Monte 2/16 & 2/19

[Augie]

Arrived at 10:00 and talked to Spencer who never had been there. There was another kiter (never got their name) already rigging by the road. Winds were 20mph west, maybe even 25mph. Kited for 3 hours and then stopped for lunch. By then Spencer was the only one left and he gave it up, so I also quit for the day. Nate showed up but the wind was too much for his 15m Waroo. I discovered that the steep sided gully in the riding area was completely filled in and started making it into a natural half-pipe. Pretty cool to go uphill in the pipe and even gap jump from side to side. Yeah-Spencer was going big.
Came back on 2/19 to very little wind. Kenny Lewis was already there with snowmobiles and he gave me a ride to the top of the ridge. Spencer showed up later with Brian but we never got winds above 15mph. I did go over the ridge to the west to look around again. That bowl is even larger than our usual riding area and it looks like it has even more terrain features. The fenceline between the bowls doesn't have any wire in it-just fence posts.

[MikE mAy]

augie-

remind me where mone cristo is and what wind works best there? i want to try a new spot. the natural halfpipe sounds fun. i might be able to figure out how to get there becuase i know location info is out there, but how about wind indicators and what winds work best?

[lesvierra]

Auggie, there is a snowmobile path that goes all the way up by raintree. When you're up there and look down towards the parking lot, there is an obvious large area/bowl that looks more predominant than anything else out there. Its hard to see from the parking lot and ant flat road because its a little higher, but its close and just over a small ridge. I'm wondering if this is where you where. Keep up the exploring and sharing the info.

[Augie]

Mike, to get to Monte-Drive around Pineview and go up SR 39 to just past mile marker 36. If you get to the snowmobile parking lot you went too far. You will see a groomed snowmobile trail going up the rise to the north. The snowmobilers are parking again at the begining of the groomed trail just off the pavement. Rig at the car if you can, but you sit in a wind shadow for almost any direction the wind blows at. Walk up the snowmobile trail to the top of the rise(less than 1/4 mile) and rig there. You are just at the tip of the riding area. The main area goes off to the west/northwest. The halfpipe is about 1/4 mile past the top of the rise and starts just to the west of the groomed snowmobile trail. If you go about 3/4 of a mile to the west over the ridge you will find more advanced terrain and similar halfpipes.
Any direction of wind works there since it is wide open. It doesn't generally blow real hard there so try to go when it looks fairly windy. I don't have any special gauge that I use, just the NWS point forecast. Click on the first big jog in the road above Causey reservoir. You know you are on it when the elevation reads 7590 feet.

Les, I wasn't even to La Platte area. The place that I went is usually ignored since we always have plenty of space and features in the usual area. It is just past the fenceline that we usually turn around by on the west side. It is probably 3 times bigger than the usual area and more vertical, although there is lots of room for speed runs.

[Marty Lowe]

It is just past the fenceline that we usually turn around by on the west side. It is probably 3 times bigger than the usual area and more vertical, although there is lots of room for speed runs.

Doug and I went there some on Sunday,
What a great area.
The wind was quite strong, so we could easily get around in that area.
It seemed like if we went any further west,
the wind wasn't as strong.
Maybe it was just the direction that day.
Sure wish it was that strong all the time.
(the untracked was pretty nice also!)

-Marty