Gorge Wind Guide Service
Kitesurfing Instruction
The Gorge is a windy place with a strong river current. It is a great spot for advanced kite surfers, the current can help you stay up wind and a good kite surfer can get on his board and get out of the crowd. Advanced students have a blast as we kite surf together and improve your skills in a wide range of conditions. It is also possible to learn to kite surf here, but this requires patience and a conservative approach, to avoid bad situations on the river and dangerous conflicts with other users. Beginners will spend 6 hours or more flying various kites on land before moving to the water to insure that their racations are automatic allowing them to concentrate on the river insted of the kite.
Gorge Kitesurfing Lesson topics include:
Land Training -
The Body Drag
Waterstarting -
Basic Kite Surfing -
Jibing Your Kiteboard
Kiteboarding Upwind -
Jumping and Big Air
Crusing the Columbia
Land Training
To start off a first time flier we will go over the terms we use to describe the kite and it's relationship to the wind. We will cover all the safety rules and discuss potential dangers. I will fly a small kite to show you how the kite moves through and reacts to the wind. As you learn to fly the small kite in control we will start working on maneuvers and then on landing and launching the kite. After you master the small kite we will move up to a medium sized kite learning the feel of the power and a strong body position. You will need to be so comfortable with the kite and harness that you can fly it one handed while concentrating on other things. Your instincts must be trained to react without thinking to keep the kite in the correct location. Time spent here greatly reduces the chance of damage or injury as well as reducing the "terror factor" of the next few days.
The Body Drag
We will start with a discussion about the water and wind and how to have fun and stay away from trouble. I will help you learn to evaluate the wind conditions and recognize potential dangers.
we will talk through the planned body drag discussing body position and anticipated down wind course as well as the landing procedure.
We will launch a kite on land or in shallow water and practice controlling the kite.
Once things are well under control you will move into deep water and body drag behind the kite.
Body dragging allows you to experience the full power of the kite and see how it reacts to your movement.
Waterstarting
We will start with a discussion / demonstration of body position and various moves you can make with the kite which will allow you to keep it in the desired portion of the sky efficiently. Next we will cover the relation ship between the board, the kite and the water. This leads naturally to showing you how to get on the board. We will practice on land, both the beach start and the deep-water start. After a few hints on controlling your speed and limiting the your air time we will move to the water and start practicing the control and balance needed to hold the board in position as you increase the power. Next you will learn to balance over the board as you come out of the water and accelerate. We will practice water starting in both directions until you are proficient
Basic Kite Surfing
We will start with a review of how to waterstart and center your weight over the board. Next we cover getting on a plane, accelerating and slowing your board as well as turning and how to keep it down on the water (instead of in the sky). We will practice the basic stance on land and revue board handling and turning. Once on the water I will stay with you and coach you onto the board and back to land down wind
Jibing Your Kiteboard
Going back the other way without getting in the water is critical to staying up wind and greatly increases the time you spend on the water before becoming exhausted. I teach two different techniques that will allow you to deal with different conditions, The early foot change works best in high-speed situations and the late foot switch works in lighter power situations. We will work on land to get the footwork down then move to the water. We will start with a larger board and move to a smaller one as soon as you get the hang of it.
Kiteboarding Upwind
Moving upwind with a kite requires that you be powered up consistently and that you maintain control.
You need to be able to get up to full speed quickly and keep the kite in the sweet spot. By carefully controlling the relation ship between you and your kite you can create a situation where the kite pulls you across the wind instead of down wind. Your board needs to be on its up-wind edge and you need to be holding the bar slightly behind the center of the space between your footstraps. This will encourage the board to move up-wind across the force generated by the lines. The trick is to move the kite into position fast and keep it there since you will be dragged down wind the rest of the time. Learning to control your speed by fine tuning the angle between you and your kite allows you to translate your excess speed into upwind movement. We will cover the theory on land then work on it on the water. The strong up-wind river current makes the gorge a great place to work on this skill.
Jumping and Big Air
Jumping is the thing that makes this sport so special, the sensation of being lifted out of the water and into the sky is unlike any other sport. Learning to jump in control is the key to enjoying this sport safely. After a discussion of flight safety and the theory of kite path, ramp timing, flight position, and landings we will work with a small kite on land to get the image of the kite path in your mind and the motions in your arms. Then we will move onto the river where the landings are a little softer. The lesson will first focus on small controlled jumps and perfecting timing, flight position, and landings before moving to maximizing the air.
Crusing the Columbia
This river is big and with the extreme light wind abilities of a kite we can cruse the river and travel extended distances with a much-reduced danger of losing our wind. Doing long downwinders (6 miles or more) gives you room to run and can take a lot of the pressure off, allowing you to concentrate on something other then trying to stay up wind. When the wind is blowing up river the current makes it possible for an advanced kiteboarder to go up wind with relative ease allowing upwind / downwind combinations. This also moves us away from the crowds into the open waters between launch spots. Kiteboarding in empty water is a lot easier and more fun then focusing on not hitting one of those sailors coming strait toward you.
