Pimp Yo Kite - The Kiteboarder Magazine

Guillaume Chastagnol: The three-time World Snowkite Champion continues to
awe us with his combination of freestyle moves and hang time.
Snowkiting has been making its way around the globe for decades, and
since the turn of the 21st century it has been reshaping the way we look
at winter across North America.
With a rebirth of new equipment and grass roots events, the sport
saw new interest in 2001, starting a momentum that would lead to a fiveyear
growth trend across the country. Now, snowkiters can be found on
frozen lakes and snow covered hillsides from New Hampshire to California
and every windy spot in between. The event and competition scene
has evolved tremendously, with some of the original events passing on
and others growing to attract international fame, bringing acclaimed riders
from all over Europe to American slopes. Looking ahead, the 06/07
winter season is shaping up with more snowkiting opportunities coming
available on a nationwide demo tour, and even bigger comps like the US
Open Snowkite Masters, that will offer cash prizes with an all-star cast.
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EVOLUTION
From the backyard to the backcountry, during its
evolution, many users have adapted the power
of snowkites to enhance their riding situation.
Skiers in the Midwest claim riding under kite
power across flat frozen lakes in the late 1970’s,
while mountaineers of the same era used kites
to power trans-arctic expeditions, where skiers
used kites to pull themselves and hundred pound
gear-sleds across endless miles of arctic terrain.
Today, there are hundreds of snowkiters across
the country taking advantage of wind power to ski
faster and farther than local slopes can allow, and
utilizing the miles of frozen lakes and farm fields
that dot the landscape. After a good snowstorm,
the area from North Dakota to Pennsylvania
becomes the biggest ski area in the country with
a snowkite, and more people are jumping on the
opportunity to ride new local terrain every season.
The Rocky Mountains are also seeing skiers and
snowboarders hooking into kites to experience
uphill riding and the third dimension of
freestyle that kiting allows. While only a few
resorts offer access to kite friendly terrain,
every snowkiter has been a pioneer exploring
and exploiting what are becoming the
new Mecca’s of kiting.
COMPETITION TREND
The worldwide trend in competitions has
leaned towards freestyle for years, until
the 05/06 winter saw a drastic change with
a shifting emphasis towards races, both
kitercross and traditional sailing circuits.
While a debatable topic, many snowkiters
believe that the kitercross race format actually
started at the original Snowkite Rodeo
in Montana. The multi-rider course pits several
personalities against ramps, obstacles
and turn points in an all or nothing battle to
the finish line. Unlike freestyle where technical
ability is judged and critiqued, the race
style competitions allow the less flexible yet
more strategic minds to have an upper hand
in the round. In the flat lands, Minnesota
boasts its distance challenge with a race
against the clock across the 20-mile wide
lake, Mille Lacs. ‘Winduro’ courses like this
are also gaining popularity, as all riders hit
the course at once, instead of splitting into
heats which is necessary in the kitercross
style course. With everyone on the run at
once, it is amazing to see the crowds separate,
with the skiers grouping into a pack in
the lead, and snowboarders choosing their
own random upwind and downwind options.
THE 06/07 SEASON
This winter is the biggest ever in North
American snowkiting, with more locations
to ride, and more events, races and
kite demonstrations to attend. Areas like
Skyline are becoming destinations for kiters
By Brian Schenck
Photos by Warick Arnaude
With road gaps like this mammoth effort, Chasta
doesn’t look to lose his top spot anytime soon.
from every corner and local schools are
gaining popularity sharing the gift of winter
kiteboarding in their home towns. In addition
to the bigger events that host regional
competitions, there will also be many local
circuits with kitercross and Winduro style
racing. Intermountain snowkiting shops are
getting together to create a low profile circuit
that will allow kiters to get involved with
racing while keeping it fun spirited. After
long standing snowkite celebrations like the
Montana Snowkite Rodeo and Vermont Kitestorm,
the season finale will round out with
the US Open Snowkite Masters, a showdown
of skills in Utah’s Wasatch Range.
Brian Schenck is the US distributor for Ozone
Kites. For a list of upcoming comps and demos,
see the SMACK section or check out
www.windzup.com for the latest info.
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