Yesterday at Whakapapa ski resort Mt Ruapehu. Just out from west ridge quad. Sweet as day with light winds and a breakable crust.
As good as snow farm guys and girls and only 3 hours from Auckland

hhmmmmm..... that looks nice.
whats the best spot,wind direct, wind speed for a first time snowkiter? if i make a sneaky trip over i'd like to watch the weather and dart over for a day when conditions are ideal.

Yeah Id be keen on a bit of local knowledge. See the suggested areas on previous threads but wind direction? Is it best with the NW wind at whakapapa and a southerly at turoa or does it not matter?

Hi,
Yes Whakapapa is a dream kite in a NW. The last week has been North East which actually produces a ESE with the mountains effect and the anabatic winds which hold the thermals at about the 2100m mark.

Whakapapa - West Ridge quad is suitable in any wind direction from SE - N - SW. Nothing from the south except a walk to the crater and then you have the best snow kiting in NZ. Anything from the NNE-NW is probably the most fun you can have at Whakapapa.

Turoa - Is a ice block at the moment and sucks for kiting when it is like that. Wait till spring when it softens (by then Whakapapa will have northerlies so you won't need too go to turoa anyway) Turoa's best wind direction is a SW or west, the anabatic wind will deal to another direction.

Hope that helps, if your passing through or want to get some location advice feel free to stop in at the Lodge (Pukenui Lodge) National Park Village.

Ozone demo kites also available, I also have a range of new and used Ozone kites, harnesses and spares for sale.

Cheers
Chris.

Here is a pic looking west to Turoa direction from West Ridge, It's flat and there is heaps of terrain so don't believe a word from anyone who tries to tell you Whakapapa is too steep to kite. There are a number of Plateau's all the way to the crater so generally you can kite any day the visibility allows.



This pic is of a student last week in a SE (down/crosshill) Steve was uphilling and holding his own on a 10m accessXC, what a sweet day.

Awsome Chris... Thanks for the info and its pretty much as I thought. My best days skiing have allways been at whakapapa and I was thinking the areas you described of the far west would be good. I hope the next forcasted fine weekend we will be heading up your way. Might actually call in and try the Ozone demo. Obviously these kites are purpose built and come from the paragliding background but thinking my 9mtr Takoon will still do the job....would be good to compare.

Let us know when the conditions are good mate and well shout you a beer when we get there.....

Just got back from some great kiting down south at Snow Farm. Whakapapa does have some great terrain for starting out on a snow kite. The actual area Chris mentioned is better in some respects for starting as there is more flat area than the spot everyone starts out at at Snow Farm. If you are looking to take a week or more off then down south is more reliable from a weather perspective, this is no different than skiing or snow boarding in this respect.
I am looking forward to exploring Turoa and Whakapapa as there is a huge amount to explore with the right weather conditions.

what about takino? is that anygood in a southerly?

Hi Plummett,
Not really in a south, more a SE or E.

Today however is a blue sky day with a SW , so if anyone is out there whakapapa is the place. Just walking out the door now.



Had 5 out of the last 7 days so that is pretty good for NZ be it North or South.

Some pics from Tuesday 18th. It's looking good for Tukino or Whakapapa for the rest of the week with blue skies and SE all week. Freshies at Whakapapa tomorrow with at least 20cm fresh today. Pics of Rikki on a 9m Fuel and Josh on a 4m AccessXC catching freshies out west.

im thinking this weekend looks good for snow kiting..............

is anybody going, if so please holla so that i can ride with somebody, cheers.

0274645275

karl.

Hi Karl,
It's looking southerly (maybe even a touch of SE), I would suggest try Turoa or Tukino. The other option for Whakapapa would be a hike to the crater and kite the upper plateau.

I'm in Northland till monday so won't be around, I'm sure if it is windy there will be someone out.

www.metvuw.com/forecast/forecast1.php?ty...region=nz&tim=60

Cheers
Chris.

sweet im be at turoa this weekend,

9m yarga or 11m rev.

0274645275
027lapwood

Too windy today but Sunday looks promising. With luck we might get a group from Rotorua and Tauranga coming down. Assuming it's South-easterly is it better to go left (west) or right (east) of the Turoa skifield? I suspect it doesn't matter too much either way, although might be less sheltered out east.

Simon

Too windy today but Sunday looks promising. With luck we might get a group from Rotorua and Tauranga coming down. Assuming it's South-easterly is it better to go left (west) or right (east) of the Turoa skifield? I suspect it doesn't matter too much either way, although might be less sheltered out east.

Simon

was way too windy

Cher, at least at Turoa. The problem is that a south-easterly seems to be katabatic there, it rolls over the mountain and accelerates down the other side towards the ski-field. I went cross-country exploring and there is a flat area down low and out east where the wind was lighter and a better direction but it was pretty rocky. There wasn't as much snow off trail as I thought there might be.

Sorry to bring bad news, but I think the season id dying fast at Mt Ruapehu.

I snowboarded at Whakapapa on Sunday and Monday past and the snow is melting fast on the lower mountain.

It's not bad news it's expected as spring comes. The lower beginners areas and lower quad area is thin, You can still kite the west quad (just have to dodge a few rocks)

If you have any experience both with kiting and/or the Mountain head for the upper mountain it has stakloads of snow. If you want to kite go up above Far west T bar it's flat gets wind from all directions and has a base of about 4 metres.

More snow forecast in the next few days so that's also good. Just need some decent wind.

And the skiing this week has been awesome on and off trail.

The season will end in 4 - 6 weeks so don't delay it will end soon!!!!!!!!!!!

Chez.