6-18 DC Amazing view of the Heber valley day....

[bordy]

I thought I should share this experence. Yesterday we were out on mid kite, many riders on 13, me on a 12. There was some wind and some gust, (I hope Jim posts his wind chart so I could see what it was really doing) just like always but it was punchy for sure.

At one point I saw a big gust coming and I like to jump in the gust and try and go big so I did. I was about 350 meters off the shore line lined up with the group of trees on Barb wire beach (and the exposed beach at the point of the trees) when I sent it hard.....And man was I rewarded...up I went in several bouncing 40 foot increases. When I got my stuff together and looked around I was very,very,very high. I enjoyed the Heber airport and a view of my nieghborhood as well as Wal-mart and well just the nicest view of the valley I have ever had while kiting DC but I was still climbing up and was now around a 150 feet high.. I tried to fly the kite at the edge and try and lose some lift but I was still climbing while sheeted out... I then tried a heloloop and was pulled up even more, it was clear I was way overpowered and still climbing, the view was great but I had never been that high before and as I started to discover the length and height of this jump was unmatched, my joyous view of the valley was replaced by the realisation that I my glide path was well over the land but even more amazing was that I was so high over the trees I was set to fly over them as well.....needless to say I went into panic mode thinking I was going to have to ditch in the trees from a massive flight, eveything slowed down and I went into fight or flight mode very high off the deck.

I maintained my cool and kept trying to come down but I was just so powered... I would move the kite down in the window and I would just get yanked foward and dragged behind the kite down wind like a weight on the end of a kite blowing off into the distance, I kept fighting. At this point I was making huge movements with the kite trying to lose lift and it was starting to work but I was still heading for a tree collision maybe even over flying the trees and having to worry about the powerlines. But now I was coming up over the point of land and had been in the air for 20+ seconds still blowing downwind with speed and a hundred plus feet over the deck with the ground now under me I made a massive kiteloop at the left edge of the window and had a massive swing under the kite that pulled me over the point of land and and I knew if I did one more I would swing around the point and be back into open water so I did and it worked I saw the water under me and gust backed down to were I was in control and starting to decend, I made a couple of helo loops and even landed it, a couple of feet from the shoreline. I cleaned out my drawers and went back to the launch and called it a day..

Is there a lesson here, maybe, take from my story whatever makes you feel right. I learned several things, but what really sticks is that you can find yourself in a pickle while kiteboarding. Hopefully we all find a way out of our pickles.....I am very glad I did. I could have gone very,very bad...

BB

[AndyBlunt]

like I said yesterday...good thing it was you. Anyone else it would have ended really badly.

[JimSouthwick]

windspeed in KT

[Don Losee]

More info please. This is the first time I have heard of anyone getting "really" lofted above 50 feet off the water at DCBB. Was the wind more out of the West than normal. Was there a T-head cloud forming over the lake? Was it clear air wind shear? Was it a real microburst? This is scary stuff.

Who saw it go down?

Billy is one of the best kiters in the world. Guys like Billy, Jake and Kenny have more big Glide time than anyone else. Anywhere. It sounds like loop skills saved Billy from getting hurt or getting dead.
You Rule Billy!

[Jake-wright]

whoa, that sounds like a kite-mare to me. I wonder if you came up on the airport radar...? i would've wigged out and dumped my kite before i got close to land and probably would've broken a leg feeling lucky i didn't die. good thing the all wise billy kept a cool head.

[Jason Klein]

Just so we`re clear, that does NOT count for the big air contest on Saturday.

[Kenny]

Billy,

All of your gliding experience paid off. Lesson for the rest of us - when you are in a pickle don't panic! I think I would have been freaking out, especially with a 12m overhead and trees underneath.

I recall the day when Ryan was 40 - 50 feet off the deck at Rush, but I have never heard of a rider going so high on an intentional jump. Billy, I think you set a world record and you get extra style points for landing it!

Billy, you say that is the highest you have ever been, but I would swear you have been that high (or higher) over snow.

Thank you for sharing and I am grateful that you kept your cool. We need the flying squirrel!

Kenny