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Since nobody's posted here since Nov. - I thought I'd put something new up & see if anyone notices in the next 6 months.

Since the discovery of kites & enough skills to make it fun - I admit I'm having more difficulty inspiring myself to hike up mtns when I can kite up them instead. Granted the terrain isn't as radical as what we ascend on skins & crampons but the advantage is - once the kite is in the air - you're shredding.....and.....the possibilities are sometimes endless - both with terrain features to be played on & the progression of skills which seem to have no boundaries. I use my splitty at all times because when you cover miles dependant on wind you never know when she's gonna die out and postholing sucks. With the split there's no fear of that.

I still love to do backcountry and the "normal" split action but mostly on the no wind days. I'm Hoping - by putting some of the stoke up here maybe some fellow splitters will want to join in & combine the passions. So many options for anyone willing to explore away from the roadside & bile access spots - yet there's so many good places that are easily accessible.

A few pics from this season:

Beartooth Pass - last weekend

Pilot & Index


Cale - Johnnysuperglide


Noah


Me hill climbing

Earlier this spring - Bighorns, WY - Possibly the best overall snowkite terrain in the US for vastness & terrain options:


Perfect powder, bluebird, perfect wind


Megacajones Joe killing it


Me - headed up Lil Baldy


Its such a huge playground!

Anyways - hope someone enjoys! I sure did

The photos are pretty rad, Dave. And your description of it makes it sound damn fun. How much does it cost (roughly) to get into it? I already have too many hobbies but it never hurts to explore more.

The way to start is with used gear. There is a variety of very decent used gear available for 1/4 - 1/2 the cost of new. The reason I say this is your 1st few outings you'll definitely be doing things to your kites that aren't pretty. As far as what to buy - there's numerous considerations....gonna play in water also?, gonna kite genuine backcountry or just roadside access spots? A person can get set up with used gear for $300 - $500 to get started....but like everything that is fun & addictive - the money just starts there. BTW its much easier to learn on snow than water.

And in Montana there is only open water for like three weeks out of the year ; )

Awesome, thanks for sharing. I'm trying to study this again. I've been on the fence about buying a set up for more than a few years now. Last summer I hurt myself so time to get moving on this.

Great photos. Looks like a lot of fun!