Ever have one of those kiting days where you want a session so bad that your in denial if it doesn't work out. That was me today. Should have stayed home after the first try. Off of work today so I Drove 37 miles to my favorite lake..perfect ice conditions, 46 degrees F out, a perfect sunny bluebird day. Wind just sucked!! Light and fickle, 15mph for 15mins, then down to zero and stay there for 15mins...then change direction and go up to a whoppin 8 mph, then back up to 15mph. I didn't listen to the little voice that said stay close to base camp. Wind picked up fairly decent and thought it would stay there but again it dropped to ZERO. That's when I realized I was a mile from my equipment/sled and the wind showed no sign of picking up. So calm you could hear a pin drop. Stand there for 15 more min, still no sign of any wind. Take off skis and proceed to walk the mile back to my stuff. Get back and decide I've had enough of this garbage wind. I Drive home, eat lunch, look at another wind forecast that says 10-15mph around 4pm, proceed to drive to different lake thinking it would be better this time. NOPE, but still think the wind is gonna pick up and make a good session. Able to ski 1/4 mile and then wind dies off to zero and stays there. End up walking back AGAIN...pack up equipment in dissapointment and drive home feeling defeated. Now I realize how obsessed I was trying to get some kiting in today but denying the fact that mother nature wasn't gonna be nice to me. There was a few times today that not even a speed 21 would have done the trick. Am I the only one that gets this way? Drove 100miles and visited two lakes today, I think I need professional help

LOL . . . your persistence is applaudable . . . no you are not alone . . . I am sure PKF could get a "large group" discount on that professional help

I had miserably low wind today. 4 websites all said 8-10 mph wind at 4 o'clock today. I got out to the field today and the wind was a measly 2 mph. It took 15 minutes to fill my f-arc about half way. I ran backwards about 100 yards and it bowtied when it got mostly full. I got out the bowtie and tried again. One tug on the front lines and she went up and floated 10 feet off the ground. It just sat there and didn't move. As soon as I turned it to work up some speed it bowtied. After some more failed attempts I gave up up and went home.

Happens to me all the time. Last summer, I made several trips to lakes with promise of wind. Get there and the wind dies. Quite often the wind gods will even let me unpack suit up and launch before dying. I always try to be positive for at least getting off the couch and giving it a go.

I feel your pain Cheddar. I haven't had many days like that but there have been one or two.

We rarely get skunked here but last year we drove every location withing 100mile radius and didn't get a single puff. But on the way home we found a dog that had been hit by a couple of cars and had a badly broke leg, some cuts and bruises and some missing teeth. Now he lives with us, so even thought we drove over 200+ miles for no wind, we ended up with a good goofball of a dog.

We use AT bindings so no walks back when thew wind dies. At least you were only a mile out and the snow wasn't 2' deep.

We're you out by yourself? Usually if I'm out with someone else I wait till they give up and pack up thier kite. As soon as they zip it in the bag the wind usually picks up I swear to God. :saint:

Yeah, you need help Cheddar - like the rest of us!

There are guys I swear are are Wind Gods too - and whatever the opposite is... Wind Bastards? One guy, if he's there I just go home cos the wind WILL be borked.

Sounds like a typical snow kite day for me !

I have learned never to travel far from home base on those all too common fickle days.
Getting 15minutes in is what I call not getting skunked those days .
We actually carry a lawn chair as part of our standard snowkite / beach gear !

Good call on the lawn chair. Ice fishing is something I think I'm going to pick up at some point. Usually bad flying days are sweet fishing days and sitting in a lawn chair soaking up the sun is better than sitting on the couch soaking up the TV.

Or maybe I should save my pennies and get a powered paraglider because that would be sweet too.:wee:

We go the whole hog here, setting up a "Clam" ice fishing shanty(tent), with folding chairs, carpeting, a heater, and sometimes a gas grill! If the wind dies (or starts howling like a banshee) we at least can hang out and visit comfortably. Last Saturday, when we set up the wind was light, but picked up later on. Unfortunately when the "Clam" was set up, they thought weighing down the edges with snow would hold it in place, but when the wind picked up, it blew the tent about 100 yds. before we caught it! Live and learn, always stake the tent!

I'll admit I've had a really good winter for wind, never have used the 7meter so much in one winter. I did get a solid half hour in, so it wasn't a total loss. I was just shouting off my soap box I guess. I'm almost always alone when I kite(besides cell phone), so it would be wise for me to be better equiped for those unexpected moments. Like Feyd said, walking back in two feet of snow would be hell without AT gear, but I luckily had an inch of carpet soft mush so the walk back wasn't bad at all. I did get a nice face tan yesterday so it wasn't a total loss

I hear ya and feel your pain. I'll have what look like seemingly perfect days here to get out to my fields and have swirling, gusty, and unuseable winds. And I always figure this out well after I have unpacked and staked at least two kites...

Quote:

Originally posted by Feyd sitting in a lawn chair soaking up the sun is better than sitting on the couch soaking up the TV. wee:

EXACTLY ! I can't tell you how often I find myself sitting there watching the snow or waves and being thankful that kiting at least got me out of the house !

I also believe that kiting on Sunday gets me far closer to " the higher power " than any day sitting in a pew !

Happened to me today... tried snowkiting, no wind, checked a forecast, looked descent so drove 1 hour to a kitesurfing spot and got completely denied. Bummed!

Sounds like my last 3 sessions. If I had a golf club, I would've thrown it in the lake. Yet I still stayed out there for 4 hours each day, never once getting a kite in the air. Tomorrow, though, tomorrow will be better

The only thing worse is when your standing out on the lake with teasing zephyrs trying just to get a kite in the air, and the boys with the 17m & 19m flysurfers go cruising by...