I've seen a few photos online showing a kiter pulling a second person on skis behind them. I will be road tripping with the wife in Alberta, BC and possibly Montana for a few weeks coming up and if I see a snowkiting opportunity, I want to take it. Problem is that she needs a lot of practice flying to go independent.

What are people's thoughts on the relative safety of hauling a skier behind a kiter (on snowboard)? I figure unless the winds are nuking, I should be able to tie off a waterski rope to the back of my harness and she could let go anytime...

Any thoughts from experience?

I like to teach people to kite that way. Keep the leash long enough to keep your skis from tripping over each other but short enough to be able to talk. After you tow her for awhile then she can tow you and soon she will be off on her own. Have fun!

The longer the tow rope the better the Wip for the person being towed!

Nice!! I'm thinking of using some dynamic climbing cord, the stretchiness should make the initial pull a little easier on her delicate little arms...

What do you use as a handle? I'm thinking that I could fashion something out of PVC pipe and handlebar tape...

I wish she could pull me around...she's going to need to spend some considerable time on a trainer first though.

Merry Christmas, happy kiting! Maybe see you at the Tug Hill event in January, heading there right after I return to Ontario from out West.

Having a harness with a spreader bar makes life so much better. Without the bar your guts will get squozen (sp?) during take off and turns. I don't trust PVC. I've used water ski ropes and climbing rope rigged with a wooden dowel handle.

I've got a mystic warrior 3 with spreader bar, and it also has bomber steel loops at the back (sides) for attaching things. I will be checking into the watersport shops to see if I can get a deal on a waterski handle, given that it's getting to be the dead of winter...

And incidentally, the girl is excited to get dragged around too.

Steve does this with his kids all the time locally here. From what I have seen it is a lot of work on both sides. The kiter has to keep on a pretty straight line, working the kite harder, while the skier doesn't have any control over the direction and pull of the rope.

I wouldn't plan a day around it. An hour or two should be enough.

I've pulled my kids around for years both in sleds and on skis and they have a blast. Last year I drug both of them with two ropes a mile or so across the flats at Camas in Idaho and then took turns pulling them a few hundred feet up a hill where they skied freshies while I glided by. Fun for the whole family! I just loop a figure 8 in the end of the rope, stick their poles through, and they hang on like a waterski rope. Then they've got their poles to ski with. The weight's not an issue if you're nicely powered. Pulling grownups is easy too. My wife drug me a couple miles up and over a hill last year after i broke down. We just hooked our two leashes together and I hung on.

I've done this while on skis both pulling another adult skier, and family on a snowtube. I used a ~20 feet long ski tow line and bar so the other person could let go at any time. On skis this will be easier than you think. Really not that much drag with skis going in the same direction. We even got so we could do a nicely powered 180 turn, giving time to the back person to complete the whip of course. But I tried it once with me on snowboard and it was much harder and I kept being pulled up and down into a back seat position. I say do it on skiis together and it will be much more of a better shared experience.

A few things to watch out for.

Any elasticity can cause the tow rope to bounce back at the tower and could end up flying into the bar, getting wrapped around the lines etc. Remember snow can be a very hard place if shit happens.

Towing an heavy pasanger can lead to getting lifted and thrown off balance if they fall, suddenly veer or even let go suddenly

I think a that using a weak pigtail on the kiters end might be a good idea as well as a quick release.

maybe having a big beach ball attached to the toe line a few feet from the passanger. The drag on the beach ball would stop the line from flicking/bouncing back at the kiter.

Heavy rope better than small rope. Stiffening it up with wax would also lower the risk of slingshotting into the kiter's bar.

A non elastic toe line is a must.

Good luck and have fun!