Snowkiting: Ride with the wind

Yesterday I mentioned attending a meeting of ski clubs and learning about nordic walking. If that seems too tame, consider something else I learned about: snowkiting. Think of wakeboarding, but powered by the wind rather than a boat motor.

What a contrast! Nordic walking versus snowkiting. “Anyone can do that” versus “Ooh, that looks dangerous.” Something that maximizes the control that you have over your movement versus an activity that depends on something as unpredictable as the wind. Something that guarantees you’ll always have one foot on the ground versus an activity in which some people can purposely jump into the air and float for a while, suspended by a kite. (Snowboarding contains but is more than throwing yourself off a jump or spinning in a halfpipfe. Snowkiting contains but is more than jumping into the air.)

There was no presentation at the meeting on snowkiting. I learned about it when I across one of the younger people in the room (I’m guessing he was no younger than 42) who was talking with someone else about it.

I’ve long wondered how you pass the winter in the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas. Though snowkiters (who use snowboards or skis) can and do take to the mountains, I’m guessing that adding a kite works pretty well for flatlands, giving you the chance to slide on the snow without having either lifts to ride up terrain or drops to ride down.

The following sites look like good introductions to the subject:

Lakawa — a Minnesota-based community of people who go kitesurfing in the summer and snowkiting in the winter. (Why not “surfkiting” and “snowkiting?” I don’t know; I’m just following their usage.)

Snowkiting is beginning to take off, Boston Globe. “Although snowkiters can achieve speeds of more than 60 miles per hour and heights above 40 feet, the sport does not necessarily have to be pushed to extreme level.” The article mentions also some cultural issues facing a rapidly growing yet still new sport, and important differences between using kites on open water and on frozen water or land. (There are more than the obvious differences.)

Mackiteboarding says that “Flow or other easy entry bindings are a plus, but don’t feel that you need to invest a fortune in new gear.”

Bestkiteboarding points out the versatility of snowkiting: You can do it “in the mountains, uphill or downhill, even on flat snow packed land or frozen lakes.”

From what I’ve read on the subject, it’s useful to know how to ski or snowboard before you start snowkiting. The most challenging part of learning, however, isn’t dealing with skis or a board, but in handling the kite.