Fernmanus is absolutely right. In regards to all the kites he just mentioned I would say.
We're a Flysurfer dealer here in New England, NE United States and a 12m Peak would be the kite I eluded to earlier in this thread. We have not received official word of the release of the 12m Peak (or other sizes) and am not allowed to discuss new models without permission from Flysurfer. Right NOW I cannot confirm or deny that they exist.
Maybe when I check my email there will be some updated news.
But a Peak 12m (if it exists) is exactly the kite I would choose. The Peak is built specifically for alpine kite touring and the type of duty you have described. We have not had any flying time on a 12m Peak but based on the performance of the 6m and 9m I can only assume that the 12m would be fill your light wind ascending requirements as well as general light wind conditions.
Frankly the 9m equipped with 5m line extensions, would almost do the job but my guess is the 12m would be a better bet. Plenty of grunt for the lighter winds you would encounter down low but able to depower enough in the event of higher winds as you climb. With the smaller sizes we have found a simple 3" pigtail off with knots every 20mm on the center leader allows for even better low end if needed. The 9m Peak, in the hands of a good rider, can go head to head with the 15m Speed using the pigtail.
When we do big tours (50-100miles) the winds can vary hugely from where we launch to were we end up. We don't often use them for ascending here as most of our mountains are covered in trees, but we do a lot of long distance lake riding and exploring. The Peak has been a game changer for our uses.
The 6m can fit in an average Camelbak. I put the 9m, RTF in a Columbia Mobex pack and the whole thing, kite, bar and lines, 5m line extensions and leash in the pack weighed 6.6lbs (see pic) This was weighed on a UPS shipping scale. The bottle on the left is approximately 15cm tall for reference. I want to do a long high speed tour that would cover several lakes and require skinning across densely wooded areas in between. Areas that a bigger pack would be an issue both due to weight and bulk. Skins would be in the pack when flying and wing in pack when skinning so the limited space would not be an issue for short term high speed trips. We've sold a few of the FS Peak harness packs but most of our customers opt for a standalone harness, usually the Ozone SB, and then any pack that suits their demands.
We've had the 6m in winds over 40kts and riding at speeds of nearly 70mph and been very comfortable but been able to ride in conditions light enough where a 12m Speed would struggle to pull enough. Extremely broad spectrum on these kites.
All the Peaks, in experienced hands, cover about the same wind range as 2, traditional open cell foils. The 6m for example can pull like a 9-10m depower foil but depowers down to nearly a 3m. I can only assume further sizes can do the same. For some of our students, couples, that have purchased the Peaks have purchased 2 of 1 size as opposed to years past where they would purchase 2 sizes (his and hers) due to the differences in weight. It is a very different kite.
Follow this link to see how quickly it packs down and sets up.
http://youtu.be/0oc-Fg59IfI?list=UU8RK0 ... dDCzEWfZNw