just curious how many people are jumping on the snow and at what heights

We almost never get smooth days. When we do 10-15 is considered good and with our usually thin snow cover I'm not comfortable going much higher.

That might change if I can get my jumps dialed on water.

Last week we had some steady winds and the wife was doing pretty consistent 8-12'.

for all the thousands of jumps ive done, not a single one has been on snow, this winter, i hope to change this.......

ya, I was curious cause not many snowkiters around here jump. The ones that do, many around the 5 mark, a few above that, and definitely not many above 10. I am just curious to see the stats on here.

It's hard to tell without footage, but I am pretty sure I haven't hit above 10 (on purpose), and most are probably hovering around the 5 foot mark.

but, regardless, I should say that I think it's not about the stats that makes the session good, it's the fact that your out there and enjoying it.

The highest I've been is about 40-45'. Purely accidental, caught in a gust on my 19m. Kept the kite moving and it worked out great, came down like I'd been dropped from only 8'. Got wicked lucky.

A friend watching from a distance thought I cut my kite loose until he saw me dangling below like a fish on a hook.

Didn't jump the rest of the week. Bad feeling when you launch from a spot 20' below a nearby highway and you end up 20' above the same highway.

I want to get my jumping down so I can better handle potential hazards like that.

Quote:

Originally posted by wheresthewind? for all the thousands of jumps ive done, not a single one has been on snow, this winter, i hope to change this.......

As you know this is also my story. Having only had a few pathetic attempts at jumping on snow.

I saw you going at it and Your method is 100% correct.

I could only suggest that to go bigger you need stronger wind and to push it. 5 - 8 ft is actaully pretty average with moderate winds from what I get to see.

Quote:

Originally posted by Feyd The highest I've been is about 40-45'. Purely accidental, caught in a gust

Did that once... Absolutely perfect landing... I just sat there laughing/shaking uncontrolably... Adrenaline, wow.... a few spectators had to ask me if I knew how high I actually went... Wow...

Static I push it, 15'+ is my goal.. dynamic, snow or atb 5-10' is my average

i got 30 ft once on a day i was constantly getting 15-20 footers no problem--that was in my crazy days with a blade 10.5.....im alot more cautious now, which is probably a good thing.....in the middle of that jump, i heard some kid say " mom, look at that guy up there!" lol......

Feyd, jeepers, 40-45 feet! :shocked2:
really glad it worked out, and totally understandable you took a break from jumping for a bit.
Well, I am not sure there *is* a solution for potential hazards like that, except knowing how to glide comfortably.

Bladerunner, that was a fun day out! thanks, it's good to have a double check on technique. Ya, I know my kite can do it, the only thing stopping me from pushing it a bit more with a stronger sendback and more aggressive pop is kite control and balance in the air. I find the 0-5 foot range really forgiving with kite position. As I venture up a bit to the 7 foot range, I am noticing bigger problems from minor errors in kite position. Working on good consistent kite positioning before I venture beyond 7.

This is my inspiration at the moment for good kite position - pretty smooth riding.

Great video. I really like the videos that show the kite and rider at the same time to help riders learn technique. He shows several well. I am like most where my jumps are not really high but they feel great anyway!

Here is one I saw that I really liked. Good explaination of the extra safety gear and thought that goes into gliding. I think most people would think these guys just go out with their OEM gear and glide. It takes more than that. These guys have learned the hard way that spreader bars snap, lines and harnesses fail. You really have to be prepared with redundand safety systems.

I average 4 feet at best most days. Six feet was my best mountainboard height, but that followed with me swinging backwards, landing blind and tumbling onto my ass. The highest I've been is 15 feet accidentally with my 6m access. I was practicing jumps in 15mph winds and a gust to 30 came in a picked me up. Luckily I could only think of redirect and came down super smooth. Don't want to go that high again until I know what I'm doing. I get nervous in strong enough winds for decent jumps, as they usually get dirty and unpredicatable. Nothing like 18mph gusting to 40. Smooth winds just aren't strong enough in my area for high jumps.

