Over 50 minds, representing the core of North American Snowkiting, gathered at Skyline in early December for the inaugural Snowkite Summit. A wide variety of topics brought the community into unison, with a perspective on where the sport has been and the potential for where Snowkiting is going. The exchange of information opened many new doors, leading to the creation of an American based Snowkite Association, a dedicated Snowkite magazine and a non-profit Instructional program to help grow the sport safely.

Hosted by Windzup and largely supported by Ozone Snowkites, the Snowkite Summit offered free lodging at the Wind Walker Ranch to invited guests and provided a common ground for all those attending. Guest speakers included Ozone founders Matt Taggart and Rob Whittall, Kite-Mountaineer Andrew McLean, Avalanche Forecaster Max Forgensia, and backcountry pioneers Noah Poritz, Ken Lucas & Brian Schenck. Their words were inspiring and educational and tapped into the wide realm of Snowkiting.

Coming from over 20 different states and 2 countries were dozens of Kite Retailers, Snowkite Schools & Instructors along with representatives from Kiteboarding, Kiteworld and Drift magazines. A special hot Gumbo meal was prepared on the mountain by Loren ‘the Ragin Cajun’ Cox, and many souls were rescued from the deep powder by slednecks Chris Nester, Matt Dadum and Dave Hanning, who also manned the avalanche beacon garden all weekend.

Thank you to everyone who made this experience amazing. It is always special when the tribe gets together. We are looking forward to the next gathering.

The Windzup Team www.windzup.com