Snowkiting, stand up paddleboarding, kitesurfing and windsurfing on Lake Champlain. Based in Burlington, VT 802.578-6120
Thank you Kitestorm riders, partners and volunteers for another excellent event. Congrats to photo contest winners...
Happy People winner: Kyle Chedzoy captured the first flight just starting for a new snowkiter.
Happy People 2nd: Prospero Gogo got a great angle of pre-launch.
Happy People 3rd: Sally Smith shows a snowkiter-to-be mastering the flight while those next in line lean back and look on.
Action winner: Wing Eng as shot by Kyle Chedzoy just can't look like he could have anymore fun.
Action 2nd: John Pereira of Shaun Keating riding toe-side, tongue out and dragging a hand.
Action 3rd: Brian Schaefer snapped a relaxed and happy snowboarder offshore where fresh tracks were easy to find
Vibe winner: John Pereira got the Vermont-ness of the Inland Sea as rider Brian Scall of CT has a cruise.
Vibe 2nd: Kyle Chedzoy with another photo of a happy Wing, but this time we liked how they are upwind of the launch and main riding areas
Vibe 3rd: Keven Eriksen got this one of Meg Carey and Hickory (from Stormboarding) having a moment at registration. Meg isn't a kiter (yet) and it is the less pretty end of Hickory but we liked the feel of this photo - and there were a lot of kids and dogs at the event as well.
This incredibly cool panorama was taken by Ryan Haskell (whose CD was held up in the mail). He won honorary equal first for Event Vibe for this one.
Honorable mention: This great photo of Vincent Stefanelli was held up in the mail and came in after the deadline. It was taken by Ryan Haskell.
Honorable mention: Another happy kiter and another nice photo from Ryan's CD.
Kyle captured one of the clinics - we like the stance of the new kiter feeling the power for the first time.
Honorable Mention: Brian Schaeffer got this one of Brian Scall who looks like he is going in both directions.
Honorable Mention: a funky photo from Vincent Stefanelli up close and personal with another kite
Not part of the contest (Rachael took this one) but we wanted to recognize Jay's look for 2008 (and the beautiful bluebird sky we had all weekend)
Thank you to the riders, volunteers and partners who came out for the 5th Annual Stormboarding Kitestorm
Though it all looked ugly Friday morning, we had another Kitestorm miracle and we got much more snow than forecast throughout the afternoon. Around a dozen intrepid riders with nice sharp edges were out in a light Southerly and near white-out Friday getting warmed up for the weekend.
Saturday came through with beautiful sun and fluffy snow over the ice. Still not great for snowboaders but the light Northerly had riders breaking out the big kies and clinics were on. Paul Morse rode just under 70 miles thorughout the day.
With a huge thank you to our After-Party partners: the Upper Deck Pub, Red Bull, Dakine, HQ, Ozone, Peter Lynn, Amy's Granola, Jaegermeister, Cointreau and Mt. Gay, EVERYONE who attended the party went home with some goodies from t-shirts to visors to windsocks to delicious granola to iPod cases to Jaegermeister flip-flops.
Sunday came in with a Southerly that built throughout the day, bright sun and even more mild temps. The snow had set up a bit so better for the snowboarders and absolutely gorgeous for the skiers. Randy Berube of New Hampshire, by the end of the weekend, had covered 110 miles of the Inland Sea. And just as exciting some Stormboarding students got ripping for the first time on their new kites that ranged from the Ozone Access 8 and 10 to the HQ Apex 7.5 and Scout 3.0. Check out some aerial photos of Sunday at www.FliRite.com, Shirley Chevalier came over the event with a bright yellow plane and got some incredible shots of riders all over the lake.
We would like to congratulate the following riders for going fast and winning prizes. You can also see the whole list from the Kitestorm and the season on the Speed Ranking Page (click to the left).
Overall: 1: Chris Krug, 2: Paul Morse, 3: Randy Berube Women: 1: Molly Savard, 2: Jessica Staples Board: 1: Seth Merriam, 2: Wing Eng Under 18: Barrett Cavanaugh Tele: Ernie Reuter
Stay tuned to this page for the complete photo contest winners (March 17) and remember that Kitestorm pricing will be held for one week - call Rachael to tal about gear.
That is Abram Weinberg of Vermont flying his new Apex 7.5 for the first time and about to set off on his snowboard for that first magical day of riding. That is what we love about the Kitestorm - seeing the experienced inspire the new riders to get up and go.
Don't forget...Shirley Chevalier of FliRite Aviation has done it again and come up with some incredible shots from the air. Check out her gallery of photos from Sunday at the Kitestorm at www.FliRite.com They are high resolution shots that would make great framed pieces or gifts...see if you can find yourself and contact her directly for pricing and options.
Molly Savard showing her 39.5mph top speed of the weekend that earned her a sweet Dakine hydration pack.
The riders in the second clinic of the day getting ready to learn a great new sport.
Gareth Carey one of today's cookie kids hooking up riders with delicious chocolate chocolate chip cookies out on the ice.
The 5th Kitestorm was a great event. We are very excited to thank and feature the following partners:
Thanks to: Peter Lynn, Ozone and HQ riders were able to try out the Instinct, Access, Frenzy, Synergy, Apex, Montana III and more. These industry riders work hard all weekend and we are grateful for their efforts.
Prizes, prizes and more prizes. In addition to goodies from the above companies, we are very psyched to be working with Dakine, and Amy's Granola to shower the lucky and skilled with sweet gear and yummy, natural bags of locally made granola. Prizes went out for the speed contest, soon to go out for the photo contest, there were 1/2 hourly prizes and everyone at the after-party walked home with something fun. And yes we had the most delicious cookies around ready at registration and on the ice thanks to Rhino Foods (makers of Chester's).
Our complete list of partners and companies and individuals without whom the Kitestorm would simply not happen. They are part of the event because we believe in their products or they are the kind of competent, friendly people we trust to represent Stormboarding:
Our 5-year partners: Dakine: for making, in our opinion, the best harnesses you can ride and sending their typically stylie and well-made packs and gear for us to give away to lots of lucky riders Ozone: for sending Kelly and his crew to help riders demo the excellent Instinct and Access/Frenzy kites we have been using in our school since day 1. Red Bull: for their support for all these years energizing our riders Rhino Foods: for the best cookies in town and a tradition for the Kitestorm Best Western Windjammer Inn: for giving our riders a great rate, a warm place to sleep and more cookies before bed Sand Bar State Park/VT Dept. of Parks & Recreation: every year Chuck and Jim have been a huge help and supported us with power, plowing and the infrastructure we need to make the event work
Peter Lynn Kiteboarding: For great prizes and demos of this year's Synergy kites HQ Kites: For Tim and Chris' hard work demoing the Montana III, Apex and Scout kites as well as great prizes Amy's Granola: For bags of delicious granola to keep the riders riding
Our incredible volunteers: Tom & Keven Eriksen, Chris & Dan Smith, Ellen & Barclay Morris, Ernie & Bette Reuter, Doug Remsen, Abram Weinberg, Ben Grimes, Sarah Nestor, Kate Lane, Gareth, Meg and Galen Carey and Allan & Barbara Miller.
For more information, to book a lesson or order gear, please call Stormboarding at 802.578.6120 or e-mail: [email protected]
Burlington, VT
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