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Airnsails
Since 22 Jun 2005
104 Posts
Hood River, OR
Stoked
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 Wed Mar 07, 07 4:43 pm Skyline Masters photos and recap |
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Once again Skyline earned it's reputation for the best American snowkite location. New snow, blue skies and wind everyday made for perfect event conditions.
Here is the link the recap and photos
http://www.kiteboardingmag.com/article.jsp?id=50434
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Skyline glide AS (Large).JPG |
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dcrowe
Since 11 Oct 2005
265 Posts
hard to say, I was inverted
Obsessed
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| Wed Mar 07, 07 6:40 pm |
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| Way to go Sales!!!!! That baby of yours hasn't slowed you down a bit. Congrats man!
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lance_k
Since 04 May 2005
565 Posts
Hood River
Photographer
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| Wed Mar 07, 07 9:31 pm |
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Race Results
Snowboarding (Men's)
1- Aaron Sales (Hood River, Oregon)
2- Guillaume Chastagnol (France)
3- Paul "Motz" Macaj (Denver, Colorado)
Hell Yea Aaron! Way to represent the father/kitemag editor/ hood river clan.
_________________
www.lancekoudele.com |
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Rollo Tomasi
Since 17 Mar 2005
983 Posts
Attractive
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| Thu Mar 08, 07 12:46 am |
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Congratulaltions Aaron.  Nice Job!
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Wind Slither
Since 04 Mar 2005
2626 Posts
The 503
METAL
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| Thu Mar 08, 07 5:48 am |
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Looks like there were some other NW standouts in the skiing too. Way to go get it!
Skiing (Men's)
1- Lorne Glick (Salt Lake City, Utah)
2- Alex Peterson (Leavenworth, Washington)
3- Patrick Nedele ( Winter Park, Colorado)
Snowboarding (Women's)
1- Heather Schenk (Salt Lake City, Utah)
2- Maria Wirth (Helena, Montana)
Skiing (Women's)
1- Monica Bassett (Hood River, Oregon)
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Onad
Since 04 Mar 2005
1435 Posts
Coast<<PDX>>Gorge
XTreme Poster
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| Thu Mar 08, 07 6:27 am |
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Way to rip it up Araon, Alex & Monica and represent the NW!! 
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blowhard
Since 26 Dec 2005
2027 Posts
Windward
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| Thu Mar 08, 07 7:27 am wow |
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sounds like the locals ate it up 
no surprise there 
who's the King of the Air?
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dcrowe
Since 11 Oct 2005
265 Posts
hard to say, I was inverted
Obsessed
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| Thu Mar 08, 07 9:43 am |
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| Last I heard, A.P. was jumping over Chasta!!!!
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Airnsails
Since 22 Jun 2005
104 Posts
Hood River, OR
Stoked
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| Fri Mar 09, 07 10:54 am |
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AP was pretty much jumping everything. Trees, people, kites, you name it. There was no doubt that Alex has taken flying to a whole new level. A level that no one ele is even coming close to touching. On day 2 in the back country, he jumped off a 100 foot cornice at sunset. It was rediculous. Fortunatly it was caught on film so we can all see it soon.
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AP(Small).JPG |
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pkh
Since 27 Feb 2005
6549 Posts
Couve / Hood
Honored Founder
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| Fri Mar 09, 07 5:18 pm |
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| Seems like with the heights AP is reaching his paragliding skills would be his best asset.
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blowhard
Since 26 Dec 2005
2027 Posts
Windward
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| Sat Mar 10, 07 7:18 am Alex Peterson--- KITE SOARING |
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That guy is one ballsy dude
He is very expierenced with glider skills
I have about 300 hrs. in sailplanes, owned a high performance glider for ten years .47-1 glide ratio, that's 47 miles out for every mile that I'm up.
But it also dropped out of the sky if under 54 knots
But he has to sit BACKWARDS while flying ,talk about a soft touch
I know the cliff he was going off ,at least a hundred feet
When we went with him he was kite-looping 3 loops one way 3 the other his way up from there ,so he was about 200 feet from the ground and 100 feet above the cliff.
He caught one gust and went 150+feet off flat ground, biggest jump I ever saw
His gear is first rate ,custom harness ,new everything
He didn't care for my old wave gear when we traded rigs
BUT Still if something broke ,,fuuuuuck !!!!
you won't catch me doing that
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EdG
Since 19 Dec 2005
425 Posts
Just a Kook that's
Obsessed
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| Sat Mar 10, 07 12:03 pm |
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I hope he has more than Velcro keeping his harness on 
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windzup
Since 28 Apr 2006
22 Posts
Â
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| Mon Mar 12, 07 8:12 am |
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What was amazing this year was to see how many people have upped the level... as far as kite-gliding is concerned.. and how many new styles are evolving. I saw a dozen different riders, from first year on snow to veteran, all following the line at the left of Boscos next to the Chastamon Forest (the one seen in Next Chapter and 20/10).
Every single kiter that sent it off that steep slope glided as high as the trees, with many pulling off successful kiteloop landings. (Chasta and AP aren't alone anymore! There is a new generation of flyers out there now!)
Many proving that paragliding, (while it helps with understanding slope winds) isn't necessary as long as you lack the common sense to stay near the ground. Riders like Klas from Norway were holding their snowboard style high into the sky, while some skiers chose to either spread eagle or ballerina it while dangling above the trees. Some are flying forward with a half twist in the lines, and others spinning or riding backwards. What was way cool was to see new faces above the treeline, like Jake B and Patrick N, along with many other locals that have eased their way into gliding.
