vindman

Hi, Soon it is time for this year's adventure. Live updates will be available on: www.kiteonice.com Regards, The amphibians

I've never been to Levi, so I cannot comment about it. But I guess it's not worth to go to Levi from UK just for downhill skiing / snowboarding. But it's probably ok if you go there for other activities as well, or for travelling around to see more things.

The sea exactly one year ago, February 23, 2013: http://www.kiteonice.com/pic/lulea_feb_2013.jpg

Hi. A friend and I intend to follow in the tracks of the old ice hunters and make an expedition on the north Baltic Sea in March. Our goal is to travel by kite from Sweden to Finland. If all goes well, we'll post some pictures during the trip: Kite on ice

Same place but another view: http://images.webcams.travel/daylight/webcam/1366710440.jpg Great place for touring.

Snow's up! Låkta (north Sweden) web cam: http://archive.webcams.travel/daylight/webcam/1366812336.jpg

No ice-buggy yet - the usable ice is still a bit too far from my home. Soon though... If you travel here in winter, send me a private message and I can show you some ice.

The winter arrived some weeks ago in north Sweden. Lake ice, last week: http://www.utsidan.se/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=11403&stc=1&d=1350834834 Sea ice, this week: http://isplanket.com/planket/showpics/11684_1.JPG The snow is covering all of the mountain areas. Snow in the south yesterday. Looking good so far!

Ok, here it is:

I posted this video clip over at the buggy forum but I thought it may be of interest also for snowkiters, so here it is:

The Yakuza is definitely better than my other kites when it comes to high speed buggying. It pulls a lot at high speed - also upwards, which I noticed yesterday. I also noticed that even though my ice blades are high, they do not break through all snow walls.

There are no snowkiting spots close to Bergen that I am aware of. But if you drive for a couple of hours you can snowkite. You can also go with train to Finse on Hardangervidda which is superb.

Mittens will keep you warm when it is very cold. Mittens have a higher thermal efficiency than gloves as they have a small surface area exposed to the cold. I kite with mittens when it is very cold (skis and icebuggy with Ozone depower kites on bar).

Here's a recent video from that place: (found the video on a Swedish forum).

Yes, skis only, when kite touring.

If you are a good wave surfer, windsurfer or skateboarder, a snowboard may be the way to go. Otherwise skis may prove to be easier for learning snowkiting. In a way skis are more similar to your buggy since you face the direction of travel. Any kind of cheap second hand alpine ski equipment will do to get you going.

I spent last week on Hardangervidda. The west part of Hardangervidda was good while the east part had a bit too little snow. By now also the rest of the Scandinavian mountains seem to have recovered and skiing/snowkiting is possible.

If you are serious about snowkiting, then go to the Scandinavian mountains instead of the Alps. Many Scandinavian resorts have great snowkiting terrain. Worse slopes than in the Alps but much better snowkiting. I just spent a week in the area around Geilo in Norway which is excellent. Only problem is that everithing is double as expensive in Norway compared to Sweden, so next time I'll stay in Sweden.

The storm Berit left some snow in the mountains, so now we can soon begin! Article about the lack of snow in European mountains: Snow joke: mild weather brings chaos to start of ski season - Skiing - Travel - The Independent

By thw way, the current situation means that the guys in Lapland have a good snowless ice season right now. As we say in Sweden: No evil that does not have any good. Recent pics: http://isplanket.se/main/planket/showpics/10550_1.JPG http://isplanket.se/main/planket/showpics/10551_1.JPG http://isplanket.se/main/planket/showpics/10557_3.JPG

It seems there will be no snowkiting in November this winter. We'll have to wait until December in the Swedish mountains. The snowseason started quite normal but it suddenly stopped. Next weekend the XC ski world cup starts for the season. It was supposed to kick off in Beitostølen, Norway, but there is no snow there. A backup place is Gällivare in Lapland, arctic Sweden, but there is no snow there either. Now they have decided to move the races to a high located place in Norway were they have cold enough weather to produce artificial snow. This weekend the Swedish XC ski team have their traditional training competitions in Bruksvallarna, Sweden. Normal years only the Swedish team trains there and the other teams have other places they go to. But due to the abnormal snow situation we now have elite skiers from Norway, Russia, France, Canada etc. in Bruksvallarna. It is one of the few places where you can ski, so the elite skiers have gathered there. They are even broadcasting these training competitions on Swedish television right now. Frakke, switch on SVT channel 1 and you can see the snow situation in Bruksvallarna/Funäsdalen. Quite bad! Right now they are actually discussing the bad snow conditions.

Also the ice season has started. Picture from 22nd October: http://www.isplanket.com/main/planket/showpics/10522_1.JPG

Good that you are back in business Frakke Well, both Flyvan and I recommend other places that are much, much better for kiting, but back to Åre ski resort then... According to Simon at Östersund Kite there is a place at Åre ski resort called Ullådalen that is good for kite. It is a cross-country ski center which has plenty of space for kiting. You can find it close to Rödkullen on the Åre piste map. I am quite sure that the Åre kite school (Åre Kiteskola) can recommend several other places, even though they are not world class kiting spots. As I wrote earlier Storlien in Åre municipality is easy accessible from Åre village by train or car. Storlien is a ski resort, see Storlien piste map, and above the lifts you have very good kiting terrain. Just don't do like this guy in Storlien: [video=youtube;S-01Dd7kuTM]

If all else fails, we have to put up with the local ice, with or without snow.

And now the snowseason has started also in south Sápmi, further south (slightly closer to civilization ). Today's pic: http://www.bruksvallarna.se/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bild-1.jpg