12/24 Strawbs, 11.5 Kahoona, AT skis

[Travis Cook]

I showed up to 8-10 other kiters already tearing it up. I got there around 2:00, a bit late. Got a bit of good wind, but it just stopped around 3:30. Had to fold up and walk back. I had a great time and it was my first time out snokiting! I didn't have NEARLY enough time at it. Next time I show up with the 10:00am crowd and get first wind.

[kenclewis]

I showed up at about 11:30 with several kites already in the air. I noticed that they were struggling a bit with their 11s to 13s so I put up my 16 Waroo and had a great time. We still need a lot more snow there but it was a first great run for the season. (I'm not counting my park attempt last weekend!) Sadly, a couple of guys showed up from San Francisco about 3:30pm, about the time the wind died out so they didn't get to do anything. I'm hoping they will have the good fortune of some wind while they're here.

Ken L

[brenden schubert]

thanks for the well wishes - i'm one of the guys from san francisco. we just got down from skyline; it was pretty light at the launch but intermittently solid up on the ridge, so between the lulls we got several nice 30-45 minute sessions, decently powered on a 12 and 10. highlights included first kiteloops on snow and first glide jumps off of the ridge. ken, thanks for pointing us at this forum. kenny, thank you for your forecasting - without it we would probably not have made the trip up there today to give it a try.

also, if anyone found a pair of black gloves on the ground at strawberry last night, please let me know - we think we might have left them.

[Jason Klein]

I arrived at strab river close to 3 to see kites intermittantly on the ground, so I didn't rig. Drove down to chicken creek to check on on coverage and whether the ice appeared solid. When I pulled up there, winds were 18-20, so I got suckered into rigging just in time for the wind to die out. But I can report that the ice appears to be plenty thick to ride on - there are a lot of sled tracks on it - and the snow coverage is at least as good as S river. Looked to me to be less sage brush sticking up on the flats and next to none on the hills.