Snow kiting with skis

[Vin Stefanelli]

also super short skis
are
dirt
CHEAP

low risk if you gouge/sctracth them up on
rocks or gravel patches

[edt]

"LEIs dont get horribly smashed on crashes into snow?"

not really. You are probably safer smashing a kite in the snow than on the water. Just don't land it in a tree.

"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?"

Yes. Don't slice your lines! You can slice them with a snowboard too if you are doing inverted tricks and get careless.

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

I don't see why they would.

[flipper231]

Strange question.... The 128 will be very very wide so make sure your coverage is adequate.... Your all mountain are the ideal size/type for lakes.... Kiteskiing will give you the chance to really master the kite as you know bow to ski very well.

If it is not powder: hard snow, icy patches, frozen wet snow... You can really hit high speeds (60mph/100kmh)... It is real fun. I have not bought a lift ticket in the last 7 years....

Wax your skis often as high speeds can burn your base. Also edges can get red hot...if they do, you base melts and your edge can come off... See it as a trophy...you were going damn fast....

Have fun, feel free to contact me if you have questions....

[not annonymous]

Hi it's been about eight years since I have done any snow kiting but normal skis are fine and are the ticket for icy or bare ice conditions.

The trick for ice is to get a good sharpening tool and use it to put a really sharp edge on the inside edge of each ski, not the whole edge but only about 6-8" out from the tip and heel of each boot. Only on the inside edge.

For some reason I very much preferred the lower hook height of a seat harness with skis. When the snow coverage on the lakes was good I prefered a snowboard with a regular waist harness.

Trent

[Hardwater Kiter]

Seat harness gives you a lower tow point and allows for more of a natural and effective ski form. I can't ride or edge nearly as well in a waist harness, especially in gusty. But maybe that's just me.

Desired edge sharpness can vary greatly on the skier needs and the type of ski and the surface you're running on. For example the surface in the attached image, you need all the edge you can get.

[william_rx7]

Smooth ice like that is just begging for ice skates, you'll never go faster than with skates.

[Hardwater Kiter]

I'd put my money on 215cm of ski over 9" of skate.

[william_rx7]

OK, you're on! That would be a fun race in the right conditions.
Have a great season.

[toyletbowl]

I'm in. I'll put my 188 cm Blizzard GS racing skis in the mix.

Bob
www.kiteridersllc.com

[Vin Stefanelli]

if you want to go fast on ice in one direction or the other get long skiis
if you want to zip back n forth
and turn real hard
get miniature skiis