Halloween Snowkite Tour - 3 States in 5 Days
It was late October and the rumors had been flying that Montana and Wyoming were already turning out Snowkite rides in the high country. With a heavy storm covering the entire Rockies the week before Halloween, conditions were looking prime for an early season Snowkite road trip. The first snow had finally fallen at Skyline and the Ozone Team rallied up to check out conditions before heading North on a 5 day tour. Light to moderate winds allowed us to carve some fresh turns in the foot deep fluffy powder, even tho there was no base and we were hitting dirt quite often. While it was fun to carve turns and be riding at our home spot of Skyline, we continued on in search of more snow and wind. As we planned out the journey we went out of the way to hit every mountain pass on the route, including several that will close before the real winter starts.
Location #2 was found along Highway 191 on the eastern slope of the mighty Uinta Mountains. As the highway climbs out of Vernal, there are several road side riding spots that are accessible all year long. We found better snow conditions, with a thicker base, but even lighter winds. No riding here on this trip, but the backcountry potential looks intense, leading away from the roadway for miles to the east. The snow fences were already building little burms, a good sign for localized wind… we’ll be back! From the summit of HWY 191, you can see for a hundred miles, before dropping into the Flaming Gorge, a giant reservoir held back by a massive dam that divides the Green River before it winds its way into the canyon country beyond.
Darkness was falling and our next destination was South Pass, located several hours to the north on the road to Lander, Wyoming. The moon was bright as we pulled off to check the conditions. The snow was only a foot thick, similar to the previous spots, but it was wind blown and packed into a good base. The several rows of wind fences indicated strong potential for this area, even tho high pressure had settled into the region for the evening. After a roadside bivy in the trusty Ozone Van, we awoke to single digit temps and cold doggies. We searched for wind and found it at a single place, where a wind sock marks the road and wind funnels across and down slope into a huge drainage. The area at South Pass is amazing and massive, with several pull offs leading to different terrain. Unfortunately the wind was non-existent once you went away from the drainage gulley, and we were not able to score the goods on this trip. It was still early in the day and we had our sights set on bigger hills, so rather than wait for wind, we pushed on further north towards the Montana & Wyoming border range of the Big Horns.
Location #4 had been our primary goal for this roady, and we were excited to get to the Big Horn range for an afternoon session. Located about 4.5 hours north of Lander and about 650 miles from Skyline, and situated on Wyoming’s northern most border, the ‘Biggies’ offer road side access to grass covered terrain that gets pounded with early season winter storms. This would be our third Halloween trip to the Biggies for Snowkiting and once again this amazing place delivered great wind and snow. Winds were gusting in the low 30’s (mph) and several inches of powder welcomed us upon arrival. Heather and I took turns flying the new Manta III 10 meter, and getting our snow legs back in shape. After a couple hours our thighs were burning and darkness was falling, so we headed back to the Bear Lodge, a kiter’s paradise in this barren range. The Bear Lodge boasts a bar & restaurant along with full lodging, hot tub, indoor pool and weight room. Pretty much all the amenities a traveling Snowkiter could desire at 8300 feet on top of a mountain pass. There are not many ‘Lodges’ at the Snowkite areas on this planet, and it is a great experience to be welcomed and hosted by such a facility in the mountains. Along with internet service and liberal bar tenders, the Bear Lodge is basically the Snowkite Basecamp for the region, especially when snow covers the highway and only snowmobiles can access the kiting areas.
Day 3 stands out as the best day of the trip, and set a standard that will be hard to match for the rest of the season. With more snow coverage than I have seen this early in the year, we were able to access all of the terrain… well, all that the day would allow, as this place is HUGE. A soft layer of snow covered most of the area and was deeper in wind blown pockets and bowls with the wind averaging in the high 20’s with gusts to 41 mph. Starting at the traditional parking spot near Dayton Gulch, we were able to ride for miles back and forth between Little Baldy and Bald Mtn, accessing several powder filled gullies and summiting corniced ridge lines. It is hard to translate the elation of riding such terrain into words… all I can say is it was one of the best days Snowkiting ever, and reminded me of every reason why I love the concept of Snowkiting so much. Heather went out on a 6 meter Access, while I chose to hold down the 10m M3. Later on we would switch out as the Manta was fully lit and the smaller Access kite was better suited for climbing the steeper and windier slopes. We were joined by a local kiter, who flew in from the horizon on his 8m Access, and then later by another on a 6m Access. Turns out it was Eric and Austin, a couple of friendly faces that you are likely to see up here all year long. Meanwhile, I was having the time of my life riding fast and carving turns… I think I love strong wind! In the first hour of riding I had covered over ten miles on my GPS and hit 38.1mph riding a snowboard. By the afternoon I had lost track of miles and runs and I was committed to repeating the uphill elevator ride on Bald Mtn. until I burnt out. I felt like a mad man looping my 6m repeatedly until I reached the summit, where I would carve across the wind lip of a cornice until I found a fresh line that I had not tracked yet… ‘Dropping’ I would shout to myself as I loaded the kite for a little kick before letting gravity take over… SWEET! On one run I put a little Hendrix on the Ipod and I went back up to that mountain and chopped it down with the back of my hand (and my Snowkite).
