Lackluster season?

mystery curd · Since 14 Jun 2010 98 Posts Floating

Wondering wether anyone else feels like this was a lackluster season of kiting or if it's just me. Seems like early summer was cramped by high water and no sandbar in the gorge then two months of summer and next thing ya know I'm looking at ski passes. What happened? I got 70 days last summer... this year 35-ish!? I'm still jonesing for a few more big swell, 35mph wind days at the hatch. Same thing may happen next season since it looks like a big snow winter, hopefully.

pdxmonkeyboy · Sun Oct 09, 11 4:49 pm

I think that many many people feel the same way. I got maybe 40 days on the water last year. This year..4! It got off to a craptacular start and then bang.. it was fall already. I spent allot of the summer traveling for work and spent most of my time biking. I dunno, I've been kiting for 8-9 years?..just needed to give it a rest for awhile I guess.

Kiting is still great, but it's not like it used to be

kenja · Since 19 Jun 2008 179 Posts Stoked

I didn't keep track of sessions, but I kited a ton this year. Seemed like a pretty decent season to me. There were definitely a few stretches where I was hoping for a day or two without wind so I could get some work done. The early season had more cloud cover than normal which pushed the wind further east.

I usually gauge the quality of my kiting season by how little mountain biking I do. This year I think I only got on my bike about 7 or 8 times...

Sasquatch · Since 09 Mar 2005 2102 Posts PNW Bigfoot

Aeolus · Mon Oct 10, 11 9:36 pm

Gold Beach/Pistol River had a pretty solid season. Seemed like the Gold Beach south jetty was a little more fickle this year filling in. All in all not bad. Definitely a few smokin weeks this summer as usual.

.....summer is over .........time to rinse all those kites through some coastal southerlies...like tonight

fresh one on the drying rack

OG · Since 07 Jun 2011 597 Posts Addicted

It was a funny season, i can remember a couple weekends where the wind was just shutdown and then monday back on. Guess you had to be available to ride it on mondays. It was a better september than i can remember having, seemed that August was the best month for number of sessions for me and also probably the best august I've had in the gorge. SUmmer came late but seemed to hang around a bit.

I used to like to ride Jones a lot. The ikite forecast for that spot really didn't seem to reflect what was actually happening there. I wonder if some folks had a 'lackluster' from reading that forecast.

scott l · Since 05 Jul 2009 37 Posts

I thought it was great. A few early days in March and April. The high water allowed for marina or event site launching which was awesome. I even got 12 sessions post work at Sauvie.

ldhr · Since 21 Jul 2009 1489 Posts Hood River XTreme Poster

I live in HR and I have a full time job, monday thru friday, 7 - 3.
I kited an average of 15 days each month from late April to October 1 (80+ days overall).
I only kited from the Event Site/Marina and Rufus. One day at Rowena.
I missed quite a few good days due to work and not wanting to go to Rowena.
The early season high water was the highlight of the season as the swell at the WS bridge was epic.
In my 20 years of living in the gorge I thought this summer was average or slightly above average in both quantity and quality.
The one observation I have is that I used my 6m quite a bit last summer, whereas this summer I used it less.

4Stringer/KipWinger · Since 27 Apr 2005 541 Posts Hood River Addicted

DOPEFLY · Since 13 Oct 2007 97 Posts Maui

I was able to log about a dozen sessions, which was more than last year due to an open schedule through summer. I actually found some relief this year in having more time on a surfboard, a new kite, and the time to revisit some favorite locations. The weather sucked as we all know but there was some magic out there and I was happy to get it. Positive thoughts this season, we'll see what we get. For those on Hatteras Island, watch out for debris and each other.

Sella · Thu Oct 13, 11 12:08 pm

Location, funky forecasting and quiver depth I surmize.

Most of the Portland crew is living for the weekend session so I would like to see a chart for kiteable days in the Gorge by day comparing Sat/Sun to years past. For me it seemed once the season is on you can find wind daily but I live a little further East so Event Site or Rufus is about a push either way. Portland/Vanc to Rufus is a long haul Mon-Fri.

In years past I could look at the forecast and web cams and pretty much know what I was going to rig before I left my house. This year I was packing everything and surprised by changing conditions once onsite.

Also, my 14 got more use than my 8 compared to years past. That can also be attributed to my work needs and getting on the water later...past 5 PM compared to 2-3 PM in previous years but if you need to get your fix in the Gorge, for me personally, seems to be the 3/3/6 rule. (3 kites, 3 boards and a 6-pack with you....always.) No matter what happens...it will still be a better day than anything else you had planned. Smile

jdk · Since 21 Dec 2005 333 Posts Obsessed

With no opportunity to kite 'til July, weekends only (typically one of the two days) and usually arriving mid-afternoon I was still able to get ~12 good sessions (9m or smaller) including a few coastal glory days Smile

No complaints, we are friggin' blessed if you think otherwise move the midwest it'll change your perspective Wink

Mark · Thu Oct 13, 11 3:20 pm

Got two plus hours at Rooster today. Noon to two. Mike and I had it all to ourselves.

NCKite_Ryder · Since 16 Mar 2011 38 Posts Nor Cal Coast

I'm from the Bay Area (California) and this summer was a marginal summer down here also. However.... Springtime was NUTSO Fabulous on the coast!!

As for the Gorge, I came up on July 31rst and went 7 for 7, pretty darn good. The word was that the wind had just ramped up for the long haul so it was timed just right.

I expect to hit 5-10 more days between now and the end of the year. I think the truth is was Last year had really nice thermal activity, and was definitely thrown off this year.

Its not how much you kite, its about how big you boost when you do kite! Laughing

Sasquatch · Since 09 Mar 2005 2102 Posts PNW Bigfoot

Kraemer · Since 24 Apr 2006 1736 Posts Sky Pilot Unicorn Captain

All it takes is ... http://www.superficials.com/gasoline.mp3

Mark · Thu Oct 13, 11 5:30 pm **Re: east winds monday and Tues**