Snowkiting

So its wintertime and I love New Zealand because you can water kite all year round (with a good wetsuit).
But for those of us who want a seasonal change, its snowkiting time!!!

Snowkiting is just kitesurfing, but replace the water with snow and your kiteboard with a snowboard or skis.
You can use your regular inflatable kite to fly in the snow, however I prefer to fly open foil kites (I fly Ozone Frenzy and Manta kites).
I used to fly my inflatables on snow, but there are so many sharp hazards, (ice, rocks) that I didn't want to damage my water kite. Also, open foil kites are really easy for solo launch and set up, you don't need to carry a pump around and they have great safety systems.

Snowkiting hurts if you get your landings wrong, water is very forgiving, snow not so much, that big ice patch that you will inevitably land on - not at all!
However snowkiting is a great way to learn kitesurfing, as you don't have to worry so much about board control and sinking in the water, but you can concentrate more on flying the kite and learning about the power zones.

There are places to kite on both the North and South Island in New Zealand, and if you want to hang out with a group of crazy snowkiters (including me) then WANAKITE is the event for you.

Snowkiting is just as fun and addicting as the water stuff, and perfect if you don't want to board in busy places or pay for the chair lifts.
Remember to ensure you have permission to kite on the land you choose, check for overhead powerlines or other obstacles and stay safe out there.