I'll be taking a kite up this year...i've never seen it done or talked to anyone who has done it, so i'm sure it'll be a recipe for disaster...especially since i can't hardly snowboard to begin with...but i'm sure it's worth a try.
Still don't know what size kite to take...any suggestions?

There is a thread "snowkiting advice" that you can have alook at also

As soon as there is some good white stuff in the backcountry we will be there with bells on.Ben Deacon is training for a dash to the south pole next summer(He crossed Greenland last year) and has just brought a new sled with him back from NZ .He and Pete Lynn will be down there fairly regularly through winter .We will stay in touch.

regards

Lach

Backcountry is anywhere where there is no resort.(I'm not familiar with Vic but NSW is basically a high plateau with lots of open area and no trees.I find the best access is via top station Thredbo.)
important things to remember .the mountains can deliver real surprises in the form of GUSTY winds and fast changing conditions.Plus there are lots of downwind obstacles,oh and by the way though snow can be light and fluffy its more likely to be like concrete in Australia.
My recommendation is start out small 3 m floil 8 m LEI or sled foil.
You won't need much to get you going .Best advice is hitch up with someone who has done it before.Don't hhok in until you are getting the hang of things and remember gusts can come out of the blue.keep it low.

Anyone intetested should stay in touch via seabreeze to find out when and who is going down so that people can go together and preferably with more experienced riders.
It all sonds pretty serious the good news is that its not hard to get the hang of on a good day.We gave a mate a baptism of fire last year dragging him out to seamans hut with a pack (he walked most of the way)but day 2 brought light 8-10 kt winds and he had it wired and led the way on the last day in nuking gusty winds

Will be at thredbo for a week from the 22nd of july...only got a 3m foil or a 12m LEI...would be really keen to hook up with anyone who is interested.

when will u be there scratcher?

As soon as the bad weather goes, kiting is up!
the snow here in Charlottes Pass is nicely filing in the creeks, cant wait to go touring by the end of the week. For me just at the back of the village is a good place to start or on the stillwell plateau. I saw the back coutry last on sunday and it was looking nearly ready. After the snow we've had, It cant be far off!
dont forget to email if you plan to come past, even Top of Crackenback is quick access for me!

I'll be in Thredbo first 2 weeks of August and every piece of kiting gear I own will be staying right here in Perth.

If you're going to the snow, get a snowboard and a lift ticket and use gravity, it's the only way to fly in the snow. I reckon anyway.

Snow is way harder than water, and so are the trees and rocks, and that mountain weather makes Perth's winter storms look like steady sea breezes.

Snow boarding is way too much fun the way it's meant to be without having to worry about a kite, lines and that big group of trees just down wind.

true that Psylor.

I guess I can see that PsYLoR, although I'm tempted to say that just surfing waves without a kite is a more beautiful, pure sport than kiting in waves.

I won't though

I know I won't be burning my precious days on the hill carting my kite to a flat spot to kite on hard snow with hard rocks and hard trees.

I'm not even gonna get into the craziness of going to the mountains to find a flat spot either.

hehehehe

so has anyone got out yet???

when will there be enough snow to go? I was under the impression that we would have over a month to wait but as tesa says the snow is filling in in charlottes pass does this mean it'll only be a couple of weeks?
last year snowboarding i saw some guys on the flats at the bottom of perisher so maybe thats a spot.. but down in that valley the wind seems to rush through..

I had a go last year off the top of thredbo. It was insanely gusty and the snow had refrozen into tiny icy spikes that snagged my lines. Generally looked nothing like a Chasta video! I used a 3.5m and 4.9m Flexifoil. If you are lucky enough to get good conditions I'm sure It could be fun but you might have to wait for the right combo of snow and wind. I'm up for it again. Even if last year was orrible.

quote:

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Originally posted by tobes

the snow had refrozen into tiny icy spikes that snagged my lines.

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i had that exact same problem first time i had a go just above thredbo, but it is much less icy once you get just over the top of the hill where the charlottes pole line starts. Also i guess the trick is to keep your kite in the air.