I think every one of us road until exhaustion that Saturday.
Halloween… We had already made the best of the day, but now it was time to celebrate in wicked fashion, so we headed into the metropolis of Billings Montana for some evening debauchery. Hemlock, a hard core band with roots dating back over a decade to my primitive years in high school, was playing at the Elks lodge. Goons, Ghouls, double bass drum beats and hard hitting metal rounded out the evening and re-fueled our stoke to get back on the mountain to slay more powder lines. But not before passing out, puking, and waking up in the middle of the Montana desert next to a Ferris Wheel… that was a weird morning. Thankfully the dash mount GPS knew where we were heading and my blurry vision followed the arrows back up to the Biggies for yet another windfest.
Day 4 brought several more kiters together atop the Big Horn’s, including more locals from the other side of the hill, and kites ranged from 12 meter Mantas to 4 meter Flows. Beginner to experienced riders alike all had smiles on their faces, some kiting uphill for the first time. Eric took his 6m Access on another exploration mission, summiting Little Baldy and cruising down the wind line of the long ridge. He has found many downwind routes along this range, which can take kiters on 10-40 mile long cross country journeys. Todd was holding down the bigger kite and went in search of powder, as the previous nights cold wind had crusted the snow over in an alpine layer. We had solid wind and plenty of terrain to cover, and I was stoked that we had been able to experience 3 days of great conditions at the Big Horns. Now it was time for some much needed relaxation at the Thermopolis Hot Springs.
Worn out and weary, we drove a couple hours to the nearest Hot Springs, heading south for the first time on this trip. I think the springs might have been the highlight of the trip, but likely only because we had kited so much in the last four days. There are giant indoor and outdoor pools, jetted spas, a vapor room and multi-story water slides. Unfortunately the camera had failed earlier that day and I’m not able to share any photos from this hot experience. After cleaning up there, we were onto our final destination in Wyoming, Togwotee Pass. Old ‘Tog’ was the location of the first Winter Tour event in the US, one of the first Snowkiting events in the mountains (props to Mammoth Kite Daze and Wave Rave for hosting the first in 2002). We pulled another roadside bivy on the Dubois side of the pass and awoke to a beautiful bluebird day. Pulling onto the pass we saw plenty of snow, and plenty of tracks from the J-Hole locals who have been Snowkiting up there for several weeks. We were also pushed into a line of vehicles behind a pilot car that drove past the standard parking area and down the torn up road where crews are repaving the highway. We learned that the local Snowkiters have permission to park in the construction zone, but with zero wind blowing we bailed and headed into Jackson. Turns out that Togwotee Pass would kick out some riding that day after all, fueled by down sloping catabatic winds that fill in mid day. But by then the Ozone Van was back in Utah.
Coming back on the west side of the Wasatch allowed us to check the snow depth and conditions at some of Utah’s northern riding spots. Bad News, Monte Cristo and Logan Canyon did not get enough of the last storm to put a base down. Monte only held muddy snow near the summit, and the main riding area is still sage. This is typical tho, as these locations don’t get as much snow as their higher elevation counterparts like Skyline, which is in need of more snow to solidify its base.
Recap: 4 days riding out of 5 traveling. Snowkited 2 locations out of 6 visited, and found that 4 of the 6 spots have enough snow coverage. In Wyoming, Togwotee is ripe along with the Big Horns, although the Biggies could use another dump to freshen up and be as good as last weekend. South Pass had snow, but could blow off quickly. In Utah, Hwy. 191 looks like the best bet with several spots holding enough coverage.
Windzup,
Brian Schenck
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