Hitting the winter slopes on skis alone isn’t enough for Kevin Steen. The Grand Rapids native gets his adrenaline rush by strapping himself to a 10-meter square kite that launches him several feet into the air.
Steen is among a growing population taking on snowkiting, a combination of skiing and surfing. Athletes strap themselves to a pair of skis or snowboard and hold onto a 20-meter line connecting them to a large kite that propels them across the snow.
The Forest Hills Central graduate was crowned Nordic Master at the 2008 Snowkite World Championship in Salen, Sweden, on March 13-16. Competitors served as judges and competed in style and tricks. Steen was voted Nordic Master by more than 25 competitors.
“Somehow I managed to win the event,” Steen said. “It’s pretty cool.”
Steen, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Utah, was asked to attend the event by some Norwegian snowkiters he met recently. They invited him to stay with them, he said.
Parts of the competition involved doing tricks on rails and jumps, the same found in American ski terrain parks. Steen said his experience with freestyle skiing gave him an advantage in the competition.
Steen learned how to snowkite six years ago. Then, he used a smaller kite and practiced on frozen Michigan lakes. One of the places included Gun Lake, where he would practice with his older brother, Michael.
“My brother had a big influence on me,” Steen said.
Michael Steen also does base jumping, an extreme sport that involves skydiving off of tall objects, such as buildings and cliffs.
While most parents would cringe at the thought of their children performing such defying acts of gravity, Steen’s mother, Sarah Turner, is very supportive of her sons’ hobbies.
“Kevin is very measured,” Turner said. “We’re comfortable and very proud with the choices he’s made.”
However, Turner wouldn’t allow her son to kiteboard until he was 15 and had some experience on the snow first.
Kiteboarding involves the same elements as snowkiting, but on open water.
When it comes to kiting, on snow or water, Steen said he plans on staying involved in the sport he loves.
“It’s addicting,” Steen said. “I like being able to harness the wind, go wherever I want.”
When he’s not kiting, Steen said he plans on producing videos promoting the sport. He created steenfilms.com, a compilation of self-produced kiteboarding videos.
Article: MLive.com
By Erin Crowell
The Grand Rapids Press