Feb 20, 21 Merrit snowkiting

I arrived in Merit on Friday afternoon at about 3:30 and headed straight to Mamette Lake. When I arrived there, there where a couple of locals Ice fishing with their truck parked on the ice, I stopped and went down to have a chat where they told me how thick the ice was, 22 inches and so slippery that I could barely walk. After being shown where to get on to the lake with my truck I decided to park on the beach ….. I figured my truck is a little heavier than most and wasn’t comfortable enough to risk parking on the ice. :unsure:

I set up my Ice Buggy and the 6.9 and found out that it was next to impossible to launch a kite on the ice with out cramp on’s on my boots, the second the kite launched I was dragged 50 feet down the lake unable to do anything but land the kite and walk back to the buggy. I decided the only thing I could do was hot launch from the buggy. Once I had the kite up I was off screaming across the lake which is about a quarter mile wide I had left the buggy skates a little dull because I was afraid that if they where too sharp the buggy wouldn’t be able to side slip at all causing it to roll over……… I was wrong While they worked really well, when the kite powered up in a gust it tried to drag the buggy sideways. When I reached the other side I did a turn and was about half way back when the wind died and I had to do the walk of shame back to the truck. By this time the locals had left and it was getting dark. I was uneasy about being out on the ice in the dark on my own so I packed up and headed for the hotel in Merit. Once settled I got to work with a file trying to sharpen the skates and managed to get them to a point where I thought they would work. The next day I met Gerald, He wanted to do some exploring before Ken arrived and off we went to Find Stump Lake. When we arrived we debated weather the lake was safe enough to walk on and after chiseling a hole in the lake we established that there was close to 18 inches of ice but the lake makes these big cracking sounds and every time we heard on we would run back to the shore (Huge pink skirts J ) we noticed that there was a couple of guys on the other side of the lake (about half a mile) away. We worked up the courage and started to walk across. Once we got to the other side we realized that it was really stupid to walk across and the ask the guys if it was safe to do so, so we asked better suited questions like do locals play on the lake and has there been any incidences of people going through. After a short visit we headed back to the car and because there was no cell coverage we headed back to Merit to meat up with Ken. When we finally managed to get hold of him we established that he was at Mamette Lake and off we went to meet him. Once we where all together we decided to head off to Tumkwa Lake where it was reported that there was snow due to the higher elevation. When we arrived the wind was blowing about 4-6 knots and we all got set up. We spent the day kiting and skiing in the sunshine we couldn’t have asked for a better day. The wind died down a little and I got out the 11.2 m…………. Wow what a nice kite. For being such a large kite it handles like a sports car and spent the rest of the day skiing with it.

The next day I arrived first to a foggy dead calm lake but after a short while it started to clear and after some skeptics ( Me) Gerald set up his 10m fixed bridle. He laid it out on the snow and decided to walk over to the lodge to get some info for future trips. While he was gone a group of snow mobilers came screaming through our camp and drove right over Gerald’s lines at a about 50 mph, the track picked them up and started to drag the kite towards the sled and at some point snapped the lines just in time before the kite reached the machine. Ken and I where waving our arms like mad men but the guy thought we were saying hi. :rolleyes:

When he eventually stopped and the kite was laying on the snow in a big pile, no one would admit fault but he seemed more concerned about his sled than the fact that he just destroyed some ones property. :angry:

After he cut all the line out of his drive sprocket Gerald showed up and was a little surprised to say the least but took it very well, I must say he took a lot better than I would have.

After all the excitement Gerald inspected the kite for damage (There was none) replaced his lines and handles, I set up the 11.2, Ken decided against the arc and we got down to the business of flying. Marcus and Ali showed up around noon. The rest of the day was great, Bright sunshine, Blue skies, we could have used a little more wind but the Vapor will fly in next to nothing, I love that kite

Thanks to Gerald,Ken, Marcus and Ali for a great week end and thanks to Richard for lending me the 11.2.

Coolbreeze
KC888

I had a great time last weekend,it was worth the drive up and a chewed up set of lines. :angry:

Tunkwa lake is a great spot,lots of room,even though Tunkwa means very windy place,aparently its not so windy over the winter.We averaged around 5 to 10 mph over the weekend.The lake is about 1 square km and we covered most of it over the weekend.
There hasn't been much snow this year so Stump and Mammette lakes were glare ice.I think they would be a better choice for wind if there was more snow.
If anyone ever wants a report on snow conditions they can contack Gordon at Copper Valley Motor Inn in Logan Lake he was quite interested in our sport.
Thanks everyone for a great weekend,hope to see some pics up sometime.

Gerald

Power Kite Canada: Feb 20, 21 Merrit snowkiting - Power Kite Canada

#1 Bladerunner

#2 coolbreeze

#3 Ricardo-KC88

#4 Gerald

#5 coolbreeze

#6 Gerald

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Power Kite Canada: Feb 20, 21 Merrit snowkiting - Power Kite Canada