Snowkiting in Vancouver

[keeldude]

Seems like winter is here to stay. Trace snow at the airport and 40+cm on north east slopes in Coquitlam, I'm guessing the coverage is also good in Abbotsford and mission too. Any ideas on some good wind exposed and snow covered fields east of Vancouver? Relatively new to kiting and had a blast learning to snowkite on skis on a frozen lake in Minnesota this Xmas in 10-15kn wind on my 3line 3m trainer kite. The ice allowed me to fly such a small kite but it was still an awesome intro to the sport. Looking to avoid high traffic spots until I progress further. Greenlake sounds like a good spot but there must be some other spots to the east. Strong NE outflow over the next couple days should light up southern areas of Van, out of the windshadow of the local mtns to the north. Will report back with what I find. Happy New year!

[keeldude]

Chased the wind into Abbotsford, settled on abbotsford exhibition park, not a whole lot of a space to work with, 4 soccer pitches in a grid with one football upright and 2 soccer nets to content with. Wind 15G25kn, somewhat swirly and funnelling, but good enough to practice

Positively wintery

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Still going to scour google maps for large public fields to kite ski on. Wind was really solid 20G30 NE in exposed areas, problem is public access, too bad none of the lakes are frozen enough to kite on

[bandito]

try farmer lands. maybe a farm road n shitty ski. or go to where the boys go frankly! Good job by the way. I noticed lots of winds driving south Suma back from Baker yesterday late afternoon, seems to funnel crazy there, like very strong . Hey! get a Silver Pass or Gold pass at Cypress n use gravity instead! or mt Baker if you are maple ridge, man that mountain is class too! go on kiteboardbc for a promo code for cypress, may still work.

[keeldude]

Had considered knocking on doors to ask for permission to use a snow covered farm field. Still learning on my 3m trainer, and kite skiing/snowboarding seems like a fun way to transition into kiteboarding on water (been wakeboarding 15 years). Green lake looks fun, maybe when I buy my first proper kite/harness. Something about chasing wind makes it more fun

[Alton]

Hey keeldude - you are the perfect candidate to start kitesurfing. Wakeboarding is almost identical to freestyle kiteboarding on a twin tip. Kiting with a surfboard (instead of a twin tip) will add a new dimension to your surfing experiences.

Skip the snowkiting since ideal conditions are rare. Instead you should invest in kite lessons in Squamish this spring to accelerate your learning ... it will change your life ... you'll wish you started sooner.

You'll find plenty of friendly kiters here to help you in your learning.

[Roxstock]

I found that wakeboarding only helped slightly with kiteboarding. Board control was easy to pick up but it doesn't give any benifits to flying the kite. Get out with the training kite as much as you can and as Alton said go get lessons as early as you can in the Squamish season.

[bandito]

I shredded my new 12m on my 1st day in mexico , I didn't take lessons.

when you ready to take lessons , kite a lot after or you will forgot a lot n they are $$$.so you will need gear. dependly your weight, you will need your main bread n potato kite n board. for many people it is a 9m. some 8, some 10s. Base on 9m is your main kite,light winds a 12m ish is nice. wind get powered n 7m ish is sweet.1 board wise id go twin tip n Not a beginner one, 134 to 137cm by around 40 wide, single concave ,fairly flat so when wind back off you still have power. Jimmy lewis base designs from 2005 is still sweet in my opinion. harnest , a seat one is nice when you begin n easier on back. I now rode waist one as in waves you can turn better , the harnest ponting to kite n you forward. n take lessons n go as much as you can.

[Slappy]

I think snowkiting is a great way to learn to kite.

I would highly recommend getting a non-fixed bridal kite though. Your fixed bridal trainer kite is basically full power all the time so when the wind is gusty is pulls like a truck. The kites we use for actually kiting are all depower kites where you can just let the bar out and the gust will pass without too much trouble.

I would suggest a Flysurfer Peak2 unless you are more interested in boosting and soaring. This is a non-water kite though so keep that in mind if you think you'll cross over from surfing to kitesurfing when it's warmer.