Issue link: http://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25234
Ever since Chinese visionaries Kungshu P'an and Mo Zi tried it 2500 years ago, using kites to move people from point A to point B has become something of a human obsession. In 1826, George Pocock, an English schoolmaster, outfitted a carriage with two large kites and traveled a hundred miles across the English countryside. Later, the Wright Brothers based their plane designs on their early fascination with kites. Fast forward through the 20th century and you have Norwegians around Telemark and North Americans in the Rockies, Great Plains and Canada thinking of ways to harness the wind for a snowbound, backcountry ride. Thus was born wind mountaineering, which takes place on mountains in winds from 20 to 35 miles per hour. "It's unique in that it's about going up," says Phil Huff, co-founder of UpSki, a Colorado-based equipment maker. But wind mountaineering is not a replacement for chairlifts. The Zen of it all is riding to the top of 40-degree mountain faces somewhere above the tree line-not getting to the top so you can ride back down. "We pit ourselves against the types and strengths of the wind," Huff continues, "The purpose of it is to use our skill and judgment in using the wind to get to the top of the mountain."-Michael Cervieri I~ [I" iJ KITE SKIING, EASIER AND MORE ACCESSIBLE THAN WIND MOUNTAINEERING, IS BASICALLY GLIDING ON SKIS ACROSS FLATS OR HILLS IN WINDS UP TO 18 MILES PER HOUR. ANY WIDE, CLEAR, SNOW-COVERED AREA WILL WORK. LAKES COVERED WITH SNOW ARE PARTICULARLY APPEALING ALTHOUGH THE LANDING IS HARDER IF YOU FALL. ONE OF THE PREMIUM ATTRACTIONS IS THE FACT THAT NO REGULATED COURSES ARE REQUIRED, AND THAT WITH SOME SNOW, WIND, AND A LITTLE IMAGINATION, PRACTICALLY ANY WIDE AREA CAN BE A POTENTIAL AREA FOR KITESKIING. HERE ARE SOME TOP DESTINATIONS: WISCONSION: VAST WILDERNESS AND ENDLESS LAKES MAKE THIS A TOP SPOT. (SCREAMING TUNA SPORTS SHOP, 262-241-8862) NEW YORK: THE LAKES AND FIELDS AROUND BUFFALO AND HAMBURG HAVE SOME OF THE MOST SNOW IN THE COUN- TRY. (CURTIS SPORT CONNECTION, 800-995-5559, WWW.CURTISSPORTCONNECTION.COM) UTAH: KITE SKIERS FREQUENT THE HILLY PLAINS AROUND SALT LAKE CITY SUCH AS STRAWBERRY RESEVOIR. (TALON SPORT KITE BOARDING, 801-652-0813, WWW.TALONSPORT.COM) QUEBEC, CANADA: TRY LAKE ST JOHN AND SAGUENAY, NEAR THE ST LAWRENCE RIVER. VISION COSMIQUE, (418-801-0307, WWW.VISIONCOSMIQUE.COM) PENNSYLVANIA: SOME CLAIM THE SPORT BEGAN IN ERIE 14 YEARS AGO, AND THAT IT CONTINUES TO OFFER THE BEST TERRAIN. MINNESOTA: TRY THE WIDE FLAT EXPANSES AROUND LAKE MILLE LACS. COLORADO: THE RESORTS OF MONARCH PASS, NEAR CRESTED BUTTE, AND LOVELAND PASS IN SUMMIT COUNTY OFFER WIDE EXPANSES OF SNOW-COVERED INCLINES. WASHINGTON: STEVEN'S PASS OFFERS CHALLENGING TERRAIN FOR THE EXPERIENCED. *, 1)'1 #1' il~ [Illl~i M W ~ ~ if IUD i i\1 a i i li:t i 1m.