Posts Tagged ‘kitesurfing’

… and this Saturday it’s the KITEWING (wingsurfer). Could it be faster than a kitesurfer? Hmmm, I’d love some comments from you guys out there…

There’s no such thing as “too old” – or not in Poul Rasmussen’s case. At 85 years old his passion is kitesurfing (AdvanceCopenhagen).

There are many much better and much longer videos, but unfortunately all with a lot of interviews included – and the language is Danish. Now, I have nothing against the Danish language, but I’m not sure how many of our readers are fluent in it! So I apologise to Poul, but the quick snip I’ve shown of a man to emanate will, I hope, whet your appetite to keep reading!

So that’s kitesurfing out the way, what about some of our other favourite sports?

Donna Vano is the oldest pro-snowboarder in the world. At 56 she is a legend in the snowboard and skateboard industry- an action sports veteran in every sense of the word. For 16 years she  has competed in Superpipe, Slopestyle, Boardercross, Slalom and Giant Slalom. She currently holds three Guinness World Records as the Oldest Inline Vert Skater in the World, the Most Gold Medals in the USASA in all 5 disciplines, and the Oldest Female Amateur Snowboarder Competing in Pro Tours in the Superpipe. She also runs the South Tahoe Snowboard Series USASA Nationals, which was the top for 8 years in a row and has been top in the series for 12 years. “I’m not getting older, I’m getting better,” she says.

The oldest person to have climbed Mount Everest is a Nepalese Sherpa called Min Bahadur Sherchan. He was 76 years and 340 days old. The second oldest is 75-year-old Japanese Yuichiro Miura, who reached the top two days after him, and the third is another Japanese, 71 year old  Katsusuke Yanagisawa, a teacher by profession.

In 2009,  Amanda Richmond, 54, a PE teacher from Ipswich, England, battled electrical storms, giant snow plumes and freezing temperatures to scale the 8,850m mountain, the highest on earth and so became the oldest woman to have climbed Everest.  She said: “It was incredible. I feel privileged to have been in that situation – to stand on top of the world.”

I’m trying to find the oldest wingsuit flyer, but in the meantime I have come across the oldest skydiver. Frank Moody, aged 101, made a tandem jump in 2004. Now that’s quite something isn’t – anybody who ‘doesn’t dare’ should be ashamed of themselves!!!

Still struggling to find the oldest wingsuit flyer, I have to allude to Yves Rossy – or ‘jet’ or ‘fusion’ man as he is also known. At 50, he has to be the oldest and most successful person to have achieved sustained human flight with the aid of a jet-powered fixed wing strapped to his back. His next project is to fly across the Grand Canyon. Rossy is both a highly experienced skydiver and a veteran aircraft pilot.

“My biggest concern is what happens when I get bored with this (wingsuit flying),” says veteran BASEjumper Phil Smith on the risks of wingsuit jumping from buildings, bridges and cliffs, and that’s about the last word I have on the oldest wingsuit flyer. I know Dwain Weston was 30 when he died practicing the sport he loved, but as for the oldest wingsuit flyer?  Mum’s the word.

Since 2006, Russell Allen, an American cyclist has been the oldest living American Olympian Cyclist – he got his medal in 1932. But cycling has a venerable reputation for more aged participants. The oldest participant for the ‘Les 24 Heures Velo’ – a team-endurance cycle event to be held in August this year at the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit – will be 82 years old. Whereas, In 2007 in Ladysmith, South Africa, Mkhulu Mkhize, was given a brand new set of wheels at the venerable age of 112. Ok, fair enough, he’s not about to be competing at that age – but to still be cycling yourself around the countryside is quite something.

And as for the Olympics, it seems like our sportsmen are going on for ever and ever. The 2008 event was a real eye-opener. Japanese horseman Hiroshi Hoketsu lead the pack at Beijing, returning to the Games after a 44-year break, aged 67. Laurie Lever turned 60 in October 2007, the last thing on his mind was retirement with the Australian show jumper focused on riding in his first Olympics. The title of oldest Olympian is held by Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn, who collected his sixth medal at the 1920 Antwerp Games aged 72 years and 280 days. “We are a fitter generation,” said Lever, whose appearance on Ashleigh Drossel Dan in the show jumping in Hong Kong is believed to make him the oldest debutant at the 2008 Games.