What should come next is a "WHAT NOT TO DO" while gliding instruction manual. As with so many people now sending themselves into the atmosphere... we are likely to see people that aren't on the latest and safest gear going higher than their equipment is good for. Always back up your pulleys (especially if they are plastic). and always check or change your lines out often. Maybe even check with your manufacturer to be sure your equipment is proper for flying use.
After seeing the guys a couple years back, when they started to fly off cornices with 500 feet plus open air under feet...I realized that that is not where I see myself taking Snowkiting... over 50 feet and I'd rather be in my paragliding harness.
Windzup,
Brian Schenck
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Sailut
Since 31 May 2005
72 Posts
Utah
Â
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| Fri Apr 18, 08 8:21 am |
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I have had the great fortune to snowkite this year, with the designer of the Ozone Frenzy/Manta/Access foils.
Although I mainly fly inflatables, we have had many conversations about backcountry snowkiting and gliding.
After these conversations, my decision is to fly foils when I get more into gliding.
With all the videos on youtube, and with our locals getting so much heights on the glides,
he has put together his views on this growing aspect of our sport.
-Marty 
| Quote: | Hi there kiting friends,
I would like to put forward my opinion in the hope that it will help prevent the inevitable.
It is only my humble opinion and by no means do I mean it to sound like it is gospel in any way. I am putting forward what I see as reality from my position and history and that is all. I am sure there is much to be added that I do not know but as to date this is what I have to offer.
A brief background.
I have spent 18 years in paraglider design and development as a test pilot and designer. As a test pilot I was deeply involved with certification and the safety of the paragliders both in flight and structurally regarding the integrity of the materials involved in manufacturing.
As a designer of paragliders that have to pass a rigorous certification, I am used to thinking in terms safety and calculating forces and stress to avoid material fatigue or failure.
I have also learnt that if it can go wrong it will go wrong….
I have also witnessed the loss of life and permanent disability….
First off you must all understand that to myself and Ozone, Snowkiting does not involve flying off hills… That is another sport that I choose to take part in called “being pretty stupid”.
Chasta has been going big for five years now but Ozone has never promoted that side of what he is doing because we and I do not consider it safe or good promotion for the sport of Snowkiting. We could have shown Chata at over 200ft years ago but that would be foolish of us to do that as that is not what we want to promote as Snowkiting. Watch Chasta today and you will see that he flies a long time but never high, he has worked out that that is just dangerous and not very hard, it takes more skill to keep it close to the ground and reduces the risk a little.
And I am the first to hold up my hand and say that I realize just how thin a line I am walking when I fly my kite off the hill. I owe it to myself to understand the dangers and decide if I want to take the risk. I know that an equipment failure at 40ft plus could easily end in serious injury or death depending how lucky I were to be on that particular day!
If you want to be stupid like me then first remember that all your equipment should be in top condition and preferably new! Do not use old kites of any sort, foil or inflatable. Use a climbing harness and carabineer to hook into as well as your kite harness. Inspect your lines, bar and kite for any signs of ANYTHING and if you find anything wrong replace it.
Your life is hanging under something that is not designed for what you are doing so don’t expect it to always go they way you think it is going to…
Weigh up the pros and cons.
I choose a Foil…
I know I am going to fly of hills, I am after all in love with flying one way or another. From what I know I choose a Foil kite for the simple reason that I think it is a safer option. I like the fact that the load of the pilot is more evenly distributed through the lines, the double surface and ribs. It makes perfect sense to me that this is better than say four or five attachment points. I also know they are built to the same standard as a paragliders and I know paragliders are incredibly strong. Paraglider load test takes the maximum pilot weight and then takes it to 8G. I would estimate we could load a foil kite up to about 5G with a 80kg load. We have not tested this but we have tested the Bullet speed wing 10m to 600kg no problemo!
The reason I don’t personally want to ride a tube on the snow…
The very highly tensioned single surface and the tube at high pressure in very cold temperatures where materials start to get brittle, does not excite me. I don’t like the fact that there are so few attachment points distributing my weight. I would worry about them splitting down one of the seams as I have seen happen. I don’t want to pump! If you get a puncture your day is over. I want to be able to launch and land easily and I want small package when it is packed. For sure if you want to just do the same things as you do on water they work fine but if you want to ride up mountains and adventure all over the place like Chasta does then they are not a good option. Inflatables kick ass on the water but I don’t think I will fly one on the snow.
Now having said that we are all fundamentally attached to four lines, bar and a harness… So it comes down to you as to which part you think is going to fail, the lines or the kite. I do know that we have tested well-used flying lines and the results have been very good with lines only dropping 10 to 30% after a full season on the snow and water. I know I can inspect the lines and bar easily and I change my lines regularly during the season. So the kite for me is what I worry about. I also know that this year we have been having problems with our bars!!! Now imagine if one of those went when you were 60ft high! So as pilots we can trust or take anything for granted.
I don’t care really what you do or what type of kite you fly but you should really think about and understand the dangers you are really exposed to. Also remember that when you have a bad accident not only are you going to have a bad day, your friends are as well because the are going to be dealing with your broken ass instead of ripping it up…
Think before you fly!
Take it easy and enjoy.
Rob Whittall. |
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