Utah Report

waynepjh · Since 27 Jul 2008 212 Posts jackson wy Stoked

I like to kite snowboard places that I know skis can't get in or out of. Lol
No such thing Matt. I kited 240 days last year. I find it funny you gave up after 3 days here in Jh. I have plastered my number on the Internet so that people don't show up here and not know where to go. We are a friendly group of Kiters that welcome visitors. Jh is centered between 4 mountain ranges that are part of the continental divide. So many options and micro climates that allow us to kite just about every day. We had a kite event here and it was epic. We kited 4 different spots in 7 days. Snow kiting takes more effort than on the water but the rewards are just as great. Hit me up for info on anything! Lodging, spots, equipment ect.

Johnb · Since 02 Aug 2010 494 Posts Obsessed

Had a fun day.. It wasn't epic but it's wasn't bad. Plenty of new snow. Lots of scouting on the sleds and a light wind session to top off the activities. Can't wait for tomorrow.

D-Krep It Kiter · Since 18 Jul 2011 417 Posts Obsessed

Nice!!!

Matt V · Sat Feb 28, 15 6:50 am

Still on the fence as to what direction to go out of Omaha. Mille looks to be getting a pretty good tease of a dusting to make it just acceptable on the knees. But Skyline looks epic. I see another 21" in the forecast after this Saturday morning.

Nothing skis cannot get into? - Not meant to offend, but my passion is an odd flavor of snowkiting. I really like small features - Parking lot piles, road ditches, tree wells, small creek cuts, washouts with vertical walls, and everything the other snowkiters avoid. Most of the things that make me smile are 1 snowboard length wide to only as wide as the snow board is wide (no turn around for skis). And I do not just pass through them, I use them and abuse them. Not to say that the bigger features are not cool, and they are much easier (less of a challenge)to ride. I just like the technicality of jamming my board into a cut that no set of skis could turn around in or have more than a 20% chance of getting out of (0% if you cannot ride backwards). A twin tip snowboard (instant direction change without turning around) just gives you so much more control/options on those naughty spots than skis. Edge pressure that you can apply with all of your weight on your heels or toes, coupled with the immense moment (twisting force) that you can apply to a snowboard, gives you a huge advantage. Read that as more open doors for things you can do on a snowboard that you could not do on skis when jammed between rock hard gravel encrusted parking lot piles or other tight features.

Reliable proof of the ski vs snowboard on features thing would be:

1. Physics of the forces you can apply to a snowboard vs skies at low or no speed.

2. When I build a kicker, snowboarders will use it, skiers will complain that I made it too steep. (snowboard bends better on a horizontal to vertical redirect.

If you see some guy out on HQ foils, and he seems to be kiting in about a 20 yard area and keeps dropping out of site into a hole, it might be me. Now that I write it out, it sounds more like a mental condition than a style of riding. Guess it just gives me the most rollercoasterish feel of a ride. Freeriding, jumping, freestyle jumps, and gliding just do not do it for me. I would love to see a kiteskier follow me around and hit the stuff I hit with a snowboard. I often lead skiers in to spots, but they usually shy away from playing on the gnarly stuff and only survival ride through once.

That said, skis are better in 90% of "normal snowkiting" conditions. Beginner snowkiters will have a better time on skis if they have ski experience - even if they already have twin tip experience on the water. Skis can go faster. Skis seem more gliding oriented (arguable as to if the difference is significant). Skis handle lighter wind and take less skill to keep a kite up/relaunch.

I tell it like this.

Skis are a fillet knife. Really good at precision and are easy to handle. But they require moving at some speed and more edging precision.

Snowboards are like a hatchet. Really good at hacking through the brush with a bit of work and balance through the swing. And your slow moving edge control on a snowboard is superior to skis.

waynepjh · Since 27 Jul 2008 212 Posts jackson wy Stoked

Well said Matt v! Utah seems to have gotten a nice refresh! Great photos!

Johnb · Since 02 Aug 2010 494 Posts Obsessed

We kited strawberry reservoir today. There was only about 4 inches of powder on top of the ice and on the terrain but it was very fun and the wind was steady. This place is huge. I found a cool hill to play on that had a road cut through it. That set up a cliff face and cornice. I kited the face with my body parallel to the ground, it was crazy fun.

Boat launch where we set up.

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Inflictor · Since 17 Aug 2013 146 Posts Stoked

Looking good for Tuesday at Skyline with fresh snow and wind, finally. Could even be small kite conditions! Yahoo

Johnb · Since 02 Aug 2010 494 Posts Obsessed