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Snow kiting with skis

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dracop
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Snow kiting with skis

Postby dracop » Sat May 03, 2014 7:06 pm

Hey guys, I am curious about snow kiting with skis. I love the idea of snow kiting with my skis but looking for info on how to pair it all up and the best way to try it out.

I'm a beginner kitesurfer working on edging/upwind (altho well see how much farther I get by this winter), my quiver is a 12m and 16m 2013 NRG. Ski wise, I love aerials and do alot of jumps/drops, I have both fat wide powder skis (128 underfoot by 190 length) and all mountains (90 underfoot by 186).

Could I use my 12m LEI kite with my powder skis to go over lakes? rolling hills/plains? downhill mountains? Is it too much? too little?

If I like it (prob will) I will eventually buy a dedicated foil for snow kiting (less damage on land crashes). I see guys on snowkiting vids doing huge jumps across long distances, that looks like fun to me!

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Re: Snow kiting with skis

Postby NorCalNomad » Sun May 04, 2014 4:22 am

Depends on what the wind is like where you'll go just like regular kiting. But you will be sizing down in kite size since you only have to worry about forward motion and not fighting gravity to stay planing.

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Re: Snow kiting with skis

Postby robertovillate » Sun May 04, 2014 6:01 am

Just about any skis will work. Depending on the conditions you have you might benefit from one type of ski or another. But in general a traditional sidecut is going to be more enjoyable. A good all-mountain ski with early rise is great for the crud and powder and "off-piste" snow that we usually encounter with kites.

If you are riding on a flat lake with thin snow cover and hard icy conditions a stiffer GS ski might work better. If you are going back country a lighter, more nimble, shorter ski is nice so you can throw them around easily when you have to and easy carry-in or A/T transport. Personally I like a light weight setup (I'm using Dynafit boots and bindings, Atomic Access skis). If I was always on flat super hard surfaces and just going for speed all the time I'd go in a stiffer boot and faster ski.

But if you already have skis and boots just try them all. If you are a skier you already know which ones are going to work. You'll be flying along in no time. Just keep the kite out of the trees and make sure the ice is thick enough.

The other thing about boots...it's a good idea to find a boot that is going to be comfy all day long, and something that has a "walk" mode. We stay buckled into the boots for several hours at a time, unlike a comp ski boot that you unbuckle at the base and rebuckle at the top of the lift...or else you feet will be destroyed.

You can use inflatables no problemo on the snow. Foils are defo nice to have though. I just started using the Flysurfer Peaks ( a single skin foil) this past winter and love them. Super powerful for their size, super simple to setup, easy to fly and no "tuning" issues, super small to pack, and great prices. The only thing I would say is that they do not glide or jump like other 2-skin foils...so it all depends on what you really want to do with your kites. Not pumping up kite and fiddling with lines is a real treat, but I used LEI's on the snow for years before I got these foils, and 90% of the guys around here use LEI's on the snow.

another thing...make sure you wear a helmet and some body pads

good luck with it

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Re: Snow kiting with skis

Postby Hardwater Kiter » Tue Oct 14, 2014 1:33 am

A note about boots.

If you are going to be more on the "dabbler" end of things then I would agree with the statement above. If you are more on the "disciple" end of the spectrum a properly fitted boot is critical for long term use. In an aggressive 6-8hr session you'll put more miles on your liners than most people get in a whole season skiing gravity.

For a good rough performance/comfort fit go down one size from your street shoe. If you wear a size 10 shoe go with a size 9 ski boot. Get it fitted by a professional that actually knows how to fit boots if possible. You can shell size if you want but the rough rule is usually sufficient.

I go for the race fit. I ski a size 8 shell but wear size 10 street shoes. The first session or so you pretty much want to shoot yourself but once the liner packs out you have comfort, warmth and some razor sharp precision. The boot is your most important piece of equipment, like a steering wheel it's your direct connection to controlling the skis. If you have a sloppy fit or a boot not matched to the performance level of the ski, things will at best be boring and worst just plain suck.

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Re: Snow kiting with skis

Postby edt » Tue Oct 14, 2014 1:45 am

Could I use my 12m LEI kite with my powder skis to go over lakes?

yes!

rolling hills/plains?

yes!

downhill mountains?

yes!

Go for it!

I have two pieces of advice.

