Snowkiting, stand up paddleboarding, kitesurfing, windsurfing, shipwreck tours and adventures on Lake Champlain. Based in Burlington, VT 802.578-6120
Snowkite Speed Ranking List
This is a worldwide contest for snowkiters. Just put a GPS in your pocket and ride. At the end of the day check and see what your high speed was, snap a digital photo or download the file and send it to us you never know, a great prize may end up on your doorstep a few days later. Read on for the contest rules and this year's speed ranking list itself. You can check out the last few years worth of speediness as well: 2006, 2005, 2004
The Rules:
1. You must have been on snow or ice - skis, snowboards, sleds... 2. Your power must have come from a kite. Be honest and have good kite karma. 3. Units must be in miles per hour 4. We need either your GPS file (preferred) and/or a digital photo of the GPS - with you in the photo as well and we need to be able to read the max speed.
5. Include your name, location, what was on your feet, max speed, date and kite size/type in an e-mail to [email protected]
6. NEW: Any speeds over 60mph must be accompanied by the GPS data from your whole session or results from an online GPS verification program. If you do not have this info, we will still post your speed but marked as unconfirmed.
We are very excited to be working with this season for some excellent weekly prizes going out all over the world. They have hooked us up with their high quality and stylie gloves, shirts, board wax and more. We also have our kite partners and kicking in some great prizes for the weekly speedy.
Congrats to the following winners (prizes to confirmed speedsters only):
Early season: Chris Krug 55.1 mph on skis in New Hampshire won a Dakine t-shirt
Week 1: Joe Vinch 49.9mph on skis in Iowa won an Ultra Nectar Beanie
Week 2: Chris Krug 52.3mph on skis in New Hampshire won some Dakine Gloves Week 3: Gary Kjelleren 59.1mph on skis in Vermont won some Dakine wax Week 4: Paul Morse 47.5 on skis in New Hampshire won an Ozone t-shirt
Week 5: John Zietlow 58.3 on skis in Minnesota won a Dakine hat
Week 6: Joe Levins 56.8mph on skis in Minnesota won some Himaya sunscreen Week 7: Chris Krug 45.3mph on skis in New Hampshire won a Dakine MP3 player case Week 8: Chris Krug 53.4mph on skis in New Hampshire won a Dakine hydration pack
Week 9: Joe Vinch 51.7mph on skis in Iowa won an Ozone wallet
Week 10: Tom Reynolds 54.5mph on tele in Utah won a Dakine MP3 case
Week 11: Charles Meding 51.4mph on skis in New Hampshire won an Ozone windsock Week 12: Chris Krug 66.4mph on skis in Maine won some Himaya sunscreen
Week 13: David Knight 62.48mph on skis in Minnesota won a Dakine MP3 case
Week 14: Chris Krug 62.8mph on skis in Maine won an HQ quick dry top
End of (and whole season) winner: Joe Levins 70.0mph on skis in Minnesota won an Ozone Windsock
Late Season: April 7 May 9
1
Joe Levins
70.0mph
White Bear Lk, MN
Skis
Fuel 9
4/15
2
Chris Mason
62.3mph
Lk Manitoba, Canada
Skis
Rev 9
4/15
3
Marty Roy
61.6mph
Lk Manitoba, Canada
Skis
T2 9
4/15
4
Brian Beveridge
60.7mph
Lk Manitoba, Canada
Crossbow 9
Skis
4/15
5
Tom Reynolds
59.5mph
Strawberry, UT
Manta 12
Tele
4/16
6
Chris Krug
53.7mph
Errol, NH
Skis
Scorpion 13
4/13
7
Paul Morse
45.8mph
Keoka Lk, ME
Skis
Psycho 8
4/14
8
Molly Savard
45.4mph
Errol, NH
Skis
Sabre 2
4/13
9
Seth Merriam
34.2mph
Long Lk, ME
Board
Speed 17
4/7
10
Jessica Staples
25.3mph
Long Lk, ME
Bridgton, ME
Pulse 10
4/7
2008 Snowkite Speed Ranking List
1
Joe Levins
70.0mph
White Bear Lk, MN
Skis
