Truths and Safety about Snow Kiting in Alberta
Hey all,
Its true, we have some of the most beautiful terrain available in the world. Our winter winds allow us to hit the snow almost every day. However, we have a few variables you should be aware of when riding in Alberta;
Our most beautiful kiting areas are hard to access. Sure we have plenty of frozen lakes you can kite. These are super fun and often offer shorelines and some small hills to play in. However, if you’re looking for steeper terrain or to kite up mountains it can be hard to access. We don’t have a highway that leads us to the crisp wind above the tree line. Instead, we need to pack up our avalanche gear and ski tour into most of our best spots. This requires avalanche training courses and a considerable investment into ski touring gear. That’s annoying. I know.
Gusty winds leads us to choose our gear carefully. When kiting in the valleys our winds can often be variable. You can minimize your risks of being overpowered by sizing down. In fact, most Alberta Kiters ride 6-9m2 foil kites when lake riding. You don’t need the same power as the water so downsize your kite in the winter.
The winter wind is often lite. This means your inflatable kite might not fly. Its time to buy a single surface foil kite. When choosing your foil do the research. Don’t buy one that’s prone to collapsing in a swirly wind. You want a kite that stays in the air and has loads of stability when the wind gets crazy. The big gusts are inevitable; you want to be able to park your kite and noon and feel safe you won’t get yanked in the air when they arrive.
Don’t buy that $300 kite on kijiji. Its probably unsafe. The old kites sit lower in the wind window. What that means; when a gust comes you cannot park it directly over head and safely wait the wind out. When the kite is always in the high power zone (lower in the window) you’re at the mercy of the wind. Its dangerous.
Check your flag out system. The safest are five lines systems. In an emergency these systems will fold your kite up like a lawn chair. When using a four line system be sure your bar can travel up the flag out line the entire distance of your kite.