Proletariat
Posts: 896
Registered: 5-11-2012
Location: Colorado
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Where to go in South Denver / Front Range
I need some help finding anywhere in Denver south of I-70 to reliably kite. I think I've been to all the big spots -- all of which have some major
issue. When I (rarely) do get a day to ride a bit, I typically drive around and check spots and get thwarted at all of them.
Aside from a cactusy, out-of-the-way, hard-to-get-to, bumpy green belt, I have no place to go to get my kite on. Anyway, I could use some advice if
anyone has any. The Denver locals typically try to get together on Sundays but when we do, it's often so packed that it's not feasible to fly. Every
open spot for about 20 miles around me has a no trespassing sign.
Here is some of the fail
Dove Valley - soccer fields - rabidly anti-kite, pro-soccer contingent. People have been pretty nice to me overall, but I have been chased off
by dick soccer coaches. Mostly always full with soccer anyway.
Easton Park - more soccer. Better than Dover, but still occupado often and very far west so winds are dodgy (right, Nick?)
Stapleton - big park, little soccer,but giant football practices have randomly just started cropping up. No room to kite.
Dave Lorentz - small, artificial turf, lots of fences and lacrosse (lots)
Chatfield - haven't yet found a flat enough spot to landboard. Maybe buggy?
Lowry - turbulent and small
Aurora res - same as chatfield
Open field next to Comcast - dry creek and Colorado - no trespassing signs all over
Great Sand Dunes / Dry Lake - asked permission and was basically told no, but I think that was just out of ignorance / CYAness. Actually
buggies for a few hours on the dry lake before I called but now I'm all paranoid about getting busted
construction sites / church fields / high schools - all varying degrees of GTFO of here signs or people.
Cornerstone Park - same as Dove
Any other flat spot I can find that's not dangerously turbulent or filled with soccer.
So what do YOU guys do to find a place to fly inland? Can we reserve part of a field locally or something? Are there any types of land that we CAN
go on without asking someone first (which inevitably earns a refusal before the talk has even begun?)
I may have ridden a grand total of 2 hours in the past 3 months, and that was in a different state. I could really use some suggestions for trying to
landboard here locally, or suggestions based on whatever it is that you do in your home town to get your land on.
Thanks
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bigkid
Posts: 4178
Registered: 4-12-2009
Location: Somewhere over there -->
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Mood: :-)
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Should have stayed in Oregon, my buggy is is always ready for another ride down the beach.
Keep looking and talking to people, got to be something that would work.
Appex buggy, Libre hardcore buggies.
Flexboardz. Blokarts.
PKD Century Soulflys. NPW's. Nasa Stars.
A few other less flown oddballs,
Line sets from 10" to 328" or 2m to 100m.
worlds only AQR that works.
North American distributor for PKD.
"Kite Bugging is not an addiction until you try to quit".
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Proletariat
Posts: 896
Registered: 5-11-2012
Location: Colorado
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We've recently been spending a bit of time out at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds. They're cool there, the parking lot is big and dusty and no
turbulence... the downside? There are 2:
1) Tons of random junk laying around the parking lot. Every time I go there, I leave with baling wire, plastic taillight bits, etc... It makes me
worried about the integrity of my kites and perhaps my inner tubes.
2) The dirt is soft has hell, so it is incredibly hard to keep an edge on a landboard. Buggys are perfectly fine. In fact, it's baller for buggying.
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erratic winds
Posts: 2081
Registered: 1-3-2010
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FWIW if you mean Chatfield Reservoir in your initial post, there is no kites allowed of any kind, water/land. CO State Park rules. Aurora Res is not
a state park so they will allow kitesurfing.
Tide? What's a tide? Man, it's 1000 miles to any ocean.
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FrontRangeJeff
Posts: 153
Registered: 5-2-2013
Location: Colorado - Westminster
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Mood: No wind=ride bike...else kite!
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Arapahoe F/G seemed so promising at first but yeah----I just finally got the multiple slow leaks in my tubes to seal...at some point I'll have to
replace them.
At least they are cool with kites.
As for State Parks - I think that policy might be gone? Brad (Yeti) and I think Dave and I all tried finding the language banning kites a few months
ago and it looks to be gone from the regs-but I am sure many rangers would be total butts regardless. If Chatfield was that nasty to Nick then I'd
suspect not much would have changed there...that stuff seems to be engrained based on attitude from park to park.
