With the last wind and snow episode in the Northern Rockies, snowkiters around the region know that we are in the heart of winter. Storm kiting has been superb. Post-storm sunny kite days have been superb. Every day that we have been out, we have been finding ballroom smooth surfaces of either dry powder or, at lower elevations, spring-like corn.
Travelling around Idaho, Wyoming and my home state of Montana I have been rewarded with amazing days of kiting and a few equally nice days of off-trail snowmobiling. Needless to say, having a sled to access remote powder stashes for kiting is a tremendous benefit. In Europe, there are highways to take one to high passes. In the Rockies, a sled provides one access to the dramatic high mountain environment.
For those of us who pay attention, the avalanche hazard this year is record breaking. Huge ground-scraping, tree-busting slides have been common throughout our region. It all stems from a near ground layer of faceted snow that formed in early December’s sub-zero cold. Its times like this that kiters relish the fact that we can go play in fresh, untracked powder and not place ourselves in the line of avalanche fire. Sure, small terrain traps and cornice drops are risky for kiters. But, for the most part these are easy to avoid.
As the days lengthen, the heart of snowkite season becomes more and more apparent. Now is the time to maximize one’s days kiting. While we are not quite to the mid-way point in the season, it’s coming. I’m looking forward to more powder, more wind and more sunshine with my kiting buddies.
Here are a few photos from Wednesday 15 Jan ’14.
Thanks for reading and see ya out there,
Noah Poritz
Bozeman, Montana