Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Snow kiting safety (Lake)

Forum for snow- and landkiters
joe cheng
Rare Poster
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2015 7:05 pm
Local Beach: China, Qidong
Favorite Beaches: Qidong, Munai, boracay
Style: freeride
Gear: Cabrinha, ozone
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Snow kiting safety (Lake)

Postby joe cheng » Mon Mar 09, 2015 3:45 pm

How could I tell whether it is safe to kite in the Lake.

It has been +10 degree C in Aberta the for the last 3 days?

User avatar
matthepp
Frequent Poster
Posts: 491
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 3:51 am
Local Beach: RMP
Favorite Beaches: La Ventana
Kino Bay
Red Mountain Pass
Style: Rich
Gear: OR Flite 15m
OR Razor 12m
OR Prodigy 7m 9.5m
BD Carbon Megawatts
Slingshot Dwarfcraft/ Gamma 68
Brand Affiliation: Alpine Edge Engineering
Location: Ridgway
Has thanked: 7 times
Been thanked: 14 times

Re: Snow kiting safety (Lake)

Postby matthepp » Mon Mar 09, 2015 4:13 pm

Ask the ice fishermen. 3" of good ice = safe.

User avatar
edt
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 7316
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:27 am
Kiting since: 2010
Local Beach: Michigan
Gear: ride hard, no regrets
Has thanked: 530 times
Been thanked: 664 times

Re: Snow kiting safety (Lake)

Postby edt » Mon Mar 09, 2015 4:20 pm

only way to tell for sure is measure it or ask someone else who has measured it

Image

ice spud costs about $20. It's been 40F here for about 4 days, (that's 4C) dug a hole with my ice spud and measured 16.5 inches (that's 42 cm).

It's not going to melt in a week here even if it goes up to 70f (20c).

When you spud through ice you also get a feel for how weak or strong the ice is, if it's crumbly and foamy or strong and blue.

you are further north than me I can't imagine you have less than 40 cm of ice right now but you have to spud it to make sure.

User avatar
Laughingman
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2979
Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2009 4:35 pm
Local Beach: Kettle Point, Mitchell's Bay, Rondeau Bay
Favorite Beaches: Kettle Point, Mitchell's Bay, Rondeau Bay, Long Bay, Cayo Guillermo, La Ventana
Gear: Ocean Rodeo Gen6 Flites 10m, 12m Gen2 Roams 6m and 8m, Cloud D 4.8, 6.2, 8.0, 10.4
Xeon Laluz, Mako Wide 150, Jellyfish Custom surf board quad fin 6', LF Impulse Foil and Kanaha Shapes 37" board
Engine Harness with slider
Location: Southwestern Ontario
Has thanked: 17 times
Been thanked: 17 times

Re: Snow kiting safety (Lake)

Postby Laughingman » Mon Mar 09, 2015 4:32 pm

joe cheng wrote:How could I tell whether it is safe to kite in the Lake.

It has been +10 degree C in Aberta the for the last 3 days?
There is no way, after 3 days of +10°C any spring, stream and/or river could have seriously compromised the ice from below and you would never know it till you break through.
Once things start to melt I stay off the lakes.

You could test the ice in one spot and move 10' and break through.

User avatar
edt
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 7316
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:27 am
Kiting since: 2010
Local Beach: Michigan
Gear: ride hard, no regrets
Has thanked: 530 times
Been thanked: 664 times

Re: Snow kiting safety (Lake)

Postby edt » Mon Mar 09, 2015 5:05 pm

good point by laughing man. there can be springs and such under your lake. Be sure to know your own lake and know where it melts first. if you know how your lake works, where the current flows, where the hotspots are and such, you should have an excellent idea of where it's going to melt first so you can go there and spud it. If you are testing thin ice make sure to grab some ice picks / ice claws

Image

so if you fall in it's easy to pull yourself out. You should be able to buy these at the same store you get the ice spud at. You can also wear a wetsuit under your jacket and pants if you are worried about falling in. When you fall in remember to swim back the way you came in, because that ice was holding you previously you can't be sure about the other edge.

joe cheng
Rare Poster
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2015 7:05 pm
Local Beach: China, Qidong
Favorite Beaches: Qidong, Munai, boracay
Style: freeride
Gear: Cabrinha, ozone
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Snow kiting safety (Lake)

Postby joe cheng » Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:05 pm

Guys,

Thanks for the great advise. May be a good idea and safe to head fo the rockies. Will go to Lake Louis tomorrow.

Will update the condition there.

Many thanks!

User avatar
edt
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 7316
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:27 am
Kiting since: 2010
Local Beach: Michigan
Gear: ride hard, no regrets
Has thanked: 530 times
Been thanked: 664 times

Re: Snow kiting safety (Lake)

Postby edt » Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:28 pm

good luck. I ride down to about 4 inches in the spring in michigan so we have about one more week of snow kiting here. In the winter I will ride 2 or 3 inches of ice but the spring ice is softer than nice hard winter ice.

User avatar
Hardwater Kiter
Frequent Poster
Posts: 408
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2009 1:43 pm
Style: Rough and tumble
Gear: Ram air and single skin Foil kites. Long skis to truck, short skis to huck.
Brand Affiliation: www.hardwaterkiter.com Authorized retailers of Flysurfer. Ozone, HQ kites and Gin kites.
Location: North Conway NH. USA
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 13 times
Contact:

Re: Snow kiting safety (Lake)

Postby Hardwater Kiter » Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:08 pm

Here's a link to our ice safety page. It's mandatory reading for our clients and full of some pretty good information as well as links to other ice info sources.

http://www.hardwaterkiter.com/ice-safet ... ation.html

3" is not enough ice for consistent safety unless you really, REALLY know every detail about the lake you're riding. (inlets, outlets, springs etc...)

If you're riding ice you should have an ice screw. Primary use is securing your kite but secondary is checking ice thickness. 7" is the best all round size and good for gauging ice thickness. If you go to the hilt and hit water it's less that 7".


Return to “Snow / Land”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 135 guests