Strawberry Skatepark 3/19 12M manta

[bigwavedave]

Friday gave up some good rides at the Strawberry Skatepark (aka -the view area). It was however one of the strangest wind days I've ever encountered there. The wind was 25 out of the NW when we pulled up at noon. Rigged up the 12M manta and got about 1 1/2 reaches in and then it started to shut down. I beelined it for the parking lot and pulled the kite down right before it got really light and then slowly switched to the east. It came back east strong enough to get back out on the 12 and get a good 45 minutes of powered riding before I felt it backing off again. Again beelined it for the parking lot and got there just in time to see everyone elses kites fall from the sky as it shut down again. Another 15 minutes and it was back but this time out of the southwest and back long enough for everyone else to get back before it died again and had most people with their kites packed up and ready to head back west where supposedly it was more consistent. Marty and another kiter left for Chicken Creek but right before we were ready to drive the skies cleared and it started picking up quite nicely and steady from the Northwest again. It stayed consistent enough that we decided to stick around and got a good 2 1/2 hours nicely powered tearing it up downwind of launch in the skatepark zone. Fred and I were launching off a sweet 15 foot 1/4 pipe feature near a downed log seeing who could make the high mark on the face above and having a blast all over in the undulating terrain there. At one point it got really strong and then again started backing off when I started beelining it for the parking lot again.We all got back and it pretty much shut down again right at my wife showed up at 5:30 for her evening session. We packed up there and headed to Chicken Creek West where she and I rode till dark nicely powered on the 15M and 12M mantas. Snow was pretty hard and crusty in most areas but all in all turned out to be a pretty fun day!

[bordy]

we rode lit 10 n 8 meter kites at CC from 1100 until 200 I rode over to mud creek and the other side of the road, then over to the marina and then back to CC saw some kite that had parked and post holed to set up. great day, saw some kiters leave early, becuase they did not have little kites. Crazy it was so different at the overlook?

[Jason Klein]

I was over at the river with pepe for an after-work session from around 4 to 7. Strangest north-ish wind I've ever experience out there. Pretty gusty and up and down throughout the session. I was on a 14 and pep on the 11 (his big kite is currently out of commission). A times he had the right kite, at other times I did. Snow was crusty, as BWD mentioned, but just the surface. You'd still break thru to soft snow on crashes. Not a bad afternoon, overall, but strange wind for strawbs

[kenclewis]

My son and I were at Chicken Creek West from about 11 - 3pm. He was on a 9 and I was on a 13 yarga hybrid. Both of us were well powered. We had another guy with us on a 15 Waroo. The wind was pretty consistant for the most part and we had a great time. We only had one short snow squall about 2:30 for a few minutes.

Ken L