Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Transceiver - Avalanche - Snowkite

Forum for snow- and landkiters
Mikkelza
Medium Poster
Posts: 136
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2018 6:19 pm
Gear: Wave + foil
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 25 times
Been thanked: 21 times

Transceiver - Avalanche - Snowkite

Postby Mikkelza » Sun Feb 20, 2022 9:33 am

Hi there,

I have tried snowkite a few times, on lakes, but this year we plan to do more uphill and downhill.
My experiences with ski-touring want me to take much precaution wrt avalanches. My buddies have very little experience with offpiste skiing.

So my question is:
Those of you who do snowkiting uphill and downhill, do you wear e.g. transceivers and other avalance equiptment?

We are going to Hardagavidda (Norway), and all in all I guess we will not go super steep - and of course I will look at the "varsom regobs" app to avoid areas with high avalance risk.

Kind regards, Mikkel

User avatar
lederhosen
Frequent Poster
Posts: 374
Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2018 10:02 pm
Kiting since: 2017
Weight: 80kg
Gear: Flysurfer Sonic4 12m
Kitech FRS 9m
Peak4 3m
Peak5 4m, 6m, 8m

Zeeko Spitfire Xlw, Xxlw
Eleveight Process 135
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 119 times
Been thanked: 85 times
Contact:

Re: Transceiver - Avalanche - Snowkite

Postby lederhosen » Sun Feb 20, 2022 10:28 am

I dont wear a tranceiver, but i avoid avalanche hills completely, even when walking up. The advantage of snowkiting for me is to get untouched snow on the plateau. Other than avalanche forecast websites, there are apps like windy maps or bergfex tours which have slope angle overlays which help at planning out a tour.

Mikkelza
Medium Poster
Posts: 136
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2018 6:19 pm
Gear: Wave + foil
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 25 times
Been thanked: 21 times

Re: Transceiver - Avalanche - Snowkite

Postby Mikkelza » Mon Feb 21, 2022 12:28 pm

Thanks, @lederhosen

User avatar
Topaz
Frequent Poster
Posts: 393
Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:32 pm
Kiting since: 2005
Weight: 150
Local Beach: South Florida
Gear: Cabrinha / North-Duotone
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 98 times
Been thanked: 63 times

Re: Transceiver - Avalanche - Snowkite

Postby Topaz » Mon Feb 21, 2022 1:42 pm

Make your friends 'avalanche aware' and try to have them get proper gear and training. Show them some videos. Find reports of fatal accidents. Get them motivated.

I know, carrying a shovel is a pain, but it can make a life/death difference. It looks like it only takes around 28 degrees slope to trigger an avalanche. That's not too steep, and even a small avalanche can bury you.

Breze
Frequent Poster
Posts: 347
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2018 5:53 pm
Kiting since: 2003
Weight: 90kg
Style: Foiling
Gear: Foils&Tubes
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 93 times
Been thanked: 103 times

Re: Transceiver - Avalanche - Snowkite

Postby Breze » Mon Feb 21, 2022 7:03 pm



For Hardagavidda i would prepare for whiteout situations- any device to find back if the weather changes

User avatar
Topaz
Frequent Poster
Posts: 393
Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:32 pm
Kiting since: 2005
Weight: 150
Local Beach: South Florida
Gear: Cabrinha / North-Duotone
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 98 times
Been thanked: 63 times

Re: Transceiver - Avalanche - Snowkite

Postby Topaz » Tue Feb 22, 2022 1:31 am

^^ That's a perfect example of a gentle slope being avalanche prone. The avalanche started in steep terrain but involved the flatter terrain where the guys were kiting.

Also a snow cornice can be treacherous when it breaks.

joriws
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1299
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:03 am
Gear: Flysurfer, HQ, Moses, Nobile, North, Ozone
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 76 times
Been thanked: 163 times

Re: Transceiver - Avalanche - Snowkite

Postby joriws » Tue Feb 22, 2022 10:35 am

Naturally tranceiver does not hurt.

But you are attached to floating kite with 20-30m of line. Floating meaning similar to avalanche backbags. So you can most likely be traced and found with following kitelines.

Also from video you can see avalanche creating strong gust in front of 'wave' tossing snowkiter into air. I think there is the biggest risk of getting seriously hurt.

And his kite was on top of snow as expected due to density/floatation and kite was in air when avalanche hit.
These users thanked the author joriws for the post:
Topaz (Tue Feb 22, 2022 2:27 pm)
Rating: 3.03%

User avatar
Topaz
Frequent Poster
Posts: 393
Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:32 pm
Kiting since: 2005
Weight: 150
Local Beach: South Florida
Gear: Cabrinha / North-Duotone
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 98 times
Been thanked: 63 times

Re: Transceiver - Avalanche - Snowkite

Postby Topaz » Tue Feb 22, 2022 2:30 pm

^^ that's a very good point. As long as the kiter didn't release, he can be found easily by following the lines, so beacon and probe wouldn't be so necessary. You still need the shovel to dig the kiter out.

Da Yoda
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1342
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 6:20 pm
Kiting since: 2005
Style: Strapless Freestyle, Wave, Freeride
Gear: Handmade Surfboards
Location: Western USA
Has thanked: 6 times
Been thanked: 168 times

Re: Transceiver - Avalanche - Snowkite

Postby Da Yoda » Thu Aug 04, 2022 9:27 pm

Mikkelza wrote:
Sun Feb 20, 2022 9:33 am
So my question is:
Those of you who do snowkiting uphill and downhill, do you wear e.g. transceivers and other avalance equiptment?
I used to work in the backcountry snow-sport industry and after seasons of training, I concluded that it's best to be fully equipped for any situation.

I carry a transceiver, probe, and shovel. Either you are going to be looking for someone or hoping someone is looking for you, so it is best to have all of these tools in you quiver.
I feel the most important tools are the probe and shovel if a kiter is still attached to the kite. Kite lines may lead you to the victim, but there's no guarantee. If the victim is indeed attached, using a probe and proper techniques to find the victim will allow you to pinpoint them and gauge the digging depth, digging time, and the possible outcome.

It generally takes about 15 minutes before suffocating to death. If a person is buried 6' (1.85m) down, it would take one person about 20+ minutes to excavate the victim once pinpointed with a probe. Here's some perspective... for a victim buried under 4' (1.25cm) of snow it would be a ton+ of snow to remove. Can you dig out a ton+ of snow within 15 minutes with a tiny 9x10 shovel by yourself? I highly doubt it!
To make it worse, when an avalanche occurs the snow sets up like cement from the kinetic energy generated by the avalanche. When I was training, digging out a simulated victim within 15 minutes in cement type snow was extremely stressful and difficult. Maritime type snow doesn't help either.

If a kiter has to release the kite, they will definitely want a beacon and/or airbag for the best chance of survival.

Truly the best thing you can do is to know when NOT to go! :thumb:
These users thanked the author Da Yoda for the post:
Mikkelza (Mon Aug 15, 2022 11:51 am)
Rating: 3.03%


Return to “Snow / Land”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 160 guests