Winter has arrived, so all eyes turn away from beach sports to snow sports. Kitesurfers looking for a wintery challenge, and snowboarders or skiers looking to try something different, may be researching the best places to snowkite. So, we’ve compiled this year’s top 5 snowkiting destinations.
But first, what is snowkiting? The beauty of using kites for sport lies in their adaptability. Attach yourself to a kite, stand or sit on something, add the suffix ‘kiting’ to whatever you’re using and there you go – you’ve got yourself a new sport!
This Year’s Top 5 Snowkiting Destinations
Since kitesurfing’s creation in Switzerland and Hawaii, we’ve seen plenty of examples of this taking off: kite-buggying, landkiting, hydrofoil-kiting, stand-up-paddleboard-kiting and a handful of more half baked combinations. Though the area that really took to the addition of a kite is the world of snowsports.
There are two main forms of snowkiting and, predictably, they correspond to the those two semi-rival groups that occupy the mountains – skiers and snowboarders. The only extras required for kite-related madness is simply a kite and a harness. The rest of the kit is just your regular skis or snowboard, plus maybe some additional safety equipment.
Snowkiting can be practised in virtually any snow covered landscape so you could just give it a go on your next snowboarding holiday. From sprawling tundras or icefields that stretch out for miles, to frozen lakes and unexplored areas of mountain ranges, all are made accessible via a kite.
Even a large city park on a winter afternoon could make for a viable playground. Snowkiting is a remarkably versatile sport and could transform your next winter break.
Best Places to Snowkite
Take a look at this year’s top 5 snowkiting destinations:
Skyline Drive, Utah
Great name. And the destination’s proved good enough to be the host of various competitions. Favoured for its reliable winds, varied terrain and road access high up into the plateau of the Wasatch Mountains.
Alaska
A real winter wilderness. Vast expanses of ice such as Portage Lake will inspire you no end. As always, take advice on ice conditions on the lake and watch out for powerful winds coming through the Portage Pass.
Simplon, Switzerland
You’ll find excellent snowkiting in Switzerland around this high mountain pass. Views here are breathtaking as the pass joins the Pennine and Lepotine Alps. As a beginner you are well advised to take a guide.
Reykjavik, Iceland
Snowkiting in Iceland is just two-and-a-half hours away – if you’re flying from the UK. Going up, you are climbing to a summit of 1350m before free riding back down. There are plenty of destination all within a drive of the capital Reykjavik.
Serre Chavalier, France
Spending hours on the Col de Lauertet, you’ll be glad you picked the southern French Alps for snowkiting. While on a family ski holiday in Serre Chevalier I saw people snowkiting. If it wasn’t for parental duties I’d have given it a go myself. With 13 villages in the valley you won’t be short of accommodation or places to visit on rest days.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this guide to the best places to snowkite. Would you add anything to this year’s top 5 snowkiting destinations? Let us know in the comments below.
