Kite video White Salmon Bridge

wemolly · Since 02 Aug 2008 9 Posts Kook

Since my shoulder is gimpy I sat on the rocks by the bridge and shot some video. It's nothing fancy but gives an idea of the swell on Monday, late afternoon.

A quick and dirty edit. And for the camera buffs, it was shot with a Nikon D300s that does 720 HD.

http://vimeo.com/24797740

pkh · Since 27 Feb 2005 6549 Posts Couve / Hood Honored Founder

Nice!

Gman · Since 11 Feb 2006 4911 Posts Portland Unstrapped

Youkai · Since 08 Feb 2010 553 Posts Beaverton Addicted

Holy heck that is some huge swell. Must have been fun. God forbid you lose your board though. Finding it in that would be a pain.

apctjb · Since 19 Aug 2007 438 Posts Obsessed

Current is running fast. Someone lost thier kite and bar; it was hung up on a piling just west of the bridge. Hope they were okay. Saw someone doing a self rescue heading to Wells Island. Note sure where you go from there....

kenja · Since 19 Jun 2008 179 Posts Stoked

The guy who lost his kite made it back okay and retrieved his kite. He and I got our lines crossed in the circus zone at the bridge. A huge swell broke upwind of me and I wasn't able to clear it and got rolled. My kite stayed airborne and as I was getting ready to dive the kite and get back up, I saw a shadow and looked up to see our lines crossed. Both kites went down. He tried to swim under my lines, but his safety leash got clipped into my outside line in the process. I pulled my 5th line as far as I could to depower the kite, but as he floated further away, the outside line managed to power the kite. He somehow released himself from my line, but also lost his kite in the process. I luckily managed to relaunch mine.

He got a tow back to the W tip of Wells island and had to hoof it back barefoot which was no fun. A couple of us tried to save his kite before it tangled on the pillings just up from the bridge. It was a pretty bad kitemare, but everyone made it back safely. This was the first time I really wished I had a kite knife since my 5th line got wrapped all around my legs.

The bridge is getting crazier every season. There are so many kiters out there carving it up that it is getting nearly impossible to navigate. You can't predict where people are going to be from one second to another. That's my lesson learned. The swells are juicy, but it isn't safe with so many people in the zone (on a Monday no less). I see close calls all the time out there and it was just a matter of time for my turn to come up.

kitezilla · Since 22 Jun 2006 453 Posts gorge Obsessed

[quote="kenja"]

He tried to swim under my lines, but his safety leash got clipped into my outside line in the process.

Add this incident to the ever growing list of reasons not to use that 'open-gated' kind of snap shackle:

http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=2343596&p=701875

Diggy · Since 25 Nov 2006 342 Posts Gorge to Coast Obsessed

That looks fun! Wish I were in it!

Wind Slither · Since 04 Mar 2005 2619 Posts The 503 METAL

When you throw buckets in the Gorge, they get thrown right back at you!
Thumb's Up

lekaks · Since 02 Apr 2008 151 Posts Hood River, OR Stoked

Great video. It's good to see Big Dave back and crack'n it after his ankle injury...

wylieflyote · Wed Jun 08, 11 8:47 pm

kt · Since 16 Mar 2005 763 Posts Portland, Or Opinionated

wow, that is almost an optical illusion. you can actually see the current ripping against the waves.

nice one!

kt

Youkai · Since 08 Feb 2010 553 Posts Beaverton Addicted

That video is pretty crazy. That part that really made me understand the swell was when the guy disappears behind it at 0:10.