Boulder – Eric Bader’s lift ticket, at about 30 square feet, can really flap in the wind.
And if it’s gusting, his swath of roped fabric can rocket the skier up hills and across frozen terrain.
“I used to hate wind for skiing, but now I have a newfound respect,” says Bader, an avid kite skier and owner of the Boulder Outdoor Center.
Eschewing gravity and the whole skiing-requires-mountains doctrine, growing numbers of kite-riding skiers and boarders are converting Colorado’s vast expanses of supine snow into primo ski terrain.
“A little wind and some open terrain is all you need,” Bader says.
Bader uses his kite to access backcountry powder stashes, just as arctic explorers have done for years, using harnessed wind to tow sledded gear and themselves for miles across tundra. A six-hour hiking approach on skis can be whittled to an hour with good wind and a kite. Other surf- and wakeboard-inspired kiters bridle the breeze for twisting aerial maneuvers and tricks on the snow. The aerialists can dangle 40 feet above the ground, spinning beneath their kites for 10 to 20 seconds. Those skiers and boarders add a third airborne dimension to traditionally gravity-fueled descents of mountains.
“You can get huge airs on the lakes here,” says Kermit Lohry of Boulder, a longtime windsurfer from the Oregon coast who rides his kited wakeboard on Colorado’s lakes until they freeze, at which point he switches to a snowboard and surfs the frozen flats. “I’m mainly a water guy and I don’t know, man, that snow is a lot harder than water. But it has certainly kept the buzz alive for me. I’m just another addict.”
Both tribes of snowkiters – the backcountry travelers and airborne jibbers – are watching their sport evolve from a fringe wintertime diversion into a mainstream sport. The sport’s maturation has not, however, eroded a cult-like devotion to ensnaring the wind.
Bader’s 26-year-old Boulder Outdoor Center this winter added snow- kiting to its list of activities, offering kite rentals, sales and flat-snow surfing lessons through the Colorado Kite Force outfit on Dillon Reservoir.
“More and more people are getting involved with it,” says Anton Rainold, owner of the 2-year-old Colorado Kite Force. “In the last two years, it’s more than doubled.”
Increased safety features on kite equipment have made it more accessible to a growing number of kite newbies. Only a few years ago equipment dictated that kite and rider were snugly connected, making it nearly impossible for flailing riders to remove themselves from the kite. New features on kite harnesses allow for easy and quick separation, eliminating the potential for the kite to drag a harnessed rider over snowless terrain.
“I’ve been waiting for it to evolve a little bit,” says Bader, explaining his hesitation to provide lessons that invite newcomers to the sport. “I think it is much safer now. You can control the power of the kite more easily.”
On March 11 and 12, Rainold will be offering free snowkiting instruction at the south end of Dillon Reservoir between Frisco and Breckenridge as part of the third annual snowkiting Therapy Sessions. The event will feature freeriding demonstrations by some of the country’s best snowkiters. The riders will be hitting rails and jumps beneath their kites and rallying for a weekend-long party that celebrates the community of snowkiting.
Learn more — Get more information on snowkiting and the Therapy Sessions by visiting www.coloradokiteforce.com or www.boc123.com or www.kitesnowboarder.com.
