Fall back, spring forward!

So it is time to start turning the clocks back for winter already. I have had a great fall with hiking, biking, skating, and kiting. All around Utah this fall. Skyline Drive is beautiful in the fall. But watch out for those crazy hunters! Or at least wear orange when you hike!!

I also had a really fun session at Utah Lake with Billy Bordy and Salvador. Sal and Billy were bustin sweet moves over the tall green islands of reeds. I only had my surf board so the chop at Utah Lake was amazing with big smooth rollers to slash and spray. Thanks to Mark Johnson for bearing the fridged cold air and water to take pictures of us!

It was a great session after working in the office for a couple of weeks. I am so glad this is the start of my trip to South Padre Island, Texas. From cold water to warm water for the next month. As the season changes in the Mountains, I hope there will be 2 feet of snow by the time I get back!!

Peace

Patrick Nedele
WWW.KITEUTAH.COM

www.FLYOZONEUSA.com

A little STOKE for the winter

So it has started to snow in some areas here in the USA. With Montana and Wyoming getting the first dumps of the season and first sessions of the year. Here is a clip just to keep you jealous. Back country kiting is the way to go. The use of a kite is limitless in the Back Country. Why buy a ski pass anymore? Get a kite and you will have more fun than you would ever have gravity skiing!

Men who ride up mountains Part 1 from Snowkitingworld on Vimeo.

Kite Skate Sess.

So I read on kite forum earlier this week if kiteboarding will be as popular as skateboarding. Or if kiteboarding would be as cool as skateboarding one day!

I say, "Hell yeah, kiteboarding one day will be Too legit to quit!" If the sport of skateboarding took as long as it did to become main stream. I think kiting has all ready become a legit sport and also gone more mainstream in a shorter time span.

All I really want to see is everybody that has a skate board to try Kite skating. Or even snow kiting. Maybe a little lame for most. But I seem to have a lot of fun doing it. I don't know if it is the constant pull of a kite. Or just that I can cruise a parking lot doing turns, jumping curbs, and grinding parking blocks with out having to kick as much.

But that is the benefit of snow kiting too. I don't have to hike to do my turns! Or get pulled by a snowmobile to have fun. I use my kite to pull into quarter pipes, half pipes, and fly off hills.

All I am trying to get at is, if you have a trainer kite. Pull it out and try to skate with it. It is more fun than you think. Not only that it helps your strapless riding too. It also trains you to use your kite in moving it more and generating more power with speed in the kite. I have found that people go out on the water and don't work there kites as much. They have gotten into a rut of just park and ride kiting. Then everyone says it isn't windy enough to ride!

Well I guess these are just thoughts, go out and try it for yourself!!

peace

Patrick Nedele

Made it to the WEST Coast!

Whew what a fiasco! Over just a kite! Who would have thought that there would be so much drama during a kite session!

Anyway we had to redeem our self's after a half good session. So we traveled south from the Jetty's to Sunset Beach near Seaside, Oregon.

We were amped to get there when the tide was going out. Brain, Eli, Tony, Noah and I had a great session out on the hard packed sand. Eli brought all his Ground Industry boards out to the beach for us to try out.

For me, this was my first real experience riding on good hard packed sand. The feeling was similar to riding on snow. From past sessions on grass and hard packed fields, I never got to feel the slide and the hooking up of the mtn. board on hard sand. Fun, Fun, Fun

We got showed up by the style and power of Eli's land boarding skills. Also his buddy and long time friend Gabe Shortman showed up and showed us his style. Gabe on a super old V4 was still ripping up the place and also boosting off a huge kicker he brought.

With all of us flying all the new 2010 snow kites and a few inflatables. We attracted a crowd of people. Then 3 buggyers showed up and were romping up the dunes and hauling ass on the hard flats. Who would have thought that we would get a good size group from a in prompt to kite session.

well tell next time.


peace
patrick nedele

Zephyr Gets LOST

After some amazing reaches in really light wind. I was so amped for someone else to try the light wind abilities of the new Zephyr. So our good friend Eli had to try to show me up. Even thought he weighs about 80 pounds more he still had to go out and give a go at the light wind.

Even with as light as the wind was, a guy that weighs 240 pounds and riding a 132cm long and kind of a wide board. Eli managed to get up and plane across the little bay we were in. With the winds being as light as they were. As Eli sailed to the other side. The wind luffed and Eli dropped the kite! Oh Eli! So he decided to try to walk up wind in the shallow water, even though the water was about chest deep! Up wind of him was a nice little island to regroup and relaunch the kite in the none existing wind.

As Eli was half swimming and half walking in the deep water. He was wearing a new Mystic harness that he got at the AWSI. What is the most important thing that hangs from your harness? A LEASH!!! So since Eli got a new harness he didn't have a leash. As he strolled and swam in the water he took the leash attachment point and larks headed it around his spreader bar. Well all is good until the leash line slips off the bar and the only Zephyr in the US, floats away into the Delta of the Colombia River. BALLS!!

As we stood on the beach we watch the only kite, we all want to ride in the light wind float away slowly. Mean time Eli is swimming like a Olympic swimmer to get back to shore. He yells at us, "Go get a boat," to get the kite. So we start scrambling to find a fisherman to bring us out to the kite.

In the mean time the beach goers were worried that Eli is drowning and they call 911. Poor Eli, loses a kite, has to swim back to shore, and the cops get called. Everybody shows up to the beach to meet and greet Eli. Ambulance, cops, fire trucks everyone waiting for a disaster. When they got there the personal was bummed to see that there victim was a walking, talking and not drowning!! So Eli managed to sort out the confusion. Sign some papers and got them to leave.

We managed to flag down a boat, that went to go check out the kite. The Zephyr managed to float down wind into the delta of the Colombia. But luckily the lines got wrapped around a lobster buoy and the kite didn't go as far as we would have imagined. The nice people from Washington on vacation with there boat came to our rescue to help us save the Zephyr. Amazingly absolutely nothing happened to the kite and the folks were just glad to help.

So what is the lesson learned from the story?

Always wear a leash! Even if you get a new harness because you are a bad ass rider!


Peace

Patrick Nedele

A little Sneak Peak

ZEPHYR!!!!
It wasn't that windy when I tried it. I wish we had a wind meter! The Kite had amazing grunt and movement!