Utah Report

Inflictor · Since 17 Aug 2013 146 Posts Stoked

Got sick of the Gorge gloom and punched it to Utah. Got Skyline weds. LIT on my 12(shoulda gone 10). Great coverage there, warm but not melting, patches of windbuff to kill, lots of features to play on. Place is really fun, don't hesitate to go there, gets all wind directions. Strawberry getting thin and crusty with all this south wind, need north wind there.Checking PowMow today, but might be too windy! Checking the Gorge webcams, I won't be back anytime soon! V

Sasquatch · Since 09 Mar 2005 2058 Posts PNW Bigfoot

Don't be a prude! Put out some pics if your getting some and talking about it.

Windy soggy and wet here in The OR. Perhaps some crazy souls are attempting a coastal expression session w/tame 22' swell and high winds (gman?).

ldhr · Since 21 Jul 2009 1471 Posts Hood River XTreme Poster

The Inflictor flies below the radar.... the only evidence he leaves is fresh tracks in the snow.
If he posted pics - the "man" would know where he is and what he's doing.....

Johnb · Since 02 Aug 2010 494 Posts Obsessed

I am planning another trip to Utah the end of the month.

I am also planning on a coastal session or 2 this weekend.

Sella · Fri Feb 06, 15 3:55 pm

V is for Victory! Great post and no need for salt in the wound pics dude.....that's what we have Ken Lucas for....which just makes my love/hate relationship for him that much stronger this time of year. Very Happy

Matt V · Fri Feb 06, 15 5:06 pm

Ominous pics from this past Saturday (Jan 31st). Socked in but still fun riding when it cleared. Thanks to Victor showing up a few days later on my planned rest day, I have been kiting 9 days straight either on a 15m or an 11m. It was 11m today. Still finding features out there. Today I found 2 swimming pools that I did not know if I could make it out of. Turned out to be the best half-pipe riding I have ever had. Nice soft stuff in the bottom. Lips were epic and the wind yanked me up the sides as much as I wanted.

Living in the Skyline parking lot is hell. I really need a shower. Kiting here is heaven. So I do not want to leave.

Bathrooms are nice, and seem not to smell as bad as when I first got here.....hmmmmm

Wind Slither · Since 04 Mar 2005 2573 Posts The 503 METAL

MattV - glorious camping in the Skyline parking lot! ...can't be as bad as that heinous looking delta disaster kite your flying . Laughing

Victor the Inflicticator is getting after the winter glory. Why is Obama fing up our climate? The prairie looks bony.

Will Sascrotch ever get the snowkite goods? This was going to be the year.

Thumb's Up

TOR

waynepjh · Since 27 Jul 2008 212 Posts jackson wy Stoked

Curious why not many nw kiters stop by jackson wy for kiting? Is utah closer or something?

Blazeheliski · Since 30 Mar 2011 655 Posts Mosier Addicted

waynepjh · Since 27 Jul 2008 212 Posts jackson wy Stoked

Its not like that at all. Its pretty much impossible to guide snow kiting here in jackson. I would need a permit for each area we snow kite. On Facebook we have a spot guide pinned to the top of our page. "jackson hole kiters" We do our best to help people that visit here. If you wanna visit here get on Facebook. My number is there and I will help anybody that is nice. Im just amazed that so many people drive past jackson to go to a single location to kite. Don't get me wrong I love utah and its spots but many more options here in jh all within an hours drive. Call me if you have any questions 307-413-3977 wayne Smile

registered · Since 12 Jul 2005 1319 Posts tsunami Sandbagger

Utah is a right turn before pocatello. Keeping the DUI time down in Idaho by bailing south.

I have been hoping for the patience to push east and fly the grand area of Wyoming this year.

Maybe March.....

Winter was canceled were we live.

We need more pics around here......All my new pics would be babies and sleep deprived screen shots.

Got myself two new kites for x max haven't even opened them ...whos that.

Blazeheliski · Since 30 Mar 2011 655 Posts Mosier Addicted

Matt V · Sun Feb 08, 15 11:58 am

It is my second year of slumming around the mountains. So far, Skyline is the only place that has not disappointed for my style of riding. I like kitesnowboarding features that I know skis cannot get in and out of. The best is when I hit something that I think I cannot get my snowboard out of.