Jumping on water or snow have basically the same dynamic. You can hit 30-40ft easy with good edge control and the proper send of the kite. That said you should practice each of those independently before you combine them. First learn to cut downwind slightly then edge hard back upwind and jump as you feel the lines load up. Feeling real good about doing 2-3 ft little pops over and over again is the key on water or snow. Understand that you are not sending the kite at all at this point just riding like usual. Next practice sending the kite without doing any board action. Hold a good edge and then turn the kite straight up while sheeting out slightly on the bar, as the kite nears apex pull back in on the bar and up you go. At this point you need to turn the kite back towards the ground so it does not go back behind you overhead because this will cause you to pendulum and then drop like a stone. After you feel real good doing both of these actions independently combine them(its a matter of timing) and thats where the real height comes from. Ridge Gliding is a totally different animal and should not be attempted without proper training and gear. Too many times i have seen beginners try it and slam themselves into the ground because they start to pendulum out of control or they dont move the kite at all and soon find themselves going mach 5 down the hill. Your flying backwards by the way. You do not send the kite when you glide,you simply leave the ground after you generate enough forward speed and are on a steep enough slope. 70-80ft is not uncommon on a very steep slope.That said, officially i have to say dont ridge glide. We dont fly paragliders with multiple redundant bridles and lines. If one of our 4 lines break while you are in the air you are dead. And yes always wear a climbing harness with your regular harness and learn how to use avalanche gear and carry it. This year its real bad in both UT and CO with all the recent snow on top of the crud. That was way too long but I hope it helps.

thanks for that. good to have that on this jumping post.

couple questions while we are on this...
I've heard that the redirect back must happen at apex, but the bigger the jump, the slower this would have to be. I don't really have to worry about this even on my jumps at 6 feet. Is there a certain size of jump where above that you just hold the kite at 12, then redirect at a general height before landing? Obviously, you don't want to redirect too fast and then plummet. this is partly why I want better kite control in the air at 7 before moving on. I know if I redirect too fast at 6, not a big deal. But if you do that at 15...much bigger deal.

also, any good tips on getting shelled by a gust at 15 feet in the air? This is partly what is holding me back from even wanting to go much above 10 feet.

Quote:

Originally posted by FeydThat might change if I can get my jumps dialed on water.

'ello 'ello what's all this then?

The best way to get used to the proper timing on the redirect is to take it slow. First reason to use the redirect is to keep the kite overhead instead of letting it get behind you. Behind you is bad because it pulls you off your edge and usually results in a head first landing. Do the redirect at apex and then fly the kite back and forth with small movement straight above you like you would on a low wind day when you are trying to keep it in the air. This way you simply sink down to a soft landing. The bad part of that is you have no forward speed to continue riding and you are dead in the water or snow. After you are comfortable with that start using the redirect to generate forward speed and work up to the point that you are riding away under power just like you were before you did the jump. You can also do the redirect early if you want to travel downwind to get out of the way of a kiter on an opposite tack coming at you or clear an object...(island jumping,a favorite here on the OBX) And yes the bigger the jump the longer you keep it overhead....or you could just throw a Mega Loop...j/k:wee::wee::wee:

ah, right. That does make sense to practice going bigger without worrying about generating forward speed before landing, then worry about forward speed once the overhead kite position is dialed in. Easier than trying to do both at once for sure. thanks!

I was riding yesterday and realized that I have not jumped once this season.

And tho I agree with Windadventures that the dynamics of jumping on snow and water are the same, the dynamics of crashing on ice and water are not.

I'm not leaving the surface until we get some powder and smoother winds around here. If I get dropped I don't feel like getting hurt or at the very least delaming a ski.

