Snowkiting colorful, compelling and cool

March 17, 10:25 AMSalt Lake City Outdoor Recreation ExaminerJared Hargrave

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Photo courtesy Powder Mountain

A fringe sport is starting to jump into the mainstream in Utah this year as snowkiting has gained immense popularity. So what is snowkiting? Imagine strapping a small parachute to yourself and allowing the wind to zip you across an empty snowfield and lift you off the ground where you can spin and do tricks. Much like kiteboarding on the ocean, snowkiting allows skiers and snowboarders to harness the power of the wind and turn flat terrain into a playground.

Last weekend, Powder Mountain hosted the second annual Superfly Open, a snowkiting festival that saw a huge increase in attendance over last year. In response to the surge in popularity, Best Kiteboarding is establishing the Best Snowkite Center at Powder Mountain to offer lessons and provide demos at the resort.

In addition, snowkiting areas can be found all over Utah. Sanpete County has popular snowkiting areas on Skyline Ridge in the Manti La Sal National Forest.

In the Ogden Valley, you can learn to snowkite at Utah Kite Addiction, Utah's first and only PASA Certified Snowkiting School. They safely teach beginners the fundamentals of snowkiting which can be applied to other kite riding sports like kiteboarding on water, kite land-boarding and kite buggying.

Wind Over Water is a full service snow kite school that also teaches beginners how to snowkite with guided trips all over the state. They offer snowmobile assistance, updated snow kite gear and professional instructors who love to teach the fundamentals of snow kiting.

Other snowkiting areas in Utah include Strawberry Reservoir, Park City East, Bear Lake, Hogan Pass, Peter Sinks, Midway, and the East Uintas.

Turns out Utah is a mecca for snowkiting. Open up your horizons while on skis or a snowboard. Strap on a snowkite, get professional instruction, and let the wind fill your sails at one of Utah's world-class snowkiting areas. To see snowkiting in action, watch the news story below, shot and editied by KUTV 2 News photojournalist Shirstie Sheets.