JH is the best for snow. Deep powder that is rarely wind-blown. But therein lies the problem. I spent a few days at Togwotee on 10-13mph forecasts (and good direction) and it never blew over 2mph. Bondurant is supposed to be better with more exposure to different directions, but I never made it there. Jackson just seems to require local knowledge to make a trip out of it. Again, if you are going there for a trip, you do not have local knowledge. No cost camping is also a huge plus that I have not figured out there. Go ahead, call me "team Walmart snowkiting".

Every serious back country snowkiter we talk to is amazed that we drove away from the Bighorns. Given the chance (and a sled) they would kite the Bighorns exclusively. Lots of windblown snow, but that goes with kiting.

Honestly, my heart is back on the plains of eastern SD, SW MN or N Iowa. But there has not been any lasting snow to fill in the grass on the terrain this year.

For good snowkiting you need 3 things:

1. Snow coverage - can be as little as 6-8inches on managed grazing areas with no rocks. This is my background and my love. You still get amazing features. Deep snow is always better, but with no wind or no way to get to it - it is worthless.

2. Wind - Just need 10mph to make it work, but exposure to all directions is even more important. The greatest spot in the world is worthless on a 17mph wind if the wind is blocked from getting to you. Having to drive to another spot 2.5hrs away for a 1 day wind shift makes you wish you sacrificed snow coverage for exposure.

3. Park and ride - even if you have a sled, getting in really eats into your kiting time (unless you like pushing on a throttle). Logistics, breakdowns, and having a second person to go in with can be a hassle too. Park and ride is where it is at. Hell, skinning or shoeing in is better than supporting a sled. If our sport was more popular, then you may have to get a sled to get away from the crowds. But that is just not the case.

Very few places have the perfect combo of all. Some sacrifice one area for the other. Sometimes you have to sled in to get to the goods. But the best times for me are when I can go 10 days of kiting on acceptable snowconditions with good wind conditions and kite a different feature every day without having to move my vehicle. Skyline. (though I reserve the right to change my opinion as I try more spots)

P.S. I am exclusively a foilhead on the snow. That yellow kite was borrowed from a girl there learning. I stole the best part of the day from here when she wanted me to take it out. And it is the best kite I have ever flown. 2011 Kahoonas are my favorite and I use Kahoonas exclusively on the water. Are there better kites? Not for me, but maybe for you.

Wind Slither · Since 04 Mar 2005 2573 Posts The 503 METAL

Matt V · Mon Feb 09, 15 12:50 pm

#4 - Visibility!

Fogged out? Naaaaaa..... It was just a glitch in the matrix when the kite disappeared. And the ice on the lines and bridles were just my way of collecting water so I did not have to go back town.

DONT MAKE FUN OF MY KITES, MAN! IT IS ALL I HAVE. WHAT IF I MADE FUN OF YOUR KITES. Sorry I am a little sensitive at times.

Still, I have had some RPM fliers comment that my Kahoonas turn really fast. That is until they try to fly them. Then they realize that some kites take some pre-planning to make turn fast.

Johnb · Since 02 Aug 2010 494 Posts Obsessed

Anybody still in Utah? I am heading that way this weekend.

Matt V · Wed Feb 25, 15 7:34 am

I am there in spirit. Hope to be there in reality after the weekend. Next week looks to be the Good Good out there with what seems to be a new accumulation of 6-10inches of snow before the forecast gets too far out and they don't want to predict amounts. But it will still be snowing after that.

Kind of committed to the Mille Lacs Kite Crossing, but as an addict, I am always looking for a better fix. If Mille gets no new snow, I may have to go the other direction and stay another 14 days in the parking lot at Skyline. At the same time, missing the Crossing means missing the best party and people in snowkiting.

But leaving a flat lake behind to see if the swimming pools of Skyline have not filled in with snow seems like a good choice. I cannot get those off of my mind. I close my eyes and see them every second. The only swimming pools on Mille would involve a few tow trucks, divers, airbags, and my new home turning into a fish tank.