8/11 Bear Lake 9m

[Lisa Moss]

We rode Bear Lake on Saturday. Winds were pretty gusty and lot of lulls. I rode at one of the beaches north of Rendezvous (where you drive a car on the beach). Winds kept switching from sideshore (S) to side-off, to completely offshore (which wasn't a problem for us since we had a jetski).

I got a good few hours in of riding and then ended up pretty far from shore and the wind stopped (ugh). I started winding up the kite lines and then Zac came by and picked me up on the SeaDoo, but for some reason, we forgot the kiteboard and left it chilling in the lake. Finally a few hours later when we were packing up the car and getting ready to leave, we realized our stupidity. We searched all over for it but couldn't find the board (current was going offshore). I still can't believe we forgot the board in the lake. It was pretty close to me in the water, but I hopped in the jetski (with the kite) and we took off with no board. Ahh! Stupid! Stupid!

Guess we'll be buying another board soon...

The winds Sunday were pretty goofy so I didn't pump up the kite. Still was gusty, but about every 20 minutes or so the wind would completely die. I played around with the 4m trainer kite and a surfboard and had fun.

We drove by Echo Reservoir - pretty low but looks kiteable - lots of beach...or mud. I'll have to check that spot out next time.

Lisa

[bordy]

Lisa sorry to hear about your board. But in the same thought i have a RRD BS 140 I am about to list on e-bay. Post if it is some thing you maybe interested in. I would rather it goes to a utah sailer. $175 complete I think its a 04 or 05..

[Lisa Moss]

Thanks Bordy - that's a great deal

I think we're actually going to try to get another Naish Haze since Zac really loved that board, but thanks for your offer.

[mike loeser]

I rode down at the north end of the lake on the eastside on Sat. I saw what looked like a Slingshot Fuel south of where I was at. Don't know if that was you or not. The wind was good for Bear lake, I didn't think it was too gusty, just too light. I was riding the 10m Monsoonz, but couldn't catch much air and ended up downwind when the wind dropped. My 16m still has some bladder issues. Plus I go to Bear lake to wakeboard and if the wind blows I'll switch. Never needed my kite till this past Sat. It would be great place to kite with the amount of sandy beaches there.
Mike

[Lisa Moss]

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[Lisa Moss]

Oops. I was trying to upload a kiteboard pic at Bear Lake...didn't quite work...ignore that. Bear Lake is definately a sweet backdrop for some great kiteboard pics.

Mike, I didn't see any other kiteboarders out so that probably was either Zac or I (on a pink/purple Boxer SLE).

Where did you launch at? There definately were some strong gusts coming through every once in awhile on the south end (but Sunday seemed much worse). It seemed like the further I went away from shore the cleaner the winds. Definately a sweet place to kiteboard (or wakeboard if no wind).

[Kenny]

Lisa,

Bear Lake is a beautiful location!

I suggest that you don't bother with Echo. I have tried several times, but found that the wind is never consistent enough to ride. It is a good place to go if you like to swim with a kite. Come to think of it, there are a lot of places like that. Rockport is another one. DC can be that way some days as well. Wish we still had Rush. At least if the wind is unruly, you never have to swim!

Kenny

[Lisa Moss]

Oh, man! I was planning on riding Echo this weekend (one forecast I looked at was calling for 15-18 mph). Errr....(and I've also had my eye on Rockport)

Yeah, I miss Rush. How early in the season can you start riding Rush (I've got neoprene covered from head to toe in 5mm - so that's not an issue). Next season I plan on riding that mud pond constantly - I didn't take advantage of it this spring like I should have.

hmm...any suggestions for kiteboarding this weekend? (I might still try to give Echo a shot). I've been going crazy (only kiteboarded a couple times in the past couple months).

Lisa

[Kenny]

Lisa,

You can start riding Rush as soon as it thaws. That can be as early as February, it all depends on the weather. My recommendation however is to take advantage of the snow for as long as possible. Snowkiting is a whole lot warmer than early season kiting on the water.

This weekend - good question. I would go to Deercreek tomorrow. Saturday is a tougher call because Deercreek can be a real pain for kiters when the wind is strong. Last Friday I went there and the lulls were huge as well as the gusts 10 - 30 is not a lot of fun on a kite. That being said, if you have a big board, small kite combo you can make it work. Another alternative is Pineview. Sulphur could give up some good rides as well. I would say that if you don't mind walking, you can find kiting at the 3 locations just mentioned. DC is probably the most walker friendly if you wear booties. Plus the launch is not bad if you go to the north end of Island Park and launch out of the mud flats.

[lesvierra]

DC is probably the most walker friendly if you wear booties.

Just another Pineview shout. That changes this summer/fall. You can walk just about all the way around the res (most places without shoes) and launch just about anywhere. You really have to check it out at least once before the snow falls. Just need wind.

[Lisa Moss]

Thanks guys! I think I'll check out Pineview Sat or Sun since I haven't been there yet or maybe do another mud launch at Deercreek.

Woohoo! See ya!