Real Triple S Kite Camp, June 17th-19th

Sign up now for Real Watersports' 2011 Triple S Kite Camp by emailing me at ericr@realwatersports.com. Three days of intense Surf, Slick, and Slider action in world class conditions with coaching from some of the top professional riders in the USA. For more information on this camp, and other lessons and camps offered by Real, go to realwatersports.com or just shoot me an email. Hope to see you on the water!

Spring Season on Maui

After spending a couple months in the snow I decided it was time for a change of climate. It would be a few months before it started warming up anywhere north of the tropics so at the end of January I headed out to Maui for the spring. Maui is one of my favorite places to ride, especially in the winter since I hate wetsuits. The NE trade winds here are pretty consistent and strong through the winter, and on those off days there is usually some swell to surf. This year the conditions have been good with only a couple weeks of no wind. There have been a couple big swells but for the most part it’s been pretty average.

I’ve been spending most of my time hitting kickers at Kitebeach with the Newton wakeboard. The increased rocker compared to a kiteboard is just what I need to handle such hard, slacked landings. I don’t really need to worry about it slowing me down or dragging me down wind since it is usually blowing 20+ mph. The kickers are great since they aren't part of a surf break, allowing me to drop my kite without worrying about it getting eaten by a wave. If it is not that windy or there are no kickers I ride the Darkside since the flatter rocker lets me plane easier. The wind is rarely north enough to fill in at the pro pool but when it is it is a great flat water spot. Maui Sunset in Kihei is also pretty flat but only works on a south wind.

Recently I’ve been mostly working on adding grabs to my flat spins. It has been a lot of fun and feels unbelievable when you nail it right. My favorite thing to do right now is add the grab after the handle pass. You really have to have the spin down to be balanced enough to focus on a grab so late in the trick. If you want to see what I’m talking about click here to check out a video of a Backside 3 with a late grab.

When the swell starts pumping I bust out the Tyrant and hit the surf. I usually ride the right at Lanes, but if the wind is really strong and east there is a sick left near my house at Waiehu. Make sure you lock your car if you ever go to Lanes though because I had my gear ripped off while I was out riding. Luckily I was able to recover it all when the thief sold it to a guy at Kitebeach. Other than that I’ve hit up the lower reef at Kanaha, Pier One and Sugar Cove a couple times.

I’ve got a couple more weeks here to hone in some new tricks before I head back to the East Coast to kick off the summer season and hit up the 2011 Triple S Invitational at Real Watersports in Cape Hatteras, NC. Hope to see ya there! Peace.

Slingshot's 2011 Kite Teams

Slingshot has just posted their 2011 Kite Team page. I am honored to have been accepted to the 2011 Global Team along with Alex Fox, Ruben Lenten, Jeff Kafka, Karolina Winkowska, Andy Yates, and Youri Zoon.

2011 Triple S Invite List

Super stoked to get an invite this year instead of needing to win the wildcard. Going to be a sick event.

Click here to check out my update from last years event and check out the wild card video that got me into the event.

Go to Realwatersports.com for the complete list and info for the event.

Kite Snowboarding in Utah

It started with a ten hour drive in a van overloaded with gear and bodies. A crew of my friends from San Francisco were on their way to Park City for five days to host a snow kiting camp. We drove through the night, pulling into a coffee shop parking lot in Park City around 4:00am. After only a couple hours of upright sleep I was awoken by an elderly man knocking on the window asking if I was OK. At least he opened the coffee shop so we could caffeine up before grabbing the snowmobile and heading straight to Skyline.

When we arrived the wind was light, but I knew it didn't take as much power to go as on water and there would probably be more wind higher up the ridges. I still went with my 13m. It was perfect. I rode till the sun went down, gliding over rocks, jibing trees, and just making tracks.

The next day we headed back to Park City for the camp. We rode at Strawberry Reservoir for the next 4 days. The wind was a lot cleaner coming off the frozen water instead of through a canyon and over a ridge. Two days in, however, a rain storm rolled through and fucked up all the snow. Sticky snow is a nighmare. Riding... riding... nose dive!

After the camp was over we packed the van and mobbed back to Cali. With the snow getting worse and worse there too, I decided snow time was over and flew out to Maui to get reacquainted with my true love: kickers.

Water & Snow: Two Sides of the Same Coin

This last month has been pretty lax. I've been at home in Tahoe visiting family and friends before the 2011 season kicks in. We got a lot of snow before Christmas and the temperature has stayed pretty cold so it's not too hard yet.

Tried to get some snow kite sessions in but the wind here is tough to track down. I pumped up a few times but by the time I could make one reach the wind would shift and I'd have to walk back. That and you need a ton of power to ride upwind in waist deep powder.

I've mostly just been playing a lot of Black Ops and hitting the hand rail across the street from my house. Also been a few good days dropping some cliffs and shredding the park at the resorts.

I'm amazed at how well my rail skills on a wakeboard cross over to snowboarding. It's almost like they are the same thing. Kind of like water and snow: the same but different. I just wish we had features this sick in the water.

Tomorrow I'm off to Utah for a week to try and track down some wind. Wish me luck.

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