I do know as a fact that Steamboat Lake State Park is accepting of kites. My parents retired up there and my father talked to 3 chains of command that
it would be completely fine so long as we weren't "Getting massively airborne all over the place". Basically if we are not looking like we were
endangering guests they wouldn't care. I have been waterskiing there many times but never had a kite and board with me - it would be a gusty tough
place to H2O it but in the winter it can be wicked good.
Snow kited there several times - each time stopping in the visitors center to say hello and ask about the ice conditions just to let them know I
planned on snow kiting - also had a ranger drive up and say how nice it was to see kites. Also snow kited 11 mile - never had a problem there either.
I think a case by case basis of state parks is worth trying.
Kites: 4.5 SS RPM, 6 FS Unity, 7 OR Razor, 9 Nitro, 12 SS Rally, 14 Switch Nitro 4, 15.5 Helium 2
Boards: Trampa HolyPro 35 W Vertigo, Nobile NHP Split 134, Cab 136 XCaliber TT, Airush Sector 54 Directional, Skis, Snowboard
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erratic winds
Posts: 2081
Registered: 1-3-2010
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Mood: ATGATT! Armor up!
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Quote: Originally posted by FrontRangeJeff  |
As for State Parks - I think that policy might be gone? Brad (Yeti) and I think Dave and I all tried finding the language banning kites a few months
ago and it looks to be gone from the reg |
From the 2014 CO State parks Land & Water Regulations Page Two:
It Shall Be Prohibited......
AIRCRAFT
15. To land or take off with any type of aircraft on any Parks and Outdoor recreation lands and waters except as specifically authorized by these
regulations or in case of emergency. “Aircraft” means any device or equipment that is used or intended to be
used for manned flight or to otherwise hold humans aloft for any period of time, including powerless flight, and specifically includes, but is not
limited to, airplanes, helicopters, gliders, hot air balloons, hang gliders, parachutes, parasails, kite boards, kite tubes, zip
lines and other similar devices or equipment.
Sucks, because I could quite literally walk to Chatfield from my house.
| Quote: Originally posted by FrontRangeJeff |
I do know as a fact that Steamboat Lake State Park is accepting of kites. My parents retired up there and my father talked to 3 chains of command that
it would be completely fine so long as we weren't "Getting massively airborne all over the place". Basically if we are not looking like we were
endangering guests they wouldn't care. I have been waterskiing there many times but never had a kite and board with me - it would be a gusty tough
place to H2O it but in the winter it can be wicked good.
Snow kited there several times - each time stopping in the visitors center to say hello and ask about the ice conditions just to let them know I
planned on snow kiting - also had a ranger drive up and say how nice it was to see kites. Also snow kited 11 mile - never had a problem there either.
I think a case by case basis of state parks is worth trying. |
Someone might have talked to 3 chains of command who approved it, but unless the actual document changes, those people's opinions don't mean much and
won't help you at all when a ranger tells you to get off the "state" ice.
I snow kited for 4 years on chatfield before they kicked me off, never a complaint from fishermen, and had several parks rangers tell me how cool it
was.....doesn't change the fact I was kicked off and they were very clear about how it was forbidden, circling this page of the booklet and handing it
to me.
I, personally, am not gonna even let the possibilty of being shut down and maybe cited for trespass affect my kiting again, so _f_u_c_k_ Colorado
State Parks in regards to our sport, I used to be an annual pass holder, but no longer.
Tide? What's a tide? Man, it's 1000 miles to any ocean.
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FrontRangeJeff
Posts: 153
Registered: 5-2-2013
Location: Colorado - Westminster
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Mood: No wind=ride bike...else kite!
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Well obviously missed THAT....but I am not going to let a couple of jerk rangers out of many that are cool kill my juju of snow kiting on both
Steamboat Lake and 11 Mile. I've seen 6 kites at 11 mile and for the first time ever I kited with others at Steamboat.
Threats of trespass is absurd and maybe the powers that be at Chatfield had prior issues....regardless-unless I get run off I'm not going to worry
about it-there are lots of regs that go unenforced.
I purchased my annual park pass while making sure they didn't give a flyin' f$dK about using the lake for snow kiting
Kites: 4.5 SS RPM, 6 FS Unity, 7 OR Razor, 9 Nitro, 12 SS Rally, 14 Switch Nitro 4, 15.5 Helium 2
Boards: Trampa HolyPro 35 W Vertigo, Nobile NHP Split 134, Cab 136 XCaliber TT, Airush Sector 54 Directional, Skis, Snowboard
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erratic winds
Posts: 2081
Registered: 1-3-2010
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Mood: ATGATT! Armor up!
