A banner season for snowkiters
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- Created on Thursday, 30 June 2011 16:15
- Written by Evan Thomas
Summit Daily News
Perhaps the only thing more fun than snowboarding down the side of a backcountry peak strapped to a giant kite and soaring for 20, 40 or 60 seconds in the air is being able to do it well into July.
Snowkiting season is winding down in Summit County, but avid kiters say there are a few good days left up on Loveland Pass this season. Bryce DeQuoy and Gary Greene, who operates GG Wind out of Breckenridge, said like other snowsport athletes, snowkiters have had a pretty epic year. Their most recent trip up the pass was last week, capping off a 140-day season.
For Greene, the lift lines at Keystone became a little too long to tolerate. So, an experienced kiteboarder on water, he found a new way to fly up the hill — by hitching a ride with a kite.
Not only does it drag riders up the mountain, it allows them to ski and ride lines that they never would have been able to without such a mechanism, Greene said. Pro-level riders can soar for up to five minutes, 150 feet or more in the air — solid intermediates are looking at hang times of more than 20 seconds, 60 feet in the air.
Read more about snowkiting at Summitdaily.com.
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