Text by Tess Weaver
Images by Kersten Vasey
When the wind blows, as it often does in the mountains, complaints often follow. Many report feelings (some backed by science) of anxiousness, irritability and restlessness. At a ski resort, high winds can slow or stop gondolas and chairlifts and shut down operations. Cold days feel colder with wind chill. Fresh powder can blow away or become too dense for pleasurable turns. In the backcountry, wind can load slopes, creating dangerous slabs.
But one group of skiers and snowboarders seeks out wind like a storm-chasing powderhound. These skiers and snowboarders live for blustery days because they use the wind to transport them across and above the snow.
“As soon as I feel the wind, I think, ‘We should be out there,’” says Michael Olsen of his winter passion: snowkiting.
The sport combines snowboarding or skiing and kiting—basically, harnessing the wind with an inflatable kite and powering yourself in any direction across snow using skis or a snowboard. Snow kiters control the steering with a bar and lines and the power by pulling the bar in or pushing it out.
Snow kiters slide across frozen lakes, wide-open mountain passes or snow-covered fields. No lift tickets, no lines, no powder frenzy. From snowy plateaus in Norway (where Red Bull once hosted an endurance snowkiting competition) to frozen fields in the Midwest, to Lake Dillon in Summit County, Colorado, snow kiters are taking flight.
Some say it’s easier to learn than kiteboarding on the water, because you can stand on snow, less power is needed to get moving and holding an edge in snow is easier. And while the equipment is specialized and not cheap (inflatable kites alone begin at $1500), all you need for the sport is wide-open, snow-covered terrain and the right wind.
“You don’t necessarily need strong wind—12 mph can do the trick,” says Olsen. “But it needs to be consistent and steady.”
Growing up in the Chicago area, Olsen was always drawn to wind-powered sports. As a kid, he would make parachutes out of plastic drop cloths and fishing line and get airborne in his little red wagon. As a teenager, he collected free scraps of parachute material from a local shop and started sewing kites. In 2001, using homemade gear and no harness, he zig-zagged across a field on a snowboard under the power of his kite. His exploits drew spectators, and he even scored a few seconds of airtime on the local news station. Eventually, he bought his first kite off eBay. Now, he’s sponsored by PLKB kites and Donek Snowboards.
“Nowadays, the standard is inflatable kites,” says Olsen. “Back then we called them bow kites and sea kites. You had to use your board and edge to de-power the kite. Now, you control how much pull you get from the kite. The equipment has come a long way—it’s a great time to get into the sport.”
Former Coloradans, Olsen and his wife, Florence Linet, recently relocated to Heber City, Utah, surrounded by three large reservoirs, for its easy access to snowkiting and kitesurfing.
“At first, snowkiting doesn’t sound fun—it takes time and a lot of effort,” says Linet, a ski instructor for Beaver Creek Resort. “You begin by crawling in the snow. Then, you’re sitting in the snow and the wind with [27 meters worth of] lines on the ground. But, as soon as the wind picks the kite up and your kite is in the sky, it’s exhilarating. You don’t feel the wind or the cold—when conditions are right, it’s like a perfect powder day on the mountain.”
Olsen and Linet practice back rolls, front rolls and other tricks they discover on YouTube from snow kiters worldwide—including Linet’s family members who run a kitesurfing school in Brazil. “I’m learning to unhook myself from the kite—that allows you to do different things with your body and legs,” says Linet.
Two hours from Aspen, Lake Dillon serves as Colorado’s unofficial snowkiting capital. Retired teacher Rick Thiel has been snowkiting on the lake he lives next to for around 15 years. He snow kites about 70 days in the winter. “If the wind’s blowing, I’m out there,” says Thiel.
Thiel often skis at the resort in the morning and heads to the lake when the winds pick up around 1PM.
“It’s my first love, better than skiing or snowboarding,” he says. “When I’m at the resort, I’m on a chairlift more than I’m skiing. Out here, I’m constantly moving, carving turns, jumping. It’s total freedom. The entire surface of the lake could have six or seven inches of fresh snow, and it’s all mine.
“I’m not sure if it’s the challenge or just getting everything to work right—everything must come together,” Thiel continues. “It’s hard to find steady wind in the mountains. There are only a handful of days each winter with perfect conditions. Out of 70 days, I’d say five are epic.”
Thiel says he can put in 50 miles in a single session, going with or against the wind. He prefers light wind, so he opts for a 19-square-meter kite, one of the largest sizes in the sport. He’ll size down to a five-meter kite on days with high winds.
While the Roaring Fork Valley is home to few snow kiters, mid-valley residents Ramiro Zuñiga and Valentina Hübner snow kite on Ruedi Reservoir when it freezes, Crown Mountain Park in El Jebel when it’s covered in fresh snow and Independence Pass when the road opens in spring.
“The way the mountains on Independence Pass line up and the winds come in clean, with no obstructions, make it a great place to glide uphill with the kite,” says Hübner.
Back in Chile, the husband-wife duo were active members of their local kiting community on water, land and snow. Zuniga is certified as an assistant instructor through the International Kiteboarding Organization and the pair helped produce Snow Kite Fest, the biggest snow kite event in Latin America.
“We think there is a lot of potential here, and we feel very passionate about growing a kiting community,” says Hübner.