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“THOSE WHO WANT TO<br />
GO FASTER USE BIGGER<br />
KITES. EXPERTS REACH<br />
SPEEDS OF 60KMPH”<br />
After a few failed attempts at getting<br />
my kite to fl y in and out of the “wind<br />
window” – the downwind section I<br />
would be fl ying the kite in – the school’s<br />
manager Stefan Popprath gave me<br />
some advice: “With the wind coming<br />
from behind you, the kite is at its most<br />
powerful directly in front of you. It acts<br />
like a sail and moving your bar left or<br />
right decreases its power as it moves away<br />
from the wind. When the kite is strong<br />
you must lean back and press the skis<br />
fi rmly into the snow – then you’ll fi nd<br />
you can go really fast.”<br />
Come the afternoon, I was desperate<br />
to test out my new-found skills, even<br />
though I was anxious my skiing ability<br />
Safaris offer the<br />
ultimate snowkiting<br />
experience, taking<br />
advantage of both<br />
fl at and hilly terrain<br />
might not be up to scratch. Stefan<br />
assured me even basic intermediate skiers<br />
could quickly master snowkiting, which<br />
itself has different levels of profi ciency.<br />
“We recommend everyone starts out on<br />
skis fi rst,” he said. “Snowboarders have<br />
to be more advanced and able to do<br />
both regular and goofy [ride with both<br />
your right and left foot leading]. At the<br />
beginning, you start with a smaller kite<br />
so you don’t take the full power of the<br />
wind – you’ll probably get up to 10–<br />
20kmph. Those who want to go faster use<br />
bigger kites and get up to 30–40kmph.<br />
Experts reach speeds of 60kmph.”<br />
I was eager to know when I might<br />
be good enough to join the school’s<br />
SNOWKITING | ZURICH<br />
★ SNOWKITING<br />
ACROSS OUR<br />
DESTINATIONS<br />
Do you think you have what it takes<br />
to try snowkiting? Here are our picks<br />
of the best schools in Europe.<br />
★ Swiss Snowkiting School<br />
GENEVA | MILAN<br />
In the middle of the Swiss Alps, Simplon<br />
Pass in Matterhornstate offers ideal<br />
conditions to learn snowkiting. The<br />
school’s courses in nearby Leukerbad<br />
are great for beginners, and advanced<br />
snowkiters should undertake the safari<br />
in the Val Formazza, Italy.<br />
snowkiting.ch<br />
★ Kiteschool Obertauer SALZBURG<br />
Expert training courses at this kite<br />
school are run by Anton Ully, a previous<br />
fi nalist in the Snowkite World Racing<br />
Championships. The school boasts<br />
fantastic freeride areas and good<br />
beginner zones, plus a snowkite park.<br />
kiteschule.at<br />
★ Fly Mountains GENEVA<br />
Learn to snowkite with Mont Blanc as a<br />
backdrop at Fly Mountains in the Petit<br />
Saint Bernard Pass, near La Rosière.<br />
It has a vast area – 50 hectares – and<br />
classes are in small groups with a<br />
maximum of four students per instructor.<br />
fl ymountainsnowkite.com<br />
★ Global X Team BASEL/MULHOUSE<br />
This extreme sports school in<br />
Schwenningen also offers kitesurfi ng and<br />
wakeboarding lessons. Its one or two-day<br />
courses include a super breakfast buffet<br />
to fuel up, plus theoretical and practical<br />
snowkiting exercises.<br />
globalxteam.com<br />
DECEMBER 09 | TRAVELLER | 85
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