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It's up to you if you want to continue to go there, but now that you have the knowledge that you're breaking the usage rules, it may color your
ability to enjoy the place.
Tide? What's a tide? Man, it's 1000 miles to any ocean.
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FrontRangeJeff
Posts: 153
Registered: 5-2-2013
Location: Colorado - Westminster
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Mood: No wind=ride bike...else kite!
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Yep I'll keep going; and Nope-it won't color my ability to enjoy myself....if nothing else it is my own peaceful way to stick it to the man
Kites: 4.5 SS RPM, 6 FS Unity, 7 OR Razor, 9 Nitro, 12 SS Rally, 14 Switch Nitro 4, 15.5 Helium 2
Boards: Trampa HolyPro 35 W Vertigo, Nobile NHP Split 134, Cab 136 XCaliber TT, Airush Sector 54 Directional, Skis, Snowboard
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Proletariat
Posts: 896
Registered: 5-11-2012
Location: Colorado
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I just buzz them with small fast kites (with staples in the front)... but to each his own 
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yeti
Posts: 130
Registered: 3-26-2013
Location: Halifax, NS
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Yeah I looked in the same place for those regs as when I saw em before but I couldn't find em again. So either they're not online anymore or they
moved somewhere very sneaky.
I'm not on the front range anymore so I guess it doesn't affect me.
For tube punctures, can you get something similar to these?
http://www.rei.com/c/bike-tire-liners
They worked wonders for me protecting against goat's heads on the mountain bike.
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FrontRangeJeff
Posts: 153
Registered: 5-2-2013
Location: Colorado - Westminster
Member Is Offline
Mood: No wind=ride bike...else kite!
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I'm certainly not going to worry about getting run off snow kiting at state parks - kited 4 days total at two spots without issue so if they want to
enforce the letter of the law I'll deal with it then.
I wonder if getting a liner to curve that tight or fit within such a small space of a land board tire is an option - but worth a look.
Fortunately slime eventually took care of it - I had about 8 to 10 small punctures from land boarding over a freakin' cactus  so it took quite a few occasional pump ups before it finally sealed entirely.
Kites: 4.5 SS RPM, 6 FS Unity, 7 OR Razor, 9 Nitro, 12 SS Rally, 14 Switch Nitro 4, 15.5 Helium 2
Boards: Trampa HolyPro 35 W Vertigo, Nobile NHP Split 134, Cab 136 XCaliber TT, Airush Sector 54 Directional, Skis, Snowboard
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erratic winds
Posts: 2081
Registered: 1-3-2010
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Mood: ATGATT! Armor up!
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http://cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Pages/RegulationsBrochures.as... for rules and regs statewide
Tide? What's a tide? Man, it's 1000 miles to any ocean.
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volock
Posts: 425
Registered: 8-5-2013
Location: Dallas, TX
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Mood: Choosing your new depower foil quiver is hard...
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You tried checking the local polo grounds? As long as there aren't people out there actively on horse, I've had plenty let me go use their competition
grass areas.
NAPKA US314 (Pi)
Stunt Kites: GoFlyAKite Parastunter 1.4m | Pacific Quest Mighty Bug 0.5m and 1.0m | Prism Flip Kite
Arcs: Peter Lynn Venom 19m
Depower Foils: Flysurfer Peak 12m, Peter Lynn Lynx (2015) 5m, 9m
FB Foils: HQ Beamer II 3.6m | Ozone LittleDevil 4.5m | Pansh Ace 5m, 7m | PKD Busta Soulfly 1.5m, 2.4m, Brooza II 7.5m | Prism Tensor 5m | Thunderwing
Parawings Set
LEIs: Cabrinha Convert SE 9m | Ocean Rodeo Prodigy 14.0m, Razor 12m, Storm 5.0m
Atomic Terrain Park Skis (w AT adapters for the wind dieing), Snowboard, 21" Isvidda Nordic Skates (NNN-BC and NIS bindings depending on the
pair),
Badfisher 11' SUP, Ocean Rodeo JT Pro 138cm
Landyachtz DH Race (Bear 852 Trucks), MBS Comp 95X
RB Swindler, Skorpion Skates
Sysmic S2 Dune Midi XL Buggy |
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erratic winds
Posts: 2081
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Mood: ATGATT! Armor up!
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I am only aware of one polo ground in the area and it is private property which might not be an issue but it's also a gated community you can't even
get in to ask.
Tide? What's a tide? Man, it's 1000 miles to any ocean.
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Kiznosh
Posts: 23
Registered: 2-20-2013
Location: Colorado
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Mood: School interferes with my kiting.
