You need to master flying the kite first to get to know the wind window and the feel of the power. Once you feel happy controlling the kite without crashing it then your ready to try it with skis or a snowboard.
For me as i do a lot of kiting with a landboard and buggy i already knew the wind window so doing it with skis didn't take me long to master. This has only been my 2ND time out this year and i now feel very confident.
As for the decent carrying the kites in your rucksack its not very heavy and still very manageable skiing. Under 5kg.
I was lucky really as i could park the car very close to the field as the roads were not too bad that day. Other days you need to walk up if the snow is really deep.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I had a walk up the Long Mynd on Sunday and a few possible lines for next Winter became apparent.
^^The Spine of the foreground would be a reasonable job with snow cover and the walk around and up is reasonably easy. Caradoc is the in distance to the right and the Lawley is out of shot. The pitch centre left looks good and finishes at the National Trust cafe. Southerly aspect won't help.
^^The Gully to the centre may catch the snow if the wind is right:
^^ Cardoc, The Lawley and finally The Wrekin, on the horizon to the far left.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Early days, but 2cm of snow is forecast for the Wrekin today. It won't stick but hopefully a sign of things to come.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Unfortunately I was away last week and missed the main snowfall. I couldn't resist taking a look at Caer Caradoc, which I never managed to ski last season. Shame I came late as I bet it was skiable before yesterdays rain. A couple of possible lines remain but the snow had formed a heavy crust. If we get some more on top it could be game on
^^ There are 3 or 4 gullies running down the west side that should catch the snow if the wind is right.
^^ The most tempting line complete with wind deposits at the top. For scale you can just see a walker by the drift.
^^ Looking down, wind blown snow had started to fill it in a little.
After all it is free
After all it is free
27th Dec 2010 - The Wrekin.
I managed to miss the best of both heavy snow falls this year with ski trips to Europe, watching the weather forecasts for the area from afar. I arrived home on Boxing Day to soft snow underfoot and high hopes for some local skiing. Unfortunately the next day dawned with a mild thaw and light rain \ sleet. The best & closest bet was The Wrekin, so I chucked the kit and dog in the car for a sneaky peak.
^^ The lower part of the path up was intact and probably ski-able. The foot traffic up the hill having pisted it. Those are leaves rather than stones!
^^ The cloud level was about 300m but the snow cover good. Just below this point I met an Irish(?) skier who'd bagged first 'tracks' for the day.
^^ Sleet blowing in at the top, 407m. The dog was off form - too many mince pies at my parents
The ski down was pretty good, just a few rocks here and there and I made to it to the Cafe, finishing with some rough 'off piste' through the beech trees. The main problem was dodging the walkers. Another snowfall onto would have made it perfect. In the end I suspect the descent was about 150m vertical.
^^ Although not the best of photos, if we ever get a really big dump the tree skiing should be pretty good. This is a side path running down a spur, with a nice gully running down to the road\path with an old Beech wood at the top.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
