Go fly a ... Kite: Up, up, over and far away

Suggest to a skier or snowboarder these days to "go fly a kite" and chances are he or she might just do that — willingly.

That's because a whole new dimension has been introduced to winter sports, and it involves a kite and skis or snowboard.

The new sport is called "kiteboarding" or "snowkiting" and, simply stated, it involves a large kite pulling a skier or snowboarder across the snow.

Story has it that it started somewhere in the Arctic where explorers experimented with wind power using parachutes and skis on the frozen wasteland.

This would eventually be picked up by windsurfers who traded sails and surfboards for kites and wakeboards on the water, and then went looking for alternative uses when the water froze.

What came out of it is kiting on snow somewhere around a decade ago.

Here in Utah, despite its reputation for great snow, it has only been in the past three to four years that snowkiters have been visible to passersby, said Brian Schenck, instructor and owner of a kiting company called Windzup.

"But it's catching on," he noted. "It's a fun and exciting sport and not real difficult to learn."

The sport seems simple enough: Stretch the kite or sail on the ground, step onto a snowboard or into skis, wait for a gust of wind and hang on.

Actually, there's a little more to it.

There are two types of kites — inflatable and foil. Both can be used on snow, but the foil is definitely better on snow and the inflatable is best on water.

The kites themselves come in a variety of sizes, ranging from the beginner's model, which is roughly one-square meter, to the largest kite for better kiters, which is roughly 14-square meters.

The smaller kites are also used in high winds to control speed. Larger kites are good for lighter winds or on windy days for high-speed riding.

Consensus is that learning and sliding on snow is much easier than in water. In water, kites and kiters can sink, where on snow they always remain on the surface. Water starts are also more difficult than snow starts, especially for beginners. Any breeze, even a small one, can get a kite up and flying, and in most cases start a boarder sliding over a snowy surface.

Setting up kites and boards is also much easier on solid ground as opposed to trying it while swimming.

And, anything that is learned on land can then be transferred to water. In fact, some of the top kiteboarders have used snow-covered land to perfect water techniques.

The first step, of course, is the start and it can be a little tricky, said Jon Manwaring of Park City, a long-time windsurfer and kiteboarder and now an avid snowkiter.