Power Kite Forum

How much snow do you need?

dtoast - 24-2-2010 at 03:14 PM

How much snow do you need on the ground to get a snowkiting session in?

Does the amount differ between skis and a snowboard?

B-Roc - 24-2-2010 at 03:43 PM

I don't know about a snowboard but you don't need much for skis depending upon the surface. Someone, from Canada I think, posted a video to this forum of skiing on mostly grass with a light snow covering and they were doing fine (can't find the video at the moment).

I've skied on grass when there was maybe a half inch snow cover but the grass was frozen and slick underneath.

On ponds, I think its best when its about 2 inches of packed / compressed / melted down snow. More is OK if its light and fluffy but deeper is not necessarily better, especially if its heavy as you can't always get the skis around as quick as the kite at the end of the run and you can't slide through the turns either when the skis sink into the snow. You can ski on straight ice and the ice at the end of the season that has gone through some thawing cycles so it is still thick but soft on top is great.

indigo_wolf - 24-2-2010 at 03:58 PM

Houston Airhead posted some videos at the beginning of December where he was kite skiing on his property. The snow coverage was definitely very minimal.

ATB,
Sam