Kochelsee|Bavaria

Monday Morning, 5AM, still half asleep you check the webcam on your phone. It's dark, but the anemometer reads 20-30 knots. You hastily pack your gear into the car and stop at the gas-station for a breakfast coffee. After a 40 minute Autobahn drive down south of Munich you are close to the Lake, but there is no wind.

You wonder if the anemometer on the webcam is broken. You drive from Schlehdorf to Kochel, about a 2km drive. Halfway through, you see some movement in the trees along the street. It appears to be a little over 10 knots at the north end of the lake. You come up to the parkinglot and the sun slowly begins to lighten up the lake on the far side.

You walk up to the pier and its blowing 25 knots and gusting about 35. This is where the magic of this one of a kind spot begins. Here at lake Kochel, mountains surround you and from these mountains, a warm, dry spill of air comes down the ridges. It's called Föhn, German for hairdryer. Even in winter temperatures climb up to 15°C with snow all around you in the mountains and on the grass beach.

To get out kiting, you have to wind up your lines, drop your kite into the water in the deadzone behind some fisher huts, unroll your bar again and slowly walk your way up to the wind edge, pulling your kite into the wind window.

Lake Kochel can be a bitch. Wind can drop in the blink of an eye, gusting up 20 knots or outright die when you arrive, but the pleasure of seeing the sun peeking out behind the mountains while nuking winds make you have an awesome session is well worth the hassle.