Of every semi-extreme sport out there, nothing got me more pumped than kitesurfing. It was 2007 and I vividly remember watching a snow-kiter throwing himself of a cliff, parachuting down a vertical drop, landing perfectly and blazing off into the horizon. I was absolutely mesmerised and hell-bent on learning this new super power, pronto! Sure enough, two kite courses and 3 months of relentless effort I was doing double back-rolls and skidding of powder marshmallows. In the next section I’ll share why it quickly became my #1 obsession, and in a series of Steem post I’ll try to explain how you can become a kiter in 54 hours.
Snow sessions at Haukeliseter, South Norway
It’s ‘bad ass’
Once I saw someone strap a 12m2 kite with 25m lines to a harness, elegantly hopping on a board to cruise effortlessly into the sunset, two thoughts hit my cerebral cortex: 1) Holy sh*t that is awesome, and 2) I want to do that. Kiting, unlike Golf, is bad-ass.
Freestyling @ La Boca, Dominican Republic
Endless mastery
The excitement of most adventure sports peaks fairly early. For example, I was a avid rock climber for many years but once you’ve conqured your first routes, leading, and pushing yourself into more challenging routes you quickly stagnate. It doesn’t really help that climbing becomes exponentially more difficult once you’ve reached a certain level. Kitesurfing however, has totally different dynamics. Once you’ve learned basic steering and control, you learn launching and landing. Then you learn body dragging. Then you start experimenting with a board. Soon, you are totally comfortable going both (twin) directions, and you move on to basic transitions (turning without stopping). Then you learn to jump. Then you learn how to unhook and do even more advanced freestyle moves. Perhaps freestyle isn’t for you, so you learn how to kite surf in waves instead. You learn how to kite surf without bindings (strapless). You take on bigger and more challenging waves. Maybe you’re not into any of that, and you just use a kite to sail (on water or snow) and cover vast distances. The possibilities are endless and so are the levels of mastery. Check out https://twitter.com/kitesurfingblog for the number of ways you can use a kite.
Unreal adventure moments
The most epic moment I’ve experienced with a kite was during hurricane season in Casuarina, NSW, Australia. Weeks of storms had jolted a series of swells together and they we’re all hitting the east coast of Australia like juggernauts. I remember looking at the beach break and thinking the many ways one could die in those monsters (they must have been 4 to 5 meter waves). I certainly had no intensions of kiting that day (nor suicidal tendencies). But there was this long stretch of beach that had relatively calm waters - maybe 100 meters where there was no danger. I strapped on and headed out with a 9m2 kite, and rode all the way up to the break. I quickly realised I could easily pass between the swells and after several WTFs, I did. My heart was pumping. On the way ashore I found myself kiting UPHILL as one wave was building, literally climbing a 5 meter wave up until it moment when it broke - I could hear a roaring thunder as the wave pounded against the sand, and quickly made a second go-around to kite my ass back to safety. I was in awe. It was by far the most majestic moment I’ve ever had and it made me realise how elegantly kite surfing lets you explore mother nature. I’ve previously encountered whales, turtles, dolphins and other wildlife during kite sessions and it is just absolutely staggering.
Cold, unforgiving, yet awesome kitesurfing @ Sele, Norway January 1st
Upbeat community
Lastly, I wanted to mention what makes kiting so much fun; the community. There are hundreds of thousands of kiters and unlike surfers (who tend to be very territorial and downright aggressive) kiters tend to be very community oriented looking to help one-another. In my personal experience kiters are generally open minded, positive and upbeat people who are easy to become fiends with.
So, any kiters here on Steemit?