Laurence J. Brophy of Wales at 77 years old took part in last years’ RacingThePlanet Atacama Crossing – surely one of the most testing of the ultramarathon/endurance races. He didn’t complete all stages, but he did most of it. An extraodinary undertaking for any human being let alone one on the other side of 70 and at 74, Jack Denness of the UK, took part in  the Sahara Race. He said: “It is fantastic to be here. I love it. It is great for my ego as even the front runners give me lots of respect because of my age.”

Sports academics are not surprised by the ability of athletes to remain competitive longer and expect increasing numbers of over 40s to stay competing at top level sport as training techniques and technology continue to improve.

“Ageing is inevitable for humans. But if you have goals in life, you should go through the physical and mental training, forget about age and embark on the challenges,” said Yuichiro Miura.

Something to think about, isn’t it…

Today I thought I’d have a look at some of the  outrageous things kitesurfers get up to, and the first thing I came across was this one, a stunt pulled off in November 2009:

2 kitesurfers jumped over Worthing Pier in the UK.

The winds were gusting at more than 40 mph and the 2 kitesurfers, Jake Scrace, 25, and Lewis Crathern, 24, who had been thinking about this jump for more than 3 years but had had to wait for the perfect conditions, were out there like a flash (MadHotNews).

Both Scrace and Crathern have, between them, 16 years experience of kitesurfing, but they both admitted that the jump was potentially hazardous and should NOT be attempted by amateurs.

Snowkiting for many will be a natural progression from snowboarding. Hey, you’ve already got the board so you’re halfway to trying out this new extreme sport.

But where to, and how to, progress from this point?

There are places to learn and clubs to join, but below are a few simple facts that might help. But before that here’s a fabulous teaser from mwiemarkus which highlights the surrealism of this wonderful sport…

This isn’t a sport restricted to snowboarders – skiers cross over just as easily.

But back to the question of how to start…

Besides taking instruction, any snowkiter would advise you to watch as many videos as possible and pester other snowkiters with questions. Make sure you understand what and why people wipe out. You can teach yourself but you must take advantage of the videos that are out there. There are some really good ones like:

• Real kiteboarding: Zero to Hero
• How to Snowkite: Vol. 1, The Basics
• Kiteboarding 101 and 102

While you are doing this you will no doubt be consumed with the desire to buy your own kite. So what sort of kite are you looking for?

Money obviously comes into consideration – how much have you got and what is your budget going to be – and as that is obviously up to you, I will give you some rough outlines of what you should be looking at.

You should start with a small kite, 4 – 6 m. Some people go even smaller to a Trainer kite (less than 5 m) but you can skip this phase in the interests of saving some money. Many people choose to skip the enxt phase too, the 4 – 6m kite, buy an intermediate kite and thus save some money. It’s been done before and it can certainly be done again – but be aware that your road from Zero to Hero will be a lot more painful!

A foil kite is a good way to start as they are stable and tough – very forgiving when you crash them and easy to set up and take down. They use ram air to inflate the kite and keep it filled as its flying. And since they will be crashed very regularly when you begin, then HQ is a good brand to look at as they make low-cost quality kites. The advantage of a kite of this size (4 – 6m) is that you can fly it in low winds – between 7 – 10 knots which allows you to learn about the kite and how it works without being seriously yarded, but yet it is big enough to use in stronger winds (12 – 18 knots) which you cannot do with a Trainer kite. To be even more specific, an HQ Apex I 5m depower kite is a steady, reliable kite to learn on and can cost anywhere from $100-$400. The de-power allows more rider control at very little extra cost.

Equally there is nothing wrong with buying a secondhand kite to start with – saving your money for the next one. A good place to start looking is on vari0us snowkite forums such as:

• Snowkiting.com
• Kiteforum.com
• powerkiteforums.com

Now that you have the kite you need something to harness the power. Some kites come with handles, and some with a control bar and “chickenloop”. If yours is the latter, then you will most definitely want a harness and the starting price on these is $75 and upwards.

