Kite Powered Boarding & Skiing

[charles martel]

Anyone ever done this?

http://msnvideo.msn.com/?channelinde...2-386d5ac05ea6

[Chugach001]

I taught myself but it was (is) a rough learning curve and I looked nothing like that guy. There is a lot of being lifted, dropped and dragged.

[userA]

my buddy, scratch gordon, based out of the idaho panhandle, been going big snow kiting. got spansered and runs a camp too. big airs and big crashes are the standard op's but he's got numerous folks hooked in and flying high.
not for me though
b

[sb]

You will die.

[charles martel]

You will die.

Yeah, I kinda figured that out already. But it looks cool.

[Judo Chop!]

alpy - you mean Brad Gordon? yeah, he's a good guy and pretty rad snowkiter. I thought he was based in Hood River though. I heard he's got a pretty killer snowkite guiding business going.

I've been kiteboarding a lot for a long time; almost all on water. I still travel around often to do competitions, etc..
We've just started experimenting with snowkiting for backcountry travel around whistler area.
ie. kite up, ski down. get lots of laps and keep the skins in the pack.

the snow-specific kites (Ozone Summits in my case) are pretty ideal for that. Really quick to setup and take down, and they pack super small and (relatively) light: I have a BCA Float 32 pack and can fit all of my avy gear, skins, extra layers, emergency stuff, and full kite setup in that bag. My buddy does the same with his Mammut airbag pack.

Learning to snowkite is really, really easy if you have the right setup. like... 1 or 2hrs easy (however it's a REALLY bad idea to try to teach yourself). At least to the point where you can ride around in control in decent conditions.
Then it takes a while longer to figure out how the wind moves around so you can do it safely in windier/gustier conditions or safely in the backcountry. But you can rip around pretty safely in mellow 10-15knts breeze without much experience.
yes, things can go from good to bad pretty quickly, but it's relatively easy to manage that.
All the big crashing mentioned is when you start trying freestyle or boosting big airs, but then it's like crashing doing freestyle in any sport.
IMO, the more pertinent hazards are those already inherent with being in the backcountry.

FWIW> the riders in that video look about Joe-Average skill level in mellow terrain with nice conditions. So that level is certainly achievable by most.

[SuperChief]

A little thread Necromancy here, Its a generic title so I'm gonna post my question here. I took my first lesson on Lake Erie in the water last week, and planning on spending time in MT this winter, and a trip to Utah after thanksgiving. what do I need to know before I hit the snow? is it easier on skis or a snowboard? I'm a way better boarder than skier but feel like being able to skate and maneuver each leg independently will be a benefit while the board will feel like the kite twin tip and keep me from blowing out ACL/MCL etc... anyone have leads on who is giving lessons in MT? or UT. MT would be flathead valley, but I would go to Georgetown lake or other popular kite spots. regarding UT. I'm clueless about all things Utah so any tips will be well recieved.