For the first time ever, Colorado Kiteforce has upgraded their ever popular Therapy Sessions to a full blown competition. With roughly 30 competitors from near and far, (some hailing from Russia, Peru, and even farther!) the fields for both Pro and Amateur were well rounded. The event, set to kick off around noon on Friday was postponed due to wind conditions. Although many had set up on the ice in the lee of the marina, most felt wary about launching into the 30+ mph winds. Those of us that sat this one out, the Peanut Gallery as it were, watched from the deck of the yacht club as gust after gust came out of the west. One by one swirling vortex’s would come crashing down on the ice and tumble towards the fliers, catching some off guard and humbling most. Finally around 3 pm their seemed a lull in the gusts and the wind felt as if it had evened out to a steady 25. Those with enough faith in their abilities (and maybe a few hotshots) decided to take off across the ice for a short practice run. In short order those of us in the Peanut Gallery watched as one by one those that had ventured out came back with either their tails between their legs, or completely spent from trying to maintain control. In the span of an hour three kiters had detached from their gear completely, with one kite tumbling over a mile across the ice before it came to rest in a barbed wire fence along Highway 6. Needless to say the tapped keg of Euphoria (Ska Brewery) and the threat of a spectacular 80’s band at the bowling alley that night helped us to assuage our fears about the rest of the event.
Thankfully the great gods of the sky decided to bless us on day 2. Sadly tho, their blessings were a little misguided. They seemed to be directing their attention more at those partaking in some alpine action on the mountains ringing the valley. Blue skies, nice temperatures, and no wind. Ideal if you were doing any sort of downhill activities. This was, as evident by the RC pilots early in the morning, not what we needed if we expected to do any races. In fact before the racers arrived I pulled out a no-wind stunt kite and enjoyed the sunshine warming the day. Thankfully, around 3:30 pm the thermal finally started to kick in and those with kites out ran down to the ice to fly. This time, to be rebuffed by 7 mph winds that kept dropping down to 5. Between the conditions overhead and those underfoot, it was a chore to stay in the air let alone work your skis, or board, out of the slush that was developing rapidly. One competitor (Gary Greene of GG Wind) ended up barely crossing the finish line when the kite fell out of the air due to 2 mph wind. Several folks even walked part of the upwind leg of the race simply so they wouldn’t lose ground and could keep the kite aloft. Before we parted for the evening, the raffle was held. With folks (some only spectators) walking away with a brand new 6.5m kite, a new Cabrinha snowboard, a new set of Rossingnol fatties, and countless swag. Those that were winners, and those that weren’t, once again retreated at the end of the day to the keg, a hot tub, and the bowling alley.
Oh Day 3, we were so happy to see you come. For this final day of the Snowkite Open broke upon us all as the perfect Goldilocks day. Just right. Most of the competitors had felt that the day would take the same turn as the previous two days, so when the call came down from Anton that yes indeed we WERE going to race at 11 am, most of them were still rolling out of bed. There was a mad rush to the field, jackets and harnesses half on and rolled up kites in tow as one after the other ran down so as to enjoy the 12-15 mph steady wind from the south-east. Those with LEI’s were hand inflating while standing in line at the air compressor simply so they could get out there as soon as possible. As the pro’s were set to ride in the first race, I had time to set up the PA system and throw on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Up Around the Bend. How funny that up until the point that I was watching Billy Bordy (Ozone), Jacob Buzianis (Best Kiteboarding), and Anton Rainold (Colorado Kiteforce) launch and head toward the starting line that I finally heard the lyrics of the song. “Come on the rising wind, we’re going up around the bend...yeah”. I think the folks on the field had the same feeling and they all let out whoops and hollers as the realization hit that the event was on in full force. All of the races were run in the next few hours with Amanda Weldy (Ski’s) and Heather Schenck (Snowboard) taking first place in their divisions in the women’s fleet, Sean Haag (Ski) and Billy Bordy (Snowboard) winning first place in the Pro division and Bentley Blaho (Ski) and Rick Dunn (Snowboard) in the amateur division. The day was not complete with out some free-riding and a chance for us to just enjoy the unconstrained joy of new and old tricks and good wind mixed in with great friends and fine weather.
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