Kite Beater

[Todd Jacques]

Shawn
Take it from a kiter. Not a sometimes kiter. Billy will give you a good lesson. I took a lesson, not from billy , and I kited at strawberry by myself right after the lesson. Kiting does not need to be hard or scary, if properly trained. My .02 take a lesson and get on to kiting.

[bordy]

Billy, I appreciate your passion for the sport and your desire to make sure people do it right. It would suck for a stupid newb like me to give the sport a black eye by not learning the right way. Kites in the wrong hands can be extremely dangerous (potentially including myself of course.) I understand that all it would take is one bad accident with an innocent bystander and the right to use a location could be in jeopardy. I imagine you probably have seen someone on more than one occasion show up at a launch and ask how to connect the lines and pump up the kite, then wonder why no one wants to help them launch it. And no I don’t think a 3m trainer is enough of a stepping stone to get me on a 11m. True I am not ready for the 11m yet, but I hope to be someday.


And Leo, I have seen people practice body dragging in the water, but do you body drag on the snow on purpose as part of the learning process? Sounds like it would be more fun to watch than to do. Of course some involuntary body dragging I would expect.

Shawn,

I am glad you got a great deal on a kite.

This is going to be my last post on the subject becuase it seem obvious from your post you just don't want to take the advice of lots of kiter here, so here is the low down.

Sure I have seen lots of kiter"show up at a launch and ask how to connect the lines and pump up the kite, then wonder why no one wants to help them launch it" that no big deal at all.

But unfortunatlly I have had several friends, Killed or brain damaged or hurt beyond repair by a kite, This advise that my self and everyone else is giving you is not becuase we care if you die or not, or if you ruin a location for the rest of us, Its becuase we are a kite community and thats what it takes to be a safe kiter.


You are not a Kiter and based on your post I am not sure I would want you in a lesson, the fact that you are asking questions about body dragging proves you intend to fly your kite and progress on your own. regurdless off lot of sound advise present to you.

good luck to you.... your going to need it.......



What would I know???


http://kiteutah.com/index.php?Itemid=95 ... &task=view

http://www.flyozone.com/snowkites/en/te ... lly-bordy/

[dave holmgren]

First off- LOVE the title of this thread. Cracked me up.

Next- You've got a kite- sounds like a nice one, sounds like you got a good deal, so- congrats! (whether it's the right one or not ...) (If it's not, you can still sell it and get another- at least you've got your money going into kiting now.)

Next- Take a lesson, whether you're a pro polejumper or not, this sport has way different hazards and safety considerations. Billy and I may not have gotten off to a good start when I first started posting here (I have a tendency to be a little pissy sometimes, might even have a bit of an ego -I'm just sayin'...)- but we've worked it out, and I have zero hesitation about saying he is a damn fine instructor and knows this sport inside and out. Take a lesson. Or two. And you'll be good to go. License to learn.

Cheers!

[Chris G]

Ok, so here is my 2 cents. I am a new kiter. I started this summer. I learned how to fly a kite and then I bought a quiver of used gear. I took it to sand hollow reservoir outside of St George after watching some body dragging videos on youtube and pumped up a 10 meter kite in 18-20 mph winds. I launched the kite and walked waist deep in the water and then, to sum it up, I proceeded to get blown all the way down the shoreline while trying not to die. One time the kite ended up in the lower part of the window and I got dragged under the water. Somehow I got out of it, but the kite rolled itself through the lines which made it even harder fr me, a newbie, to control. Long story short I did my all to get back to land and when I did I was still getting dragged around. Fortunately I crashed the kite and by some miracle it stayed put until I could run to secure it.
I went home at set up an appointment for a lesson. Before the incident I thought I could learn from videos and advice, but they do not in any way prepare you for the dangers you didn't think to ask about.
Lessons cost money, that was a hesitation of mine, but the risks associated with not taking them were no longer worth it once I realized it was MY LIFE hanging on the lines of a powerful kite.
I know it seems like everyone is sending lectures your way, especially since your original post was just a question of gear, but the advice people give is sincere. I hope you receive it with the intention with which it is sent.
Kiting is an amazing sport, and I hope you safely are able to find the adventure you are looking for. Good Luck.

[Shawn Henderson]

Lessons are expensive, but I think it’s become very obvious at this point that they are not something that is optional. I can deal with that.

I know I have a tendency to be obnoxious in my posts and come across grandiose and a braggart and well lots of other annoying things. But I certainly am not as reckless as I sound. Safety is the highest priority. If for no other reason to prolong the opportunity to enjoy more wind! I feel like figuratively I have already dumped myself into a tree at this point with my Kite purchase. So how can I get this thing untangled?

Billy, I hope I have not been so obstinate as to ruin an opportunity to get into this sport. I think it’s great that we have a pro level rider who is willing to share his knowledge. In the real world I am just a humble guy who likes adventure. I am not the know it all I come across as. I would not be pig headed, un-teachable and waste your time. When I buy a lesson I want to be a sponge and soak up as much as I can get for my hard earned $’s. I just hope I can make the grade.

Assuming I can body drag back out of the weeds and start this process over, any pre-lesson advice would be greatly appreciated. This time I will be listening without the chip on my shoulder. To be honest I have not even watched anyone snow kite in person. Where is Skyline? I have been up Fairview canyon, but... Regardless I would like to start fresh and do it right.

Shawn

[Marty Lowe]

IMHO....
Start wth a lesson on the snow, It's like cheating.
You don't need the extra power that you would need in the water to get you going.

Spent the little extra and get a trainer kite,
I like the 2.5M Imp.
It has a rear line to get the idea of relaunch, and can be used as a break line.
You will use it forever, and your friends can give it a try also.
Or you could sell it on here for about the same $$$$ you paid for it.

