Lelex - Snowkite Session 11

Some days you just feel it... With Cyril, we had a day off and, although all weather forecast pointed tobad conditions (mostly covered and ZERO wind), we said "what the hell" and decided to go explore the spot in Lelex anyway.
When we arrived, we got the ski lift to the spot (it's on top of a ski station, in the Jura mountains) and we where welcomed by the sun. But there was absolutely no wind, no even a breeze...

Cyril decided to unpack his kite anyway, while I looked at him and said: "What are you doing? You won't even get in on the air..."
But, to our astonishment, a light breeze started to blow (as if his kite was calling it) and it soon transformed into a steady wind, no too strong, but enough to start kiting around!

After a morning exploring with light winds, we took a little lunch brake under the sun and, by the end of it, the wind had picked up in force and was blowing strong. That, plus the discovery of a natural halfpipe meant a fun afternoon for the two of us!

 

Here's the GPS track of the day...

...and an unpretentious movie to give an idea of this fun spot.

Supeyres - Snowkite Session 10

Back again with Sam for more at the Col des Supeyres. Another day of sun, wind and good snow to explore a little bit more.

Steph after a bad flight...

So, what do you do if you discovered a pretty cool new spot the previous day and you you have the day off again? You go back for more! Unfortunately, the snow got very hard during the night and the (extremely) gusty and strong wind only allowed for some scares (for me) and a "face plant" (for Steph). Thankfully it didn't amount to much damage...

Mézenc - Snowkite Session 9

Yet another spot discovered, near the small village of Les Estables... Yumi!

Semnoz - Snowkite Session 8

The spot in Semnoz, located side-by-side with a small ski station, is rather small, although with the right wind orientation, it sure as it's potential (and is less than 1h30 drive from home!).

The GPS track of the "exploration", with a little walking in the middle...

A little panoramic (click for bigger)

A little "upgrade" in my Ozone Access XC...

After some research in web forums and such, I decided to do as some riders out there and "transform" my Ozone Access XC harness (copy at your own risk!). I did this because I simply found a bit silly to be releasing and resetting the safety on my Ozone chicken loops each time I wanted to ride! Of course, I could simply have hooked the carabiner to the existing metal piece and then to the chicken loop, but the bar would just be too far to have a confortable ride (at least with my 176cm...).

The result...

...and the victim.

Supeyres - Snowkite Session 7

Another day of cool conditions... This Winter is proving to be difficult!

By the end of the afternoon, I was thinking I need to find another confortable resting position that doesn't force the lines on the snowboard (don't want any bad surprises in the future!)...

To finish off, a little panoramic of the spot (click for bigger).