Kiting Lake Mead, Las Vegas, NV????

DesertWinds · Since 01 May 2009 80 Posts

Have never kited Havasu but will give it a go this winter as it is hopefully better than anything we have around here minus the 300 mile drive.

LMead you better be advanced and on your A game as winds can instantly shift, double in strength, shut off w/ no warning or possibly loft you higher than you want to be in a turbulent dust devil. With lake levels dropping daily it has unveiled some stink ass black mud you sink past your knees in, weeds in the shallows and launches are marginal at best. Have had jumps where caught in major updraft to over 100' thinking oh shit hang on and pray. LMead is kinda like the LV dating scene... sometimes you get lucky and some you don't and gotta know when to walk away or run while you can. Any day there you can kite back to where you started you scored.

Katherine's is gusty and can blow 50 plus frequently through the winter. The launch is totally sketch and you rig in the rocks. Beach is littered w/ boulders where you launch/land and winds are very sketchy n instantly shift w/ our infamous desert poltergusts as it is in the lee of a nearby mountain. Park out on the rocks near the water and ranger will ticket you even though your the only person who has been there all day.

Our lakes are big and quite desolate and either place mentioned above you are often likely to be solo and if you get blown downwind you have steep cliffs and minimal ops for an exit to deal with. Daytime air temps are 40's to 60's and water is high 40's to low 50's. *Cover your assets and bring some safety gear with you as you may be spending the night adrift or on a distant shoreline and phone reception is spotty.

Sadly about 10 kiter's (many advanced kiting 5 years plus) have needed FlightForLife helicopter transport (10 to 15 K just for the ride) for serious kite related injuries and one fatality. RIP J

If you decide to come PLEASE be ultra careful, choose your conditions and launching area wisely and keep your kite low to avoid a lofting. Be ready to dump your kite instantly to live to kite another day and keep access open to those of us that choose to roll the dice to do what we love.

Sasquatch · Since 09 Mar 2005 2102 Posts PNW Bigfoot

Gman · Since 11 Feb 2006 4911 Posts Portland Unstrapped