Conditions are a little weird.

The current conditions locally are a little all messed up at the moment.  We had some great ice out there which allowed for good riding.  Land based kiting had no snow and then we got a little storm that rolled in and dumped a few inches of snow and then the most broad reach and uniformed crust layer (AKA Death Crust) we have ever seen.  It reaches the entire width of the state on New Hampshire and well in to Maine and Vt. It also reaches as far north as Umby and as far south as Rochester. So for the moment anything that has snow on it is not safely rideable due to the risk factors of blown knees and sever lacerations in the event of a fall. 

As a result we have rescheduled our clinics that we had for this week and this weekend.  We thank everyone for their understanding in the matter by the way. :-) 

So where are we now?  Well, after the crust event we've been hit by some great arctic air.  Temps this morning locally were -20F.  While this will have no effect on the death crust it will have an effect on the lakes and sections of lakes that had not set up yet when the crust layer formed.  So we are now waiting for new ice to set up and at these temps it sets up quickly.  Below is a shot from this morning at Melvin.  3 days ago it was open water.  Day before yesterday during a site inspection drive we found it was locked up well enough to survive the winds and was about 2-3" of grey ice near shore.  We will check it again soon and maybe it will be good to go by the weekend for local kiters who know the water way well enough to avoid the potential hazard spots.  For example, the cut to the upper left of the image.  Between the big island straight ahead and the small island to the left, was wide open yesterday.  

Ellacoya and the broads are not even close to frozen yet.

Stay tuned...