Chris has a very good point...and hes the man on ice..Ice that has been blown clean is very difficult to judge in terms of spotting your landing from the air and gives you no margin for error like water or powder. The first time I experienced that at Kitestorm I have to say I was kinda freaked out. Thanks to all you ice kiters who made sure my edges were just right before the session that day or I would not have been able to deal with it. I think you guys also deserve props for the speeds you are hitting....

ya, I snowboard so don't really kite ice. I probably wouldn't jump on ice either, unless the winds were very smooth... or... if I was wearing a full set of hockey equipment.

Snowboards on ice are soooo tough to ride..I have a really old school board with almost no sidecut I pull out ..Love my Shinn board on snow but doesnt make enough contact on ice.

mmm, that Shinn snowboard says rocker, but all the pics show a reg camber on the board. Does it really have a rocker?

I'm liking the k2 parkstar I am riding right now, its flat with the ends coming up a bit. Playful, turns nicely, but ya, for sure, I've tried a Nobile Remi Pro snowkite board *briefly* on a light wind day and it held a rock solid edge on thin hard pack, less effort as well. Turns were a bit 'slow' though, but to be fair, didn't spend enough time to try and dial in the turning. Interesting to see the immediate difference nonetheless.

depending on where i am I have found that jumping height averages about 20 feet. Ive been up to aprox.130 feet from flat (super gust and lifting air) and about 230 feet from hills...maybe more as it is hard to say.

But for freestyle and really technical skill based jumping or on mountains...i think that 20-40 feet is normal.

I have many times many many times jumped over my truck and had plenty of time to enjoy the view here in NH..

I would also say that if you know the true method of getting in the air, as well as flying AND landing ice snow water grass.....jumping is all the same but the type of "progressive edge" you have will "feel" different.

I prefer snow with snowboard or skis....next would be short grass on mountain board then water.....

you can really stick landing on snow and grass, but the landings on water are always a little slick.....even with larger fins..

thats my 2 cents

interesting to hear you surface preferences for jumping.

in the line of jumping, I ran across this a while back, and recently found it again...haha, a jumping tutorial with the Hulk. had to post it.

HA that is awesome.:roll:

Believe it or not, but the hulk video is one of the best jumping tutorials I've ever seen. lol.

Nice!!

haha, no, I believe it...good stuff in there! the first time I saw it in the search page.. i thought, 'oh man, doubt it's good... but let's see this anyway'. but...to my surprise..it was really good!

That was an amazing bit of instruction right there. Watching the videos that Jeff posts on a regular basis, it is very clear that he is a passionate kiter. He is probably one of the best speakers that I've listened to as well. I really want to practice that pop jump with the kite at 45 degrees that he was showing there. Too bad we have almost zero snow coverage and not enough dry ground to landboard.

ya, i hear ya...snow deprived locally here.

I need to work on my solo pop (no sendback) more as well, found this video, shows some good details on just popping.

So I did my first jump or the season today. The wind was a pretty steady 14mph, surface was an ungodly nice styrofoam with soft ice underneath. Like kiting on groomed packed powder. Blue bird skies.

The location is a spot that rarely gets smooth wind in fact it's one of the punchiest places we ride. But today I felt good about it, was cruising about 20mph, loaded up, threw the kite back redirected pulled the bar in a little bit and bit of a hell of a lot more than I could chew.

I forget how much the 19m Charger likes to jump. That was compounded by the fact that the wind up high was a bit faster than at ice level. Had about 6 seconds airtime, worked the hell out of the kite while I was totally floppin like a fish on a hook. Came down butter smooth but just let my legs collapse anyway. Must have been 25' at least. It looked higher to me but it always looks higher when you get more than yu bargained for.

Like the guy with the Hulk said, the faster you go, the higher you go. Damn that 19m has serious lift. I gotta get on the water.

After that I was a lot more conservative. Had a bunch of 10-12 footers with little grabs and crossups and zero problems. Just thought I'd share.

Nice work, Kris. Glad you made it to tell us about it.

So, I'm curious, does the load and pop work on snow skis? Or do you really need the send?