Fresh Prince of Big Air: Brian Schenck pulls some mid-air stunts (Gustav Schmiege)
While snowkiting is all the rage in lake-plenty places like Minnesota and Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, the continent's snowkiting epicenter hovers around the frozen, flat turf of Ontario, Canada. Lake Simcoe near Keswick, about 50 miles north of Ontario, attracts people from all over the world for its vast frozen surface. In fact, Lake Simcoe's area—about 280 square miles—is 20 times bigger than the terrain at Whistler Blackcomb. And it's a guarantee no ski patrollers will be there to tell you to slow it down.
"Crossing the lake would be a serious challenge; it's so big and open," says Vladimir Belomestnov, a Russian-born kite enthusiast based in Ontario who helps organize snowkiting competitions. "You can cruise around for hours. You do have to watch out for the ice fishermen, though."
Belomestnov says those old, skinny, straight GS boards you used to ride before the fat-ski revolution took hold work best. Grab them out of the garage and sign up for a lesson.
Grant Fitz, an instructor and owner of Ontario-based Canadian Wind Rider, offers courses to get you familiar with the equipment and ways to improve your turns. His courses last two to three hours a day for a couple of days, depending on how much instruction you think you need. Count on about US$165 (CAN$200) a day for lessons (416-497-9463, www.canadianwindrider.com).
