Session @ Ernies on Gull Sat, Jan 3rd

Kite Central · Post by **Kite Central** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 1:28 am

Todd Hanson here with Kite Central in the Brainerd Lakes area...kiting looks good this weekend for the Squaw Point Bay in front of Ernie's on Gull. Last time I rode there (Tuesday) it was great and it hasn't been warm since.

A couple inches of snow has bonded to the ice and the wind should be coming out of the W or SW according to LAKAWA

If anyone is up for a roadtrip to the Brainerd area, it could spawn more kiting interest and good publicity for the sport. Ernies bar/resturant is located right by the riding area and the owner has shown alot of interest in sponsoring a kiting event....SO, I would like input from a few more guys to see what we can do to make it happen (site setup, promo and all that jazz)...and have a blast in the process!

If Sat doesnt work, lets shoot for Sun.

Ernies Phone: (218) 829-3918
Directions:
*From Brainerd, go N on Hwy 371 till you get to Gull Lake Dam Road
*Turn Left, go to Squaw Point Road
*Take a Right, Go aprox 1 mile
*Ernie's is located on the Right Hand side of the road, parking to the left

Anymore questions, give me a call on my cell at (218) 821-6952 or
MN Toll free (888) 989-6952

-Todd

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foxx0171 · Post by **foxx0171** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 11:30 am

I'll check the wind for sunday, but if it looks good I think I may be able to make it up. What is the drive from the twin cities? 2.5 hours or so?

Not that I'm complaining or anything, but does anyone know what lakes have a decent amount of snow on them? Is Diamond still covered? How about Mille Lacs?

Michael

Eric S · Post by **Eric S** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 12:12 pm

I think Jerry S and I are going to try to make it up there Sat. Sunday looks cold. I would really like to use a snowboard.

jp_photog · Post by **jp_photog** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 5:03 pm

I'm going to be up for the Gull Lake session on Saturday - I'll be shooting, so hopefully we'll get some good wind. The editor at Kiteboarding contacted me for some photos of the 'local-hero' type riders, and general winter riding shots - it seems they're a bit low on photos where the water isn't frozen - go figure...

Anyhow, I talked to Todd this morning and it sounds like he'll be out around 10, so that's what I'm shooting for as well - If you're thinking about coming up, you should - I'm originally from Brainerd and Gull is a nice lake to spend a day on.

Thanks, and I hope to see a lot of you out there,

John Pedersen.

Eric S · Post by **Eric S** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 9:07 pm

sounds great JP. I think "Local Heros" are going to be layered like the Pillsbury Dough Boy.

"Jumps" will be like guys trying to warm their feet and fingers.

Man, good luck out there!

There might be a guy or two hitting a snow bank or somthing if they get warmed. Woohoo, my fingers are getting cold thinking about it.

eric

matt k · Post by **matt k** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 10:07 pm

count me in, Snow sounds nice, after all of ours melted.

bmr · Post by **bmr** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 10:38 pm

You bectcha, i'll try to be there by 10am or so. i sure wish i still had my halloween superman outfit for a hero shot...harrdeeharrrharr!!

C ya up there!

~ brad

Eric S · Post by **Eric S** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 9:13 am

due to injury that prevents boarding, we'll not be making it up, sorry. Some of the guys are going to make a local trip to Wayzata. Good luck with the pictures!

bmr · Post by **bmr** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 7:46 pm

Howdy Doody,

Gull Lake Report:

Unfortunately the snow blew off most of the lake last night leaving large open spots of smooth ice.

However Jason, Matt, and I got to demo the Swtichblade compliments of Todd. I have to say that I never would have imagined snowboarding on ice...very cool. Thanks to John for capturing the day's highlights, I'm looking forward to seeing the photos.

In the time being, here are some I took with the ol' digital:

<a href="http://www.crystaltide.com/snowkiting/g ... /gull1.jpg" target="_blank">Gull Pic 1</a>
<a href="http://www.crystaltide.com/snowkiting/g ... /gull2.jpg" target="_blank">Gull Pic 2</a>
<a href="http://www.crystaltide.com/snowkiting/g ... /gull3.jpg" target="_blank">Gull Pic 3</a>

How was Wayzata today????????

~Brad

Eric S · Post by **Eric S** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 12:13 am

Conditions look similar, less snow at Wayzata, more skateable.

jp_photog · Post by **jp_photog** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 12:59 am

Hello All,

Here are a few shots from Saturday on Gull Lake. Todd's Switchblade seemed to work great - I think it would have been pretty tough sledding without them. I'm seriously hoping we'll get some snow soon - I'd love to get some shots of y'all going big.

Anyway, here they are.

http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prs ... 1073278678

John P.

Tighe · Post by **Tighe** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 1:47 am

wow, if you can take those shots of what looks like a ho hum day, can't wait to see what you can do on a big day.

great shots, thanks

jp_photog · Post by **jp_photog** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 11:05 am

Hello Again,

Sorry, I accidently deleted the above gallery - here's the link to the new one.

Thanks for the props, Tighe.

John P.

http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prs ... t=30DD000R

Tighe · Post by **Tighe** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 11:07 am

so what were the opinions of the SwitchBlade? From the photos it looks like it made riding with a snowboard possible even on glare ice. What was the feel like? Turning? Landing jumps etc?

matt k · Post by **matt k** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 12:17 pm

Here is my opinion of the switch blade

For straight line riding it is great the blade locks to the ice and you can ride over glare ice, not possible with a regular board.

it is not very turny because the blade locks down so you have to go slower through the turns.

It is hard to say for jumping because the winds were ok, but what I noticed is that you have to jump a little differently, it seemed that when I edged hard for a jump the blade would loose a little grip, so I couldn't edge as hard and the jumps were smaller. A good thing was that you couldn't really tell you were riding something other than a snowboard, and then you realize that your riding of glare ice. It doesn't add a lot of wait, and the board is still very manuverable.

Overall for black ice if you want to ride a board this is a great option, I am thinking that you may not even need to mount it to a snowboard because you are riding on the blade most of the time, it would be cool to mount bindings to a hunk of wood and throw the blade on to see what happens.

bmr · Post by **bmr** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 4:06 pm

Tighe PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2004 9:07 am
Post subject:
so what were the opinions of the SwitchBlade? From the photos it looks like it made riding with a snowboard possible even on glare ice. What was the feel like? Turning? Landing jumps etc?

Riding a straight line on the ice is similar to regular boarding, however when i'd make a quick transition to a little patch of hard pack I found myself getting stuck if under-powered. Speed is definitely the key to moving thru hardpack.

Like Matt said, turning is a bit different...you'd have to do a little powerslide while steering the kite in the new direction of travel.

For me, jumping seemed awkward as I'm used to launching from a long and solid edge...but towards the end of the day it seemed to get easier. Landing however seemed to be the same.

All in all, the Switchblade is a great device for boarding on ice.

~ Brad

bmr · Post by **bmr** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 6:36 pm

jp_photog wrote:Hello Again,
Sorry, I accidently deleted the above gallery - here's the link to the new one.
John P.

Great images, John!

~ Brad

Session @ Ernies on Gull Sat, Jan 3rd

Session @ Ernies on Gull Sat, Jan 3rd

Drive North for Snow