TT

TOB:   1:15-3:00 

Gear:    13M Z kite and TT

Surface conditions: Frozen Granular (corn snow)

Wind: 10-20 SSW

Weather:   Mostly overcast 31 degrees 

Highlights: The wave

Session 10 of the 2018 season: Metrobeach Snowkite with acres of untouched cement style snow

Happy Valentines Day - sunny, warm,  heavy, wet, deep, snow.
Warm spring conditions with tons of heavy wet snow. More of a snowboarding workout then anything else.

TOB:  3:00-4:30 

Gear:   13M Z kite

Surface conditions: up to 10 inches of heavy wet snow 

Wind: S 10-20 

Weather:  42 degrees and bluebird skies 

Highlights:  heavy wet snow equals a heavy wet workout. I wore myself out pushing that heavy stuff around. Craig (12M) and Sean (14M)

Session 9 of the 2018 season: Metrobeach Snowkite Session

Expected better conditions with the fresh snow but I found it was almost the same

as Monday’s session but harder to see with less sunlight.
Rode upwind to the spillway and discovered a possible summertime slick on the leeside of the marina breakwall.
Rode in to it to check it out and discovered a deep powder stash.
Downwinder back to the launch in light winds and finished up by 4:30. By then Craig was there wrapping it up. I would call it a better then marginal day with the wind, same with the surface snow conditions.
Several other kiters were also out today.

TOB:  3:00-4:30 

Gear:   11M Z1 

Surface conditions:   Snow covered with some thin spots 

Wind: WSW 10-20 

Weather:  22 degrees and mostly cloudy 

Highlights:  Rode west upwind to the spillway area and down winded it back 

Session 8 of the 2018 season: Metrobeach afternoon freshie snowkite ssession

TOB:   3:30-5:00

Gear:   11M Z1 and TT Burton

Surface conditions:  Snow covered, some thin spots with black ice underneath, some old hardpack and some new freshies 1-3 inches worth.

Wind: Mainly SW 10-20 felt steady

Weather: Mostly sunny

Highlights: Could this be my first Snowkite session at MB in 2 years, could that be?

Joined up with craig and allen for a better then expected 1.5 hour 1 session.
Fun session with lots of turns and downwind runs. 
Consistent winds and surface conditions.