Fly the crap out of it.
Get to the point you fly it with out looking at it.
Flying it by feel only (not looking at it) and not crashing the kite,
will get you to the point where you will be ready to get the most out of a lesson.

Paying to learn "safety", and the concepts of moving, and upwind travel with the kite,
will be a better use of lesson $$, than spending all your lesson on just trying to keep the kite in the air.

IMHO...

This post is good infomation for any wanna be kiter, not just you.
Hope to see even more windsurfers take up snowkiting this year.

Marty

[Todd Jacques]

not to be a bag, but I wish I would have read this link before I learned. I had a chip on my shoulder and bought a kite, which I sold without using. I tried to kite by myself, bad idea. Luckily Erik Gustafason found me ready to flip! myself up and offered a lesson and the rest is history. Lesson I can pass on is be careful and enjoy, this is not windsurfing it is much more hazordous. There are a few out there who can teach. I have seen Billy on the beach and he cares about your safety, if I had a friend who needed to learn I would send them to him. But if you wait there are others who will gladly help you enjoy and be safe in your new endaveor.

[salvador]

my new compadre.aztec

[dave holmgren]

Hey Shawn,

You didn't sound reckless to me, and I know, this thread is just gonna keep going and going and going, regardless of what you say now...
So I'm going to just add one more post to the pile then call it a day (Happy Thanksgiving, too!)

A lot of us, especially me- hate taking lessons- at anything, figure if someone else can do it, so can I. How tough could it be, right? It's been done before, heck the guys who started on two line Wipikas wayyy back in the 90's did it, and kites are so much safer now, so why waste money on lessons? But one thing I've learned through surviving (by no fault of my own) 50+ years doing a fair amount of fringe activities- is- I ain't 18 any more! Corollary- if I can avoid busting my a$$ by avoiding mistakes already made by others, not a bad thing. (check out this page: http://www.kitemare.com/Kitemares.htm -Not too many current stories in here, but a good sample of some of the risks.)

So when I decided to learn this sport, I took a lesson in 2001 from Mike Rossberg (on Rush Puddle), and after kiting alone (stupidly, but there weren't any other kiters around there then) in the Atlantic on a 8.4 foil kite and directional board for a while, decided to take another from Royce Reid in San Juan. Made a huge difference in my progression and my safety. And since then, even though I'll never be a world champ -or even close, I have BIG fun, feel pretty confident that I know enough to avoid most sketchy situations, and that if I do get in one, I've finally learned to do what it takes to get out of it safely. I hope. And I haven't hurt myself real bad yet (a plus).

Glad you've decided to spring for a lesson, it will make things safer not only for you, but for ME, and for everyone else on or near the beach or any nearby roads (no kidding). Makes it less likely that more of our kite sites will be taken away after some knucklehead (not you, right?) hurts a bystander, and we all care about that.

Hope to see you on the snow, and on the water- soon!

Cheers,

-Homey

[bordy]

Lessons are expensive, but I think it’s become very obvious at this point that they are not something that is optional. I can deal with that.

I know I have a tendency to be obnoxious in my posts and come across grandiose and a braggart and well lots of other annoying things. But I certainly am not as reckless as I sound. Safety is the highest priority. If for no other reason to prolong the opportunity to enjoy more wind! I feel like figuratively I have already dumped myself into a tree at this point with my Kite purchase. So how can I get this thing untangled?

Billy, I hope I have not been so obstinate as to ruin an opportunity to get into this sport. I think it’s great that we have a pro level rider who is willing to share his knowledge. In the real world I am just a humble guy who likes adventure. I am not the know it all I come across as. I would not be pig headed, un-teachable and waste your time. When I buy a lesson I want to be a sponge and soak up as much as I can get for my hard earned $’s. I just hope I can make the grade.

Assuming I can body drag back out of the weeds and start this process over, any pre-lesson advice would be greatly appreciated. This time I will be listening without the chip on my shoulder. To be honest I have not even watched anyone snow kite in person. Where is Skyline? I have been up Fairview canyon, but... Regardless I would like to start fresh and do it right.

Shawn

Shawn,
no worries, I must adimit I had heard a story about you going out windsurfing in some nasty wind at DC before you even posted, I already knew who you where, and your intentions to kite ( it is a small comunity and DC is my local spot) I had read about your experance with the trainer in another post and was awear that you had been picking Jim and Leo's brain about kiting.


I did read your post as a indactor that you were planning on trying to "have at" on your own, I also read your replys as being bold and brave, some thing that can get a begginer kiter hurt in a hurry, As the other members of the board have pointed out, we are concerend as a community, about any new kiter.

That said I have not written you off as a student or a kiter, with the right instruction and patience, any one can learn to kite, Perhaps I interprated your excitement as foolishness, But when you started asking questions about body dragging on snow your saftey then became the issue, and online it is very hard to commnuacate, the importants of saftey with out personally veiwing the person you are having the conversation reposnse and level of understanding, Your last post clearly shows you understand what your getting inot and that you are willing to take the nessacery step to be a part of the community, not a kook creating a hazard for other, kiters and our access to kiting spots.

As soon as there is snow there are lesson avallible from Kiteutah.com I am not the only instructor there and we should be up and running soon, please feel free to contact the offices and ask question and start your process to becoming a kiter,

BB

[momo]

Hi Shawn,

It sounds like maybe you are now convinced that lessons are the way to start. Safety is really important in this sport and it doesn't take much for mother nature to kick the sh$#&* out of you quickly. Just because you bought a new kite rather than used does not mean it is safer. there are also different levels of kites. some are much more technical than others and when the wind changes quickly they can be very dangerous even in the hands of an intermediate kiter. So be smart, be safe