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Back to the original question. I've moved to Aurora from Boulder, so I'm looking for spots to kite (in my abundance of free time, since I'm back in
school). Don't have a landboard yet, but I'm thinking about getting one...
Stunters: Flying Wings Alpha+, Prism E3
Power: Prism Tensor 4.2m, HQ Apex III 7.5m, Ozone Summit 12m
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erratic winds
Posts: 2081
Registered: 1-3-2010
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Mood: ATGATT! Armor up!
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Euugh, sorry Kiznosh, boulder's not got many spots at all, only place I know that allows kites on land is sandstone park. Ya might have to go water
if you want kite time in boulder. Boulder Res is a good spot.
Hope to see you all this winter.
Even though there won't be a CKF event anymore, maybe we will have to declare a date as a meetup up on Dillon and go play in the snow.
Tide? What's a tide? Man, it's 1000 miles to any ocean.
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Kiznosh
Posts: 23
Registered: 2-20-2013
Location: Colorado
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Mood: School interferes with my kiting.
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EW, I'm in Aurora now, not Boulder.
Stunters: Flying Wings Alpha+, Prism E3
Power: Prism Tensor 4.2m, HQ Apex III 7.5m, Ozone Summit 12m
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erratic winds
Posts: 2081
Registered: 1-3-2010
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Ah! I read that backwards, must have been distracted.
Well, best spots in Aurora are still Dove Valley and Arapahoe County Fairgrounds parking lot like Proletariat says above!
Tide? What's a tide? Man, it's 1000 miles to any ocean.
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Cerebite
Posts: 328
Registered: 5-6-2011
Location: China Lake Yacht Club
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Mood: Is he using the same wind we are?
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or if your are in N Aurora then Stapleton Central or Lowry Great Lawn.
On the subject of Rangers I have talked to three different Denver Parks & Rec. Rangers in the last year [they do not talk to each other]. After
the first one I looked up the regs and kites are allowed [but frisbees are not ]. with the third one after I was not intimidated off by his empty threats he the resorted to a "speed limit" rule like they use on the bikes in
Wash Park on the weekends. That day i had not broken the speed limit [cranked the grass PB up over 40 kph on Sunday with a good wind direction and
nobody out there ].
I have got to get down to Arapahoe County FG and see this "new hotness" in buggy locations.
NASA wings -1 to 12m [mostly KM4]
Foils -2 -12m [mostly PL & Pansh]
VTT Stinger on Midi's
Another day in Paradise...
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FrontRangeJeff
Posts: 153
Registered: 5-2-2013
Location: Colorado - Westminster
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Mood: No wind=ride bike...else kite!
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Arapahoe is ok but really be on the lookout for glass, nails, wire and other crazy stuff....and my 2 cents The lots ride small. The huge fields would
be wicked good with a dumping of snow but ultimately MAYBE luck out for 1 day a year? The lower lot is buggy-able but bumpy
Kiznosh, hope we meet up to snow kite again this year. Hope Aurora area treats you well.
Kites: 4.5 SS RPM, 6 FS Unity, 7 OR Razor, 9 Nitro, 12 SS Rally, 14 Switch Nitro 4, 15.5 Helium 2
Boards: Trampa HolyPro 35 W Vertigo, Nobile NHP Split 134, Cab 136 XCaliber TT, Airush Sector 54 Directional, Skis, Snowboard
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Proletariat
Posts: 896
Registered: 5-11-2012
Location: Colorado
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Arapahoe would be great for a west wind, but jeff is right that it rides small, but I've put in some serious speed there. There is certainly quite a
bit of debris in the parking lot, but you can also extend out into the field, which is bumpy but has less debris. If we got a lot of snow, it might be
amazing. Basically, exactly what Jeff said The nice thing is that they were
super cool with us being out there (same with Aurora res right next door).
Also, Jeff and I recently stopped by BLM and asked them about land use and they were amazingly cool. Said we could use any of their lands, but we'd
have to get a permit if we had an event that made us money. They also sell maps for $4 apiece. I think there are 50ish maps for all of Colorado.
