Ozone News:
Ozone Snowkite and Landkite News June 2010
- Snowkite: Chasta News: Alaska
- Snowkite: Sebastian Copeland: Greenland 2010 Legacy Crossing
- Landkite: Ozone Flow: The way to go
Chasta News: Alaska
Hello guys,
This is a little news from our Ozone photo shooting with Boulguy in Alaska. It took me some time to finish the editing, I was moving from my apartment to Briancon, so now now it’s ready and I’m ready to take off to Tahiti.
Alaska is for sure one of my favorite spots on earth, everything is steep and big. I came here 10 years ago for heliboarding and video shooting with Mike Hatchet, some of the steepest lines in my life. Unfortunately I just had one week there for the photo shoot, but I brought my lucky star with me and the conditions, I mean the weather was ok for us.
Pascal was there already for 2 weeks before and just had 1 session and a half, so as soon as I arrived I decided to rent a car and drive straight to the spot I already knew, called Thompson pass near Valdez. It’s a pass so it supposed to be windy everyday, and it was, or just enough for us to get the product photos we needed.
Steve, who rides for Ozone over there, decided to join us, and it was really funny to see him taking the road with so many toys. Big trucks with a big trailer and the snowmobile inside. I almost didn’t touch it, only the last day to go near the glacier because of no wind at the bottom.
Those guys just think about flying with their kite, also on Paraglide, or Para motor, or with a plane to explore some more spots. It’s gotta be THE SPOT for those who love the big and steep mountains for sure, it’s just the beginning of the story there, and I’ll be there to see it next season.
So thanks again to Steve and his crew for joining us and helping us, and I hope to see more Ozone there soon.
Have a good spring time guys
Now I’ve got to get ready for some big waves, yepaaaaa.
Chasta
More pictures HERE
Sebastian Copeland: Greenland 2010 Legacy Crossing
After the North Pole last spring, and in preparation for my South Pole Amudsen/Scott centennial mission in November, I wanted an interim trip over what many consider the “third Pole”. Greenland, in terms of climate change, holds as much drama as the other two—if not more. Its melting icecap sits on solid ground, above sea level, and releases fresh water into the ocean. This presents a triple threat to life as we know it on the planet. For one, it impacts the thermo haline circulation, which affects the north Atlantic drift (the Gulf Stream). The higher density of cold water, and the light mass of fresh water (as compared to salt water) slows down the conveyer belt action of the gulf stream which has been regulating climates, surface temperatures, and crop cycles, not to mention plankton food distribution, deep water upwelling and sea life across the Atlantic since the last ice age.
In other words it is a vital regulator in the way we have based our food economies in the northern hemisphere for the last 15,000 years. But melting icecaps also raise ocean levels. And the Greenland icecap, like the Antarctica peninsula icecap—its sibling to the south—has the potential to raise ocean levels by as much as 20 feet. Exactly when, no one can say for sure. But some predict that it could happen within as little as a century.
Most scientists agree that we will see a rise of about four feet by then, which represents a loss of about four hundred feet of global coastal areas. What’s more, low-rise areas—such as Vietnam, today the world’s second largest rice producing country—could see its plains flooded and its food production destroyed. Greenland, in that way, can affect a lot more than just the Northern hemisphere. Finally, it is alleged that the Greenland landmass stores more methane in frozen form that there is CO2 in the atmosphere. As a greenhouse gas, methane is 21 times more potent than CO2. If thawed and released, this amount of methane would have a catastrophic and exponential acceleration of the world’s temperature rise, challenging human life as we know it on most of the globe… Greenland, in that sense, is truly in the front lines of climate change.
Almost immediately after the North Pole last spring, I started formulating the thought of crossing this mystical ice mass, first crossed by Nansen in its East/West traverse in 1888. And I began planning. Only this time, the crossing will be in its South North direction, covering approximately 2300 kilometers from Narsaq to Qaanaaq using kites and skis. While a very different mission, many lessons learned from the Pole will be applied in Greenland. This will also make for great training for my seminal South Pole crossing next winter, which I hope to accomplish unsupported over 85 days and 2500 kilometers. But that’s another story!
Eric McNair-Landry, a young polar guide and son of my good friend and polar legend Matty McNair, will accompany me on this trip. I hope this will be entertaining and educational at the same time, while encouraging a deeper connection will our host planet, and the urgent need for a global commitment to a sustainable future.
Please follow the blog and join us on this ride!
Here we go again… Sebastian Copeland
You can follow Sebastians progress daily at www.sebastiancopeland.com
Ozone Flow: The way to go
In the designers words…
Since its debut the flow has gone from strength to strength, being well received across the board. It has proved itself to be a solid stable all rounder land kite.
The Flows forgiving nature allows easy progression but its performance can still entertain seasoned kiters.
If you are flying regularly in strong turbulent conditions the smaller sizes perform incredibly well in terms of power and stability.
The profile that we have used in the flow helps to stop the kite luffing even if the user goes downwind towards the kite.
Rob Whittall
For more information on the Flow CLICK HERE