Fuel 9
4/15
2
Chris Krug
66.4mph
Sebago Lk, ME
Skis
Frenzy 5
3/21
3
Charles Meding
63.9mph
Lk Sunapee, NH
Skis
Concept Air 2.2
3/21
4
David Knight
62.48mph
White Bear Lk, MN
skis
Frenzy 10
3/29
5
Chris Mason
62.3mph
Lk Manitoba, Canada
Skis
Rev 9
4/15
6
Brian Beveridge
60.7mph
Lk Manitoba, Canada
Crossbow 9
Skis
4/15
7
Tom Reynolds
59.5mph
Strawberry, UT
Manta 12
Tele
4/16
8
Randy Berube
59.3mph
Sebago Lk, ME
Skis
Little Devil 2.1
3/21
9
Gary Kjelleren
59.1mph
Sand Bar, VT
Skis
Waroo 7
1/19
10
Paul Morse
59.0mph
Sebago Lk, ME
Skis
Frenzy 5
4/2
11
John Zietlow
58.3mph
Kite Island, MN
skis
Wip 10
1/29
12
Molly Savard
55.6mph
Sebago Lk, ME
skis
Frenzy 5
3/22
13
Michael Winter
55.2mph
White Bear Lk, MN
Skis
Waroo 11
1/29
14
Kaj Kjellgren
53.17mph
Salen, Sweden
Skis
Pulse 2 8
2/23
15
Mike Elliot
52.9mph
Silver Lk, ME
Skis
Frenzy 7
3/24
16
Joe Vinch
51.7mph
Glenwood, IA
Skis
Speed 2 8
3/2
17
Michael Kaspar
50.1mph
Lake Reschen, Italy
Skis
Pulse 12
2/10
18
Doug Remsen
48.5mph
Sand Bar, VT
Skis
Venom II 10
2/27
19
Patrick Anderson
46.5mph
Alberta, Canada
Skates
Kitewing 5.5*
11/24
20
Seth Merriam
44.6mph
Sebago Lk, ME
Board
Frenzy 5
3/22
21
Cole Russell
43.9mph
Georgetown Lk, MT
Board
Liquid Force 9
4/4
22
Noah Poritz
43.0mph
Canyon Ferry, MT
Skates
Manta II 8m
12/19
23
Stan Woodman
42.5mph
Ontario, Canada
Board
Era 8m
2/18
24
Harald Kicker
42.3mph
Lk Neusiedl, Austria
Skis
Scorpion 13
1/3
25
Dave Clark
42.0mph
So Lk Leelanau, MI
Board
Pulse2 10
1/25
26
Georg Friedl
41.5mph
Lk Neusiedl, Austria
Skis
Scorpion 10
1/17
27
Jeff Newman
39.1mph
White Bear Lk, MN
Skis
Montana 7
12/13
28
Lisa-kay Keen
38.9mph
Georgetown Lk, MT
Board
Frenzy 10
3/23
29
Andy McKendry
38.5mph
Long Pond, ME
Skis
New Tech 4.9
3/26
30
Brian Schenck
36.6mp
Utah
Board
Manta 15
1/13
31
Chip Longo
32.5mph
Wordens Pond, RI
Ice buggy
Frenzy 5
1/27
32
Paul Bialowoz
29.8mph
Kitestorm
Skis
Nemesis 18
2/23
33
Paul Lawrence
29.1mph
Kitestorm
skis
Frenzy 10
2/24
34
Ernie Reuter
26.5mph
Kitestorm
Tele
Frenzy 7.5
2/24
35
Barclay Morris
25.6mph
Kitestorm
Skis
Frenzy 9.5
2/23
36
Jordan Potvin
26.4mph
Sand Bar, VT
Skis
Frenzy 9
3/16
37
Jessica Staples
25.3mph
Long Lk, ME
Bridgton, ME
Pulse 10
4/7
38
Chip Long & Marina Ayrapetov
25.2mph
Kitestorm
Skis in tandem
Waroo Pro 13
2/24
39
Wing Eng
24.0mph
Kitestorm
Board
Psycho III
2/24
40
George Warner
19.2mph
Kitestorm
Skis
Guerilla 13
2/24
Unconfirmed Speeds:
This is for speed submissions over 60mph that were done on GPS without the
ability to download and verify data.
1
Zebulon Jakub
63.8mph
Maine
Skis
Manta 12
3/9
2
Marty Roy
61.6mph
Lk Manitoba, Canada
Skis
T2 9
4/15
This is the email we received from Joe Levins on the day of his record-breaking snowkite run April 15, 2008:
the season was not quite over when i last emailed you. just got back from what is for sure the end of the ice here. it was blowing hard, gusts to around 40 and 65 degrees. the ice was fast and i made three quick runs of 68, 69.8 and 70.0. when i saw the last reading i decided i would call it a day. ten minutes after waded in from the edge of the ice a crack opened up 20 feet wide all the way across the bay.
i was on white bear lake with a fuel 9, i wish it would have been a 5, and 225cm downhill boards
Stormboarding asked him how it felt...
it felt fast, it was the first time i have been out on fast ice and been really overpowered. i have no doubt that with a smaller more efficient kite 80 would be no problem in similar conditions. my kite went inside out a couple times going upwind, c kites don't do that very often.
