FAIRFIELD, Idaho — Eddy Petranek and his friends have been cruising around on the Camas Prairie for more than 20 years and in the process, pioneered snow kiting in southwest Idaho.
They got the idea from kite surfing which is a popular sport that people do on the Columbia River Gorge area east of Portland.
"Snow kiting is just like kite surfing except for you are playing on frozen water," said Petranek. "The terrain is three dimensional, it goes up and down, and you can use the kite to climb up hills then you can come down the hill. If you put the kite in the right position, it acts like a paraglider and it can lift you up off the ground."
Snow kiting combines skiing or snowboarding with flying a traction kite and using the wind to ride around on the snow. It's a sport that takes some practice because it has so many different elements, but these guys can routinely fly 30 to 50 feet in the air with the right conditions.
"Catching air is the best part," said Petranek. "I’ve always just been addicted to the wind. There is no motor involved and it is just getting out here and enjoying mother nature."
The riders from Boise have become very adept at predicting the wind before they drive over from the Treasure Valley. It reminded me of what a surfer does to predict a swell factoring in several different variables to guess what the conditions will be like.
"The wind is taking you places and you are seeing things that you would never see any other way," said Jay Jordan. "This is really cool— these guys fly, but I like to practice my turns when I snow kite."
I found out snow kiting is a cold sport as a gentle breeze suits beginners while stronger gusts provide expert conditions. Snow kiters tell me it's best to do this sport in a group and only go out as far as you are willing to walk back in case your kite goes down.