1) never use your good skiis. Get a 2nd pair of "snowkite" skiis that you can afford to abuse. You will find a location that looks sweet, maybe it's a lake or a park, or a mountain, and you will ski up it and down it, and then you will find a spot where it's all rocks screeeetch huge gouges. Or maybe you will find a frozen lake, let me tell you nothing burns off a good piece of steel better than a frozen lake, your edge can melt like butter. so 2nd pair of skiis is a must

2) wear kneepads & a helmet. It's not the hard crashes from big air that hurts, it's that when snow kiting you sometimes will be on a rock or hard ground and drop 1 or 2 feet on to it, that's where you get the bruises. Kneepads will save you from packing it up when you hit the ground.

Get on google maps and look around for locations that look promising and go explore.

I think this winter might be a bust . . . last winter was amazor.

don't bother with a new kite, use your regular kite. Instead invest in a spare set of skiis and some pads.

There are a lot of locations that are absolutely useless in the summer, this is because the trees create so much turbulence. But in the winter all the leaves fall and the wind steadies out, so you can get good wind in even tiny frozen lakes in the winter.

Damn. I'm stoked for winter now . . . but it just feels so warm I dunno if I can get out on my lake for snowkiting until February this year and it might not even freeze.

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Re: Snow kiting with skis

Postby toyletbowl » Tue Dec 23, 2014 6:01 am

I think most guys on here are missing the point with you by discussing skis and boots. You say you are learning, but that's in the water. If you have a "pow" pair of skis at 128 wide and 90's for all around, you're set and my guess is you have a good pair of boots. My guess is you are already a very good skier. Correct?

So the question is really the kites and sizes. Since snow/ice is an ever changing surface of friction, one day in 10-15 winds, your 12m will be perfect and another day in the same winds it could be too small.

Use you're inflatables and the more sizes the better. We ride on anywhere from pure glare ice on skis to powder if it hasn't been wind blown yet on frozen lakes and fields..

We have an awesome crew if great riders and all ride modern LEI's and crash them often with little to no damage.

Hope this helps,

Bob
www.kiteridersllc.com

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Re: Snow kiting with skis

Postby CaptainArgh » Tue Dec 23, 2014 7:12 pm

The quick answer is, hell yes, get out there!!! You have all the tools you need and it'll be a blast. Once you get out, see how much you like it and how often you get to snowkite. That'll dictate what equipment you need to change out, but first get out. It's a blast.

Careful with the long gliding jumps. The smart pros who do this pay very careful attention to the condition of their lines and bridles. Even keeping a count of how many long glides they have on a bar and swap out the lines when they have reached their safety threshold. They try to build in whatever redundancies they can since every kite line is a single point of failure unlike a parasail bridle. Think about your 4 lines, your pigtails, bridles, your chicken loop line, your harness, etc. So, don't get over ambitious just because it looks so pleasant. You're over solid ground and it takes a different amount of discipline and planning than hucking it on the water! ;)

But, go snowkite. Have fun!

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Re: Snow kiting with skis

Postby edt » Tue Dec 23, 2014 7:25 pm

60 today in michigan. Feels like the christmas baby (el nino) is starting to kick in.

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Re: Snow kiting with skis

Postby dracop » Wed Dec 24, 2014 11:46 pm

An old thread but I was going to repost in a few weeks so worth discussing. Ive been looking at snowkite schools in CO, UT, and CA as I will spending six weeks driving CO to CA and plan on stopping for skiing en route, as work, snow, and wind allow.

Kitesurf wise I've progressed light years since May when I was working on basic upwind; at this point Im working on wide kiteloops (strong winds) and unhooked (light winds). Im a very good skiier with top notch boots, so not worried about that. LEIs dont get horribly smashed on crashes into snow?

Also, will doing an inverted rotation risk slicing my lines with my skis' edge sincs the skis point in front of me instead of side to side like a snowboard?

The gear seems to keep tallying up - sigh, I need to start selling some stuff man. Up to 4 kites now. Running into travel space limitations lol.

Now why do long gliding jumps deteriorate your gear more than doing lots of jumps on the water?

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Re: Snow kiting with skis

Postby Vin Stefanelli » Thu Dec 25, 2014 3:34 am

DUDE GET
short ski's
up to 99cm's and they come with adjustable bindings that
don't pop off cause they cant break yer legs


you will literraly need them for ice or inches thick snow
ski's that are any longer turn like krap on little to no coverage
and if you already also have a snow board you will want that 4 deeper snow anyway


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