There's only one first time - what was yours like?

As the title of this thread says, there can only be one first time for snowkiting or any other kiting event. I thought it would be fun to hear about folS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s first time. Was it special? Memorable is some certain way? Please have at it.

I had my first long awaited snowkiting session yesterday. Being new to the mobile aspects of power kiting this year I've been looking forward to this day all year. We finally have (barely) enough snow to pull off a session on grass fields and I had the combination of a free weekend afternoon and some decent light winds (sub 10 mph); perfect for my first go.

All I can say is WOW! As you can see in the video attached here I slung up Session Saver (my affectionate name for my 12m Peak2) and ripped back and forth on some athletic fields behind our town's middle school.

Now, I really like buggying, but snowkiting? WAY better. As anyone who's done it knows you are directly involved in a way that just doesn't happen in the buggy. I found myself laughing out loud like a little kid (and that's a good thing!). The most fun I had was holding the bar with one hand, channeling my inner Bode, and skimming my opposite hand and hip along the snow. More fun than I was supposed to be able to have.

Do you think I'm hooked? Yup.

Steve, as a skier you can really appreciate how well a kite can offer an unbelievable skiing experience. All my old skiing friends, at least those who haven't followed me into kite powered skiing, all think that I have given up skiing because they don't see me on the hills anymore. When the exact opposite is happening and I ski more in a day than most people get in a whole season.

I suspect there are some buggy guys that would take issue with your position.:P It all comes down to what you are most comfortable with. But it's true, you can get away with a lot more on skis than pretty much anything else pulled by a kite. But you have to be an accomplished skier first.


You are going to be amazed at what you can ski through with a kite. Conditions that you would find unrideable on the slopes become nothing on a kite.

I've only gotten the smallest of tastes but I can sense where some of the stoke will be and I'm pretty excited about it. Tomorrow I'm getting a UPS delivery of a pair of skis that should really fit the bill for kiting. Dynastar Speed DH FIS World Cup WC 218 R20s. New at about 80% off MSRP. I missed our big local ski swap a couple of weekends ago as we were in Oregon visiting our son in college which is where I would have probably had the pick of a bunch of old long skinnys. I've got this Dynastar ski in a 178cm length with a GS sidecut and really like it for running gates (its my race ski). A DH sidecut at 218cm should be perfect for kiting when it's not soft and deep (which it will hopefully be a lot).

I skied yesterday with a pair of 184cm Volkl Mantras. They were fine, but I can see why you recommend a longer ski with minimal sidecut for that long endless carve.

I hope your season comes together quickly in NH!

Quote: Originally posted by Feyd

Steve, as a skier you can really appreciate how well a kite can offer an unbelievable skiing experience. All my old skiing friends, at least those who haven't followed me into kite powered skiing, all think that I have given up skiing because they don't see me on the hills anymore. When the exact opposite is happening and I ski more in a day than most people get in a whole season. I suspect there are some buggy guys that would take issue with your position.:P It all comes down to what you are most comfortable with. But it's true, you can get away with a lot more on skis than pretty much anything else pulled by a kite. But you have to be an accomplished skier first. You are going to be amazed at what you can ski through with a kite. Conditions that you would find unrideable on the slopes become nothing on a kite.

Thanks Blade! Really nice to hear about your MOMENT on roller blades. It is pretty darn cool standing up with my legs under me!

My first kite session with wheels under my feet will likely be next Spring's IBX. I think I'll take every pad I own to that event too! Maybe even some bubble wrap for good measure. :D

Hopefully my first wheeled adventure will feature as much unneeded pads as yours did!

Quote: Originally posted by Bladerunner

I saw this day coming! Also growing up with a skate / ski background going at this sport with 2 feet came naturally. You put in your time to master the kite and this is your reward! I struggled for over a year trying to get going on water with a board and ZERO board skills at that point. Out of frustration I went out with my rollerblades and trainer kite + every pad I owned. Didn't need the pads. Took to kiting with blades like a duck to water. Never fell and never worried about going upwind. I was ready to give up before my break through! I posted what I was doing online and found out about the land kiting community. I never looked back. + felt Hella better about myself! I always enjoy a buggy day but a good snow day is my AOXO ! I like the topic. What was your 1st time stoke like? [ Wow I can say Hella on here! :smug: ]

So awesome you finally got out on the skis I could feel the stoke from here:D In my book there is nothing more magical than cruising the snow or ice on skis hooked to a kite. It's what I wait for all year. Yes buggy is fun, but doesn't come close to the magic I find in empty untracked snow covered lakes.

I will never forget my first taste of kite skiing. Mind you it was with an HQ beamer and a less than ideal pair of skis, but it was the moment everything came together and gave me that stoke, that sense of freedom. I've never bought a lift ticket since that day. Wait till you get on some ice with miles to run and feel that speed under your feet. Oooweee!

Way to go Cheddar! Nice post. Cool beans that you haven't bought a lift ticket since the day you locked into snowkiting. If you don't already do so you ought to buy something from Chris at Hardwaterkiter.com if nothing else for his awesome little sticker of the stick figure on the chairlift with the red circle with a line through it (same as his PKF avatar). You need that for your kitemobile!

I'm not able or willing to hang up my season pass as I do a lot of skiing with my wife and daughter here in town. Cool concept though and I'm happy for you that this works so well for you.

There are several lakes within an hour capture radius of my home that folks do winter activities on so they are potentially on the table as options. If I can avoid being on ice I will for the safety factor. In the Wasatch Mountains there are vast open spaces covered with few trees but a seemingly infinite amount of sagebrush. Once the settled snowpack gets over about 3-4 feet deep all the sagebrush get covered up and the terrain for snowkiting expands exponentially. I actually have a ton of open space right out in front of our home that has really been tempting me, but believe it or not it may be problematic because of a herd of some 300 elk that also call this space home all winter. First world problem!

