First of,......snowkiting is and likely will always be second to kiteboarding on water, even with the major terrain differences snowkiting has.
I've seen the classic progression from teaching that new kiters want to learn on snow FOR water, Then in the spring they can tranfer their skills on wate. Or, folks learn on water and just get through the winter By occasionally snowkiting and or dawning a dry suit and going out on the water anyways,......keeping their skills sharp for the warm water.
In regards to the differences of regional kiting snow vs water? on the East coast almost everybody is using LEI kites and a few may own a foil or two.... other local NH riders and a few dedicated snowkiters in New England may use foils solely, but the majority here are on water year round and find that using those same kites on snow is fine.
I also notice that, many kiters simply see driving around to chase good snow and good wind is not worth the effort, in most but not all cases. Especially when they can drive a few minutes and ride waves or flat water to get their kite experience or be on a local pond lake or field no matter what the conditions.
Like in many sports and recreational pursuits ( my education specializes in this department ), there are media spikes and surges of interest that take place to push the sports growth rapidly. For example.....
Mount Everest....and all the hype about climbing Mount Everest in the mid and late 1990's....remember Into Thin Air? At that time I taugt more mountain courses on winter camping, crevasse rescue, and mountain climbing skills then ever, now that the Everest boom is over, it is back to ice climbing and mixed climbing in the winter.
Snow Kiting never had this surge as there are so many Artic and Antarctic expeditions solely by kite that it isn't as unique, and special to the the media, like why the Everest surge has slowed. And snowkiting just in itself get some headlines, but it still isn't understood by the General public.
Although it is much more complicated then just the media's affect on the sport, the growth of snowkiting in fact ties into the goals of recreation and the correlation of how attainable and sustainable those goals of snowkiting are. Then to compound the complexities, snowkiting itself has a mandatory set of goals, or in this case skills, say, learn to fly a kite, learn locations to fly at, then become intertwined with the goals of that individual and what motivational aspects, life priorities, and recreational drives they may have.
A huge factor that whether you like to admit or not, is economy and weather. They play a major role in the return rate of snowkiters and for that matter spending in general. Recreational pursuits in rough economic times is not a priority for really most people. Then add in a icy, n wind season....and snowkitings growth would predictably slow and or slowly trickle in.
In general Americans do not prioritize recreation nor respect it as much as they would like to think.
loads of research has been compliled and although we all may believe that we all prioritize recreation, studies have in fact shown that USA is likely to rather work 40-50 hours and 6 days a week for money, rather than a 3 day week and less money but more time off ( to allow for say,mum, more snowkiting?!,)
This may connect to a paradigm that more is better. And maybe it is. As to why snowkiting is not seemingly growing in comparison to kiteboarding on water? It just cannot deliver the same accessible, reliable, and rewarding experience for the patience level and expected return that folks out there are looking for. People new to the sport see a image in their mind and want that image fulfilled. They are not fools not are they going to waste their money and time chasing a phantom. At times snowkiting can be just that. As most kiters will agree for very 10 sessions. You'll only get 1 really good one.
Snowkiting needs an bridge for those that enjoy winter and then can connect to kiting. They are in need of being patient and all knowing that chasing the wind and snow is worth the effort and have a few extra $'s to spend for kites that may not be used. It is simply a "risk vs. reward" issue.
The lessons that I teach are, by the metrics I have, are steady and growing from 10 years ago when I started.
but I see WAY! More growth with water kiting than snow,..and this is with multiple events to help expose the snow sport to more folks in more regions, as well as having a contract with a major corporation to help bolster the people getting to see and enjoy the sport of snowkiting , it is still slower than kiteboarding on water.
Snowkiting has grown a lot, but meanwhile the public still often does not even know the name of our sport.
And while the country has a distinct difference in styles of snowkiting per terrain available, the way in which it is being seen as per media's perspective that of high flying and freestyle craziness, down to relaxing with the family flying kites on a sunny day. It is clea.ry a sport with a lot of options, and that is good.
The Snowkite summit in the Big Horns last year brought up a great point to push the extreme side and create a surge of interest, and show the population of "already excited about risk sports folks" out there what snowkiting can do, from gliding and climbing mountains, to just cruising around and racking back and forth all day...and yet to many just snowkiting alone is an extreme sport, and as snowkiting, like any "adventure" sport does has inherent risk, it is unfortunately labeled extreme.
But that in research is not bad. Many people seek a rare equal to that of their nor,al stress and daily life's challnges. Mother intensity of snowkiting on pure ice and going up hills to fly off is certain.y a type of elixir for just that.
But we all know...it is a sport for everybody and slowly, people who are excited and dedicated about taking up a challenge will adhere to the weather and wind forecasts like we all do, but reality is, it is a slow growth sport and will have the numbers be what they are.
Predictions can be made, and people can from all angles push the sports appeals, and that will all help grow the sport.
From mundane riding on flat terrain to crazy mountain flights with kites, snowkiting and all its aspect aren't going anywhere, and as people in th sport maintain a level of excitement and passion for the sport, it will be noticed and taken in by those who see it's worth and reward for the time, money and effort needed to truly be able to kite year round, land snow and water.