What forecast should I look for?

[kailuakiter]

Hi,
Just tried snowkiting in Colorado and I'm hoping to get some more days in on the snow this season. I live in SF and am wondering what forecast I should be looking for to know if Tahoe will be rideable? And is there an iKitesurf meter that is reliable?

Thanks

[kailuakiter]

please?

[Greg]

Go to bayareakiteboarding- oops
Go to search: snowkiting spots/ etc..
Then Go to IKITESURF.COM and look the area up on the map and check the reading. No forcast so far-
L.M.G.

[doubledogdare]

you could also use NOAA.gov to get a general idea on the forcast.

[kailuakiter]

Thanks! - what kind of forecast is good though? i.e. wind direction and (minimum) speed

ps - I did try to search this before I posted. If you find a thread that I missed, I'd appreciate the link.

[kief]

snowkiting has been awesome this week!!!
all spots have decent coverage,winds been great
spots;
http://www.tahoemountainsports.com/stor ... ting.shtml

http://www.driftsnowkitemag.com/drift/2 ... alifornia/
-
wind;
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/mwmap.php?map=renos
**truckee airport windtalker(530)587-4599**
-
forecast;
-martis;look for NW,W,SW
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.ph ... it=0&lg=en

-mt. rose;NW,W,SW,E
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.ph ... it=0&lg=en

also-s.lake spots-grass lake,hope valley,red lake ridge

[kailuakiter]

thanks kief!

[berrisbob]

For South Tahoe spots, you can check Kirkwood's forecast:
http://www.snowforecast.com/californiafcst/kirkwood.html
It gives wind and snow forecasts for several days in advance, and it is useful for most of the south tahoe locations.

Grass Lake - works best on WNW to NNW or ESE to SSE winds, though can be ridden in almost any wind direction if you don't mind some gusty/holey wind and have a kite that is easy to relaunch when a big hole hits. Wind speeds are generally similar to the wind at Kirkwood.

Hope Valley - works on any wind direction, which is good since in any given session here, it's likely that it will be coming from every possible direction at some point. The wind can be consistent here, but in my experience it's usually quite variable in both speed and direction. The good news is that although it does switch direction quite a bit, it's a big valley and you can just ride in whatever direction the wind is currently favoring, for a little exploring. Note however that if you travel very far in any given direction on a particular wind direction, there's no guarantee it will stay that way and allow you to get back to your starting point. If you wander far, just make sure you know the way back and are prepared to hike it if necessary. Wind speeds are generally similar to the wind at Kirkwood.

Red Lakes Ridge - works best on SW to NW wind. Seems like the other side of the ridge should work on SE to NE winds as well, but I've never kited on that side. This is the place to go when the wind is light at the other spots, since the wind here is typically much stronger than the lower locations. If it's at all windy on the highway as you pass Kirkwood, you probably don't want to stop here, it will most likely be too windy. Just continue on to one of the other spots mentioned. Then if it's too light at those spots, you can always come back here and make the hike up to the ridge. Wind speeds are usually much stronger than the wind at the base at Kirkwood. Note that the wind forecast for Kirkwood is for the bottoms of the lifts at the valley level. The wind can be much stronger at the tops of the lifts, where it will typically be similar to the wind here at Red Lakes Ridge.

So now you're all set to snowkite at south tahoe. Or at least you would be if there were any snow.