KITES.

[surfinsmiley 0]

The last couple of seasons I`ve been Kitesurfing in Chiba and now I`d like to try my skills on the snow.

 

Anybody know anything about snowkiting here in Japan.

 

I live in Tokyo and really don`t know where to start looking for suitable places to go snow kiting. Any ideas?

 

I found a great place up Nigata way last year but there was no wind for the four days that I was there. The locals were all telling me it`s ususally quiet windy in that area. Bad beginers luck I reckon.

 

Any one else into it or keen to give it a try?

[Yuki's Passion 1]

Ive seen it at beaches but never on snow... I always figured if the mountain was steep enough you wouldnt need a kite

[mattlucas 0]

I can imagine that finding a place open and flat enough would be the biggest challenge

Not so many open flat areas in Japan

[Fattwins 0]

tats figures hat he can glide up and down tateyama with his kite. he says that he has seen it done before. I told him that it would be heavy.

[surfinsmiley 0]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

 

I think the major thing with snow kiting is the easy access to the backcountry! You don`t need lifts to get up the hill anymore(If you find the right place, with wind).

 

Most of what I see from Europe and America is done above the tree line so that in itself is difficult to find alot of in Japan.

 

I`ve been thinking that the best places would be snow covered rice paddies. The snow always seems to take on very interesting shapes that look like so much fun to the "carve orientated".

 

I`ll go back to the Nigata area and have a look around when the snow starts........unless anyone has a better suggestion?

[Fattwins 0]

try tateyama maybe.

[Ocean11 0]

Kirigamine in Nagano near Suwa/Chino might be possible. Somebody might well come out and shout at you though.

[soubriquet 0]

No problem here:

 

 

[mattlucas 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by Fattwins:
tats figures hat he can glide up and down tateyama with his kite. he says that he has seen it done before. I told him that it would be heavy.

You could do it for sure on the lower slopes that are really mellow
You wouldn't get very far once you get up on the steeper slopes.

If you're going to try on the rice fields I'd be really scared about power lines. They're everywhere in this country.

[Fattwins 0]

tateyama has a good flat spot or two. how steep can these things climb?

[surfinsmiley 0]

Good point about the power lines! they are always in my mind.

 

Fattwins- I`m not really sure how steep a hill you can climb, but, on the water I can get my kite to pull me straight up about 10 metres.

 

I reckon if the wind is blowing straight(ish) up the hill I could easily go up anything I`d be happy to board down!

 

The power comes from apparent wind as much as actual wind. What I mean is that the power increases the faster you go from the air moving over the wing effect, so.... with a little bit of a run up....anything is possible!

 

I`ll have a look around on the net to see if I can find a good link to post here.

[Fattwins 0]

most of the the top climbs at tateyama are rock scrambles or steep. how much does the kite weight packed?

[surfinsmiley 0]

Maybe 1-2kgs weight.

 

I found a link on the ozone kite site.

Just an introduction nothing special.

 

http://www.ozonesnowkites.com/snowkiting.htm

 

I could post links to some crazy video footage but I can`t find anything on going uphill!

[surfinsmiley 0]

Not riding uphill but really lets you see what the kites are capable of in the extreme.

 

http://www6.nrk.no/design/download/power/marius/Video/DyranutFlysession.wmv

[surfinsmiley 0]

OOOoooo.......OOOooooo

 

Here is a better allround snowkiting video.

 

http://www.superdairyboy.com/recreational%20Items/kites/ozone_kites/ozone_videos.html

[mattlucas 0]

Andrew McLane wrote a really good article for couloir mag a year or two ago. They used kites up on Baffin Island to get up and down the frozen fjords trying to find couloirs. They could travel massive amounts of ground. Good pictures.