Quote: Originally posted by Cheddarhead

So awesome you finally got out on the skis I could feel the stoke from here:D In my book there is nothing more magical than cruising the snow or ice on skis hooked to a kite. It's what I wait for all year. Yes buggy is fun, but doesn't come close to the magic I find in empty untracked snow covered lakes. I will never forget my first taste of kite skiing. Mind you it was with an HQ beamer and a less than ideal pair of skis, but it was the moment everything came together and gave me that stoke, that sense of freedom. I've never bought a lift ticket since that day. Wait till you get on some ice with miles to run and feel that speed under your feet. Oooweee!

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

That's awesome Steve. I figured you would take to it very easily with your ski experience. I've got to find a set of skis this year.

DITTO!!! Good work Steve! Glad you finally got to give it a go!!!

OK Spencer, I'm going to give you a pass for sliding in a first-time buggy experience on a snowkiting-specific thread because you are such a swell guy and because your story was actually pretty awesome. When I lived in Alpharetta we had plenty enough snow one year to snowkite on the fields you buggy on, so quit your wining about no chances to try out this awesome sport. :saint:

Quote: Originally posted by soliver

I realize that I didn't share my "first"... I had been flying a 5.6m Twister IIR and a 3m Beamer V and was having a blast when I got invited to the OOBE Field Chili run in Aiken SC in January of 2012 where a group of kiters from around the area met to eat chili and board and buggy in a big field in Aiken (just outside Augusta GA)... The first Buggy I sat in was Pokitetrash's (Chris) Flexi/Bigfoot hybrid bug... I was able to move about 50 to 100 ft in some REALLY cold mid teens wind before he came out and said... Ok, my turn... what a fun day. I was able to meet Davis (Cheeks), Chad (Phreerider), and Don (the late and beloved Tridude) as well as a few others I'm sure. I ended up meeting up with (Chris) Pokite at OOBE field a few months later with my own first bug for some training before heading out to Tybee Island a week or 2 later to experience the beauty of clean beautiful onshore beach wind... awesomeness.... and then a month or so later I met Angus on Jekyll the week after JIBE 2012.... Good times for sure.

Quote: Originally posted by Windstruck

OK Spencer, I'm going to give you a pass for sliding in a first-time buggy experience on a snowkiting-specific thread because you are such a swell guy and because your story was actually pretty awesome.

Duly noted and appreciated... I always check "Todays Posts" rather than individual forums and hadn't noticed the Snowkite specific theme... my bad.... oversight on my part

Quote: Originally posted by soliver

Quote: Originally posted by Windstruck   OK Spencer, I'm going to give you a pass for sliding in a first-time buggy experience on a snowkiting-specific thread because you are such a swell guy and because your story was actually pretty awesome. Duly noted and appreciated... I always check "Todays Posts" rather than individual forums and hadn't noticed the Snowkite specific theme... my bad.... oversight on my part

I was just yanking on your ample chain my friend. No excuses though; schools were shut down for a week! :karate:

Snowkiting under a full moon would be FANTASTIC! How cool that you got to do that. Will have to try and make that work this winter for sure.

As for downturns I would say that I have an "emerging skill set"

Check out this video:

Quote: Originally posted by pstkk

My first try at snowkiting was painful and frustrating. Already able to paraglide, I felt confident that that would also make me an expert kiter with no need for instructions. Oh well... However, shortly after I had a perfect session kiting at night with a full moon illuminating the snow. That was incredible and I had trouble falling asleep afterwards. One thing about the video in the first post: In such light wind, downlooping works great. It will make it easier to carry speed trough turns (at the cost of moving a few meters downwind) instead of coming to a stop.

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

Got my first time in the skis and kite today. not being a skier, it was hard work. First, I find dealing with putting the boots on and my feet in the skis a true pain in the butt. my bindings are not click in type. Second, I need better apparel (it was damn cold today). Third, I'm very glad I got snow blades instead of long downhill skis (it made things much easier than they could have been). fourth, I need to learn how to wax these skis, I think they are due. All in all, it was a successful day. I was able to make transitions and stay upwind so I can't complain. Winds were 15 with gusts in mid 20's. I wanted to use the peak 6 but just didn't have the guts with my poor skiing ability. I set up the 4m ns2 on short lines and unhooked. first launch I had wingtip wrapped. Resulted in death loop, hung on as long as I could to try and fix but dumped the kite. It flew a good 30 yards away in a tangled mess. take skis off, sort kite out while freezing to death, set back up. This time all is good and I kite for about 20 minutes until my skis suddenly felt like concrete with a layer of slush built up on the bottom. I think this is due to the conditions. we had rain all day yesterday then turned to snow which insulated the ground from freezing fully so there was a 3" layer of powder on top of a slush bottom layer. wet snow made getting my boots into bindings a pita. I'm kind of looking forward to my next session or transforming one of the blades into a snowskate. Not sure yet, but I really like the idea of strapless and being able to wear a comfortable pair of normal boots. Chris put me down for 5mph this week in the speed ranking. :P

As the thread was aptly named, "There's only one first time". Sounds like yours was a handful Sean. Wish one of us could have been there with you to help you through the learning curve. As I was reading your entry I couldn't help but think about "my first time" at Lake Ivanpah. I clustered quite a bit there too. Nothing quite like being in a totally alien environment even when you know what you are doing with your kites.

I know you future sessions will be much better!!!