Has anyone tried kiteskiing with cross-country skis?

How well do you think it would work?

I think the main issue would be getting a good edge as x-country skis are designed to resist much less sideways force than down hill skis.

I haven't tried it, but I've thought about it. I would think that it might work if you just want to cruise. Especially if you have some nice back country skiis with metal edges and decent support in the boots. I switched from skinnier "in track" XC skis to some BC skis (no metal edges) a few years ago and couldn't believe how much better they were when it came to hills and turning.

I don't think you'd have a lot of control on a kite though. But I bet you could blast across a field or lake and then just pack the kite and ski back upwind and do it again!

Or get those locking binding ones, then if the wind dies your not completely out of luck

You could look into an alpine touring skis with telemark bindings. Those skis have the "rib" style traction with metal edges. They're designed for people that travel cross country through the mountains. Those ribs give you the traction up mild slopes and they're still slippery on the downhill. I don't know how the free-heel would feel with a kite, maybe a little scary?

I haven't ever tried it, but I think I need to try my xc skate skis once behind the kite this season. The are shorter and much stiffer than classic skis, and the boots have a lot more lateral stiffness. You ever hear of 'nordic jibbing'? It's this cult sport of using twin tip nordic skinny skis in terrain parks. Figure if they can go to that extreme there, why not try with a [small] kite...

Tele skis sound like they'd make more sense.

krumly

I think that Alpine Touring skis would be awesome behind a kite. I believe they are a cross between Alpine and Tele skis. You could lock your heel down for kiting and then if the wind died you could ski back.

I'll make an effort to try my xcountry skiis this weekend on Sebago if it's not too windy and report back. I've got a couple of styles including skateskis. forecast is for wind with snow on top of the 12" on the lake already. My first thoughts were that there wouldn't be enough lateral resistance which is why I've never tried it. If there is a good amount of wind I'll stick with alpine skis as the speed would be too high for safe control. Low wind is a definate possibilty though. Lord knows that walking any distance in downhill boots sucks.

Yeah, I was also wondering if an AT/Randonee setup wouldn't be a great allround option. Lock down, safety release, but can pivot at the toe if released. Need skins for forward traction, though.

The other thing i like is the boots usually have Vibram-type soles. It sucks launching a kite with ski boots on icy surfaces, or even just walking around in them without traction.

krumly