Fear not – there are alternatives. Perhaps you already have a simple rock climbing harness? Averaging about $30, this type of harness won’t provide the comfort or “un-hooked” riding ability of purpose-made kiting harnesses but they’re perfectly adequate at the entry level attachment point.

Once you get more advanced you can look into Ozone kites and Peter Lynn as well. And finally, as you reach hero status, you might want to consider an LEI (leading edge inflateable) kite. They are geared for water use but can also be used on land. But I’m jumping the gun here… let[s get back to basics.

I know I've already said that you can use your current skiing equipment, whether snowboard or skis, when snowkiting,but you aught to be aware that your board, or skis, will get dinged, so if your equipment is expensive, go to the beginning-of-the-season-ski-sales where last years' hire-equipment is being sold off seriously cheaply (in France anyway) or even carboot sales where you can always pick up a board for a song.

And last but not least - the safety angle. Remember our article way back last season about helmets and the need or otherwise for them? You ARE going to crash when learning to snowkite, and the chances are you're going to crash over and over again. So don't be an idiot and don't save pennies when it comes to your future. Invest in a decent helmet - priority number one. This could cost you anywhere between $40 - $125. You're also going to need goggles as you will only be snowkiting in windy conditions. You will probably already have goggles but if not they will set you back somewhere between $20 - $80,  and, if you're learning in icy conditions, you should invest in some crash pads, knees and elbows, that you can put under your winter gear. It is recommended because if you crash on ice it will be like crashing into concrete. Crash pads cost about $20 - $40.

I don't know if you've been doing your sums as you've read through this article, but getting started in snowkiting shouldn't cost you more than $300. And after that, you're all set and ready to fly and with no further costs - not even ski passes. For $300 you get immediate satisfaction and a few bumps and bruises! And your first kite will never be a waste of money - it can always be brought out and used in high wind conditions.

When taking your first 'steps' on your snowkite, particularly if you are using an intermediate kite, it is adviseable to start in very low wind - 10-15 mph and work your way up from there. ALWAYS KEEP THE KITE ABOVE YOUR HEAD!

Plus, always know where your kite is and know what your safety releases are and how to use them instinctively and you should be fine... and one day you, too, will be doing this...

… kindly brought to us by ActionSportsWorld. However, again I’m jumping the gun. If this is your first season you will spend a lot of time dreaming of doing this! But don’t despair … you will be one day.

Our blogs are becoming increasingly snow orientated – heigh ho, it’s that time of year ago. Only a light dusting of snow on our Southern Alps still, but hey, it’s only mid-November. We are hoping for great things again this year, and in that spirit, we found this wonderful film from Film IT and newpartisancinema on snowkiting which I think you will enjoy – beats taking a lift up the mountain any time…

Snowkiting is a fantastic combination of two already fantastic sports – kite surfing and either snowboarding or skiing. If you already love these sports and haven’t yet tried snowkiting, it’s time you gave it a go…

It’s similar to kitesurfing in as much as you use the kite, infact nowadays kitesurfers are using the same kites they use on water – the inflatable variety; but the footwear used is the same as used for snowboarding or skiing – no getting around those uncomfortable ski boots I’m afraid.

The wonderful thing about snowkiting, which puts it apart from other alpine sports, is that it is possible for the snowkiter to travel uphill and downhill with any wind direction.

I suppose one could safely say that snowkiting is the latest winter sport.

After all, it’s easier to learn than kite surfing…

It’s logical… you can stand on snow which you certainly can’t do on water – well unless you’re endowed with some extraordinary powers that is. You need less wind to drive a board across snow than you do with water, and holding an edge in snow is considerably easier than trying to do the same in water which makes wind progress much easier to master.

Hey, this winter, you, too, could be doing this…

Thanks bada55ba55.

We began with Jerome Josserand and so we shall end with him too, with thanks to ggkite for this video. Please everyone, if you’re new to snowkiting – this is NOT something you want to do on your first time out!

Snowkiting, like kitesurfing, can be extremely dangerous and should be learned and practiced with care!

If you can’t get out there to kitesurf today, perhaps you’d like to indulge yourself with your feet up, drink in hand, and enjoy this 9 minute kitesurfing video from referee1the2great.

… and dream of your next trip on the water….