Something to think about!
Moderator: MK
Something to think about!
I just got word from a very good friend in Utah that one of his best buddy's died kiting the other day on a local lake in the Salt Lake City area. The person in question was a very accomplished kiter who had spent the last couple of summers kiting in the Gorge. To make a long story short, Mitch was hit by a very large gust of wind and was shot up over 100 feet into the air and was slammed into lake knocking him unconcious. He continued to get launched and slammed until the lake ran out upon which he was draggged a few hundred yards through the sage. He was pronounced dead when the medics got to him.
Here's the link with the full story (which is terribly saddening):
http://www.kiteforum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2317344
http://www.kiteforum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2317344
What a horrible accident. What a heart wrenching account from his friend. My sympathies go out to everyone who knew him.
What I don't understand is why he didn't break away at the first site of difficulty, specially since he knew there was a chance of a microburst. I'm amazed they went kiting when they knew a microburst was going to happen.
DON"T EVER HESITATE TO PULL YOUR QUICK RELEASE, EVER. Practice it, commit it to muscle memory, have someone jerk your lines on land enough to throw you off your footing, and connect that with a QR Pull. Do it over and over. Connect instability with breaking away. And if you have a kite leash make sure that has a QR on it. Never any connection to the kite that you can't easily break free from, under full load.
Poop happens....be prepared.
What I don't understand is why he didn't break away at the first site of difficulty, specially since he knew there was a chance of a microburst. I'm amazed they went kiting when they knew a microburst was going to happen.
DON"T EVER HESITATE TO PULL YOUR QUICK RELEASE, EVER. Practice it, commit it to muscle memory, have someone jerk your lines on land enough to throw you off your footing, and connect that with a QR Pull. Do it over and over. Connect instability with breaking away. And if you have a kite leash make sure that has a QR on it. Never any connection to the kite that you can't easily break free from, under full load.
Poop happens....be prepared.
Tighe
I would bet that in that situation, as quick as things happen, by the time he could react and pull the eject switch he was high enough that he could only hope that he could somehow land it. I know that if I was 100 feet up and had the choice between a freefall and a ride down on something similar to a parachute, I'd hold on tight.
I would say pay close attention to the current conditions along with what is happening where your weather will be coming from and know your local weather patterns and realistically, decide if you are comfortable with your chances of serious injury or death just like all the warning stickers say. When you get jerked off the water so hard that it snaps your head back, you're in for quite a fall no matter how quick you think to bail out
I would say pay close attention to the current conditions along with what is happening where your weather will be coming from and know your local weather patterns and realistically, decide if you are comfortable with your chances of serious injury or death just like all the warning stickers say. When you get jerked off the water so hard that it snaps your head back, you're in for quite a fall no matter how quick you think to bail out
Tighe,
He was using a pin style shackle (definite no-no) and a non safety releasing chicken loop, those 2 things may have been involved. He was a friend of my sisters, total bummer, I never brought it up, ....cause I got flamed last time.
If you follow the thread further at Kiteforum there is mention that people are recommending carrying an air horn (the boating type) in your gear bag, so that you can warn people who may not notice the weather coming. Sounds like it might have helped in this situation. Some ocean kiters also carry an emergency whistle which might have also worked in this situation. It sounds like Mitch never saw this microburst coming.
Rush lake in UT is very small, smaller than Calhoun & only 3' deep. I think these microbursts can come in clear air also. So you wouldn't even be able to see it on the water in time, they watch the dust accross the lake. Which the other guys did see. Kind of freaky.
http://www.ukbinc.com/utah_launch_sites.htm
This site has a picture of the lake.
They have a lot of cool looking launches in UT, who knew.
He was using a pin style shackle (definite no-no) and a non safety releasing chicken loop, those 2 things may have been involved. He was a friend of my sisters, total bummer, I never brought it up, ....cause I got flamed last time.
If you follow the thread further at Kiteforum there is mention that people are recommending carrying an air horn (the boating type) in your gear bag, so that you can warn people who may not notice the weather coming. Sounds like it might have helped in this situation. Some ocean kiters also carry an emergency whistle which might have also worked in this situation. It sounds like Mitch never saw this microburst coming.
Rush lake in UT is very small, smaller than Calhoun & only 3' deep. I think these microbursts can come in clear air also. So you wouldn't even be able to see it on the water in time, they watch the dust accross the lake. Which the other guys did see. Kind of freaky.
http://www.ukbinc.com/utah_launch_sites.htm
This site has a picture of the lake.
They have a lot of cool looking launches in UT, who knew.
From the "other" website, sad news about Blake Pelton from Colorado. I met Blake this winter when he and Aaron H? were demoing Peter Lynn foils. Really cool guys. Pray for a full/speedy recovery for Blake.
http://groups.msn.com/AmericanKiteBuggi ... 6910168858
http://groups.msn.com/AmericanKiteBuggi ... 6910168858