While the rest of us were paying our taxes, Joe Levins was out reaching a snowkite speed contest milestone.
White Bear Lake after Joe's blistering speed. Check out the wide split in the ice opposite the camp.
Chris Krug - at the top of the list. Read about his day in the 60's to the right.
What was the surface like? Surface conditions: 1.5-2" Hard frozen slush/snow on top of hard ice. Softened and slowed as the day progressed. Stayed frozen better on Saturday than Friday but Friday had stronger winds.
Were you on the right kite?: After seeing Mike get worked on the 3M Frenzy I opted out of the 10m Venom 1 and went to the 3m Frenzy. It was enough for me to get 57.8mph but only if I sined it. It wasn't enough for me to use my weight or lean against to build speed even the the gusts were 45+mph. I switched to the good 'ol 5m Frenzy '05 and it was a lot better. The winds did diminish a little by then and in hindsight I wish I had gone to the 10m Venom 1 but I pulled a heel piece out of the heel track so I never got the chance. The 5m pulled like a champ though.
Did you feel you topped out or what could you have done to go faster?: On the faster runs I never felt topped out I just ran out of space because I was flying in a cove where the wind was funneling. It's a fairly small cove and a good part of it is water right now. By the time I would really spool up and get some speed I had redirect to keep from hitting shore or hitting water. Maybe if I held out a little longer at took my chances with shore or the water I would have gotten a faster speed. I didn't want to risk myself or the kite though, there's too much season left to go and it was Molly's kite. I was listening to the right music so that helped heheh. I guess we could all wear GS suits and ride high aspect fixed bridals but that would take a lot of the fun out of it. If you can get high speeds with all the drag of a mid-aspect sheetable and regular ski clothing that's pretty damn cool. I want to kite all day and not mess with changing clothes or getting yanked violently by a fixed bridal with limited trim.
Molly Savard our fastest woman yet, shares her thoughts on the day to the right.
-How did it feel compared to your previous pb? It definately felt a lot faster! Prior to Saturday, my pb speed had been slowly increasing a few tenths of a mph at a time. But this time all the planets were in alignment and I bested my pb by more than 10mph. Finally! Now I'm in the "over 50" club with the rest of my crew. I was so pumped, I couldn't wait to get back out and do it again. I wanted to break 50 a few more times that day, just to prove to myself it wasn't a fluke! A little later on the winds calmed a bit and I had to take out a slightly bigger kite. The Venom 10m took me to speeds in the lower to mid 50's several more times that afternoon. Very exhilerateing and FUN! And definately NOT a one time fluke!
Were you on the right kite? Yes, of all the the kites I have my '05 5m Frenzy was the perfect kite for the hard icy surface and strong 20mph+ winds. However, I had an advantage in selecting my kite, as Randy was already out and ripping on HIS 5m Frenzy. I figured I'd just follow his lead as he had just the day before achieved his own pb just a smidge below 60mph. Later as the winds calmed a bit I switched up to the 10m Venom. After getting in another hour or so of speed runs I did some jumping and then went for a nice relaxing cruising tour before calling it a day.
Did you feel in control? Absolutely yes. I've been working this winter at becoming more comfortable at flying fully to slightly over powered. I think this gave me the confidence to stick with my run and not bring the kite out of the power zone, stand up, speed check/carve up wind, or generally just chicken out.
What was the biggest factor in going this fast over previous speeds? There were may factors for me. They are as follows: 1. inspiration and encouragement from the guys in my crew 2. practice/time on the kite 3. beautiful steady strong breeze 4. edgeable ice surface 5. sharp straight(ish) skis hand tuned by Krug 6. luck of the draw (having such a perfect kiting day off from work)
This is how Tom Reynolds keeps track of his speed. He rides at Strawberry in Utah - check out the mountains in the background.
Charles Meding with a very fast 63.9mph on Lake Sunapee, NH on a breezy Friday afternoon.
That is Lisa-kay Keen after some excellent and speedy snowboarding on Georgetown Lake, Montana.
The GPS and GoogleEarth overlay of Molly's tracks on Sebago Lake in Maine the day she went 55mph.
GPS and GoogleEarth tracks of Chris' day over 60mph.
David Knight's day out on White Bear Lake - one of those big traverses was a 62mph speed run.
For more information, to book a lesson/camp or order gear, please call Stormboarding at 802.578.6120 or e-mail: [email protected]
