- Home
- News
- Opinion
- Letters
- Sports
- Prospecting
- Essentials
- Obituaries
- Real Estate
- Comics
- Gallery
- Classifieds
- Advertisers
- Coupons
- Contact Us
Share Article
532
805532805
California’s first and only snowkite school opened in December at Royal Gorge ski resort, offering customers state-of-the-art snowkiting equipment and expert instruction in a High Sierra meadow known for consistent wind.
Snowkiting is the growing winter sport of wind-powered skiing and snowboarding. Snowkiters capture the wind with a kite that is attached to their bodies by a harness. Powered by the wind, snowkiters can climb mountainous terrain, travel across flat meadows and perform aerial maneuvers and tricks.
Sierra Snowkite Center is only the second snowkite school in the nation to partner with a ski resort.
“Whether you like to glide through untouched powder, launch gentle, soaring jumps, or race across backcountry terrain powered by the wind, snowkiting has something for all skiers and riders,” said Tyler Brown, Sierra Snowkite School director. “Sierra Snowkite Center is proud to partner with Sugar Bowl Resort and Royal Gorge to introduce snowkiting to the Lake Tahoe area.”
Sierra Snowkite Center is led by Brown, the North American Snowkite Tour Champion. He is a Tahoe native who has traveled the world competing in snowkiting events, and was named the Best Overall Rider at the 2012 Superfly Event in Utah.
Brown and his team of snowkite instructors will offer group and private lessons, as well as guided backcountry snowkite tours. The center will also offer gear demos and a full selection of rental gear. The center also plans to host a snowkiting race series beginning the week of Jan 9.
The center’s instructors embrace a relaxed but effective teaching style that can be tailored to a wide range of snowkiters — families seeking a fun day of kiting, kiteboarders wanting to adapt their skills to the snow, or intermediate snowkiters who want to perfect their technique and skills.
Sierra Snowkite’s location at Van Norden Meadows offers consistent wind, 250 acres of undulating terrain, and a wide array of natural and man-made features. The meadow has both beginner and advanced terrain for snowkiting. After recent snowstorms, the Sierra Snowkite Center terrain is covered in deep snow, making for prime snowkiting conditions.
Only moderate wind is needed for snowkiting, and Sierra Snowkite Center will update its Website each morning at 7 a.m. to notify customers of wind conditions and hours of operation.
The center is located on Soda Springs Road just off of Donner Pass Road, Highway 40, across from Soda Springs Ski Resort.
For more information on Sierra Snowkite Center visit sierrasnowkite.com, e-mail info@sierrasnowkite.com or call 530-816-0485.
To learn more about Royal Gorge and Sugar Bowl Resort go to royalgorge.com or sugarbowl.com.
Discussion | No comments
The Mountain Democrat does not necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full policy