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Anthonyshopguy
Posts: 75
Registered: 3-18-2015
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Mood: Getting better
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I know this is an Ancient thread, but Question has anybody approached state parks about looking into revising the rules. The only people that want to
use the lakes when it is windy are sailers, whether they kiteboard, sailboard, or use old fashioned sailboats. My believe is these rules where put
into affect sometime in the early 90's I had talked to a ranger out at Jackson Res about kiting and the venom that came out of his mouth did not
sound very good. I was not a kiter at that time but had seen it both at Big Mac and Florida. The story he told me was of a kiter having to be
rescued out of a tree with sever injuries. Kiting is still a hazardous occupation but has gotten much better over the years. If maybe we could get
say 1000 Colorado residents to sign a petition to get the parks to look into revising the statues. First open the parks up for winter use, buggies on
beaches, kiters on frozen lakes, Steamboat, Eleven mile being good examples. 2nd opening parks to water kiting in off peak season times March-May,
Sept-Nov Parks such as Chatfield, Cherry, Boyd, Jackson, Green mountain, Steamboat, Crawford, Ridgeway would all be excellent water kiting. 3rd same
parks as above with maybe designated areas for all year usage. I propose if you are a Colorado kiter and are interested in pursuing this, post your
info here or PM me and I'll work on a list. There is a board of Citizen advocates appointed to guide state park policy's. One is here on the western
slope. I'm hoping to reach out and get a meeting with them to at least see if there's any chance of a revision to the policies. I've also made
mention of this in Kiteforum, and FB Colorado kiters. I'm not into politics but if we sit around and only complain it will never change.
Flysurfer Soul 21m, Cabrinha Contra 17m, Slingshot Turbine 15m, Best Waroo 13 m, Peter lynn escape 11, Best Nemisis 9, Best Waroo 7m(brought back to
life for IBX 2018, Ozone frenzy 11(Franken kite), HQ apex 6.5 (died IBX 2018 fly in peace) , several TT' s, SB's, PL Bigfoot XT, 600
Polaris snowmobile to get me there!
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nate76
Posts: 330
Registered: 9-9-2015
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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Mood: Lets roast some coffee
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Hey Anthony! Ya, I know this is something on the mind of a lot of us here. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of congruity in what you can/cannot
kite in the state - for example why is Dillon Ok, but 11 mile not? I think posting in the FB Colorado Kiters forum is the right start - there are
some of the Old Guard that frequent there who I believe has been active in the past in trying to get things changed.
Sadly I kind of get the vibe that the longer people have been involved in kiting in CO, the more pessimistic they are that things will change for the
better and it has driven some of them underground. I do think you're right though that kiting has become a little more mainstream, safety has come a
long way, and we have lots of examples of precedent from other states that it can be sanctioned and done safely in State lands.
And just to be clear, the hang-up seems to be State Lands specifically. I've never had any issues in BLM or National Forests.
Founder/Owner Colorado Kite Sports
Specializing in Gin, Little Cloud & HQ4 foils.
http://coloradokitesports.com
Most used Kites: LC Pelican, Gin Marabou
Skis: Something w/ Marker Baron or Duke Bindings
Boards: Litewave Wing, Naish Jet 2000, OR Mako 140
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Cerebite
Posts: 328
Registered: 5-6-2011
Location: China Lake Yacht Club
Member Is Offline
Mood: Is he using the same wind we are?
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And in an update to the land side:
In '16 or '17 I had a disastrous run in with Denver Parks & Recreation on the subject of buggying. I received a ticket for "dangerous operation
of a motor vehicle" at Stapleton.
1) no motor, ranger never approached within 50 m of the buggy to determine this
2) at the time I was 20 m from my handles so was not operating. The ranger never did see my flying a kite [this was my second encounter with her] or
operating a buggy
3) no wind to fly anything [I had either an 8 m or 12 m FB on 25 -30 m lines laying on the grass].
4) other than the kiters no one was using the fields that we were on with our kites [nobody flying but they all had out stunt and static kites].
My wife and I appealed the ticket to the fullest extent possible
a) they changed four items on the ticket without notifying us [little things like whether or not I cooperated and provided my drivers license]
b) they did not consider the weather report for the day to be pertinent to the discussion [IIRC 0 -3 mph winds]
c) they read on Wikipedia that buggies are capable of 80 mph and significant height off of the ground and therfor deducted that I was flying at 80 mph
at 10 -15 ft off of the ground on that day [like an ultra lite].
- - - - - - - - -
As a result of that pretty much everyone stopped buggying in Denver city limits. The icing on the cake is that about five years earlier Parks &
Recs had included buggying as an attraction to that specific park in their description of it and prior to that ranger they had ALL been supportive and
encouraging of our efforts to conduct our sport at that location.
I now work for an employer with a personnal dry lake so it is all good
NASA wings -1 to 12m [mostly KM4]
Foils -2 -12m [mostly PL & Pansh]
VTT Stinger on Midi's
Another day in Paradise...
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