Bringing together snow kiting, speed flying, paragliding, ski touring and glacial traversing, the Ataraxia crew will be documenting through film and photography the next generation of outdoor sports – the combination of extremes.
Our vision of obtaining our goals solely by our own and mother natures power is what Ataraxia is all about!

The challenge is to be the first people on the planet to ever snow kite mountaineer to the top of a 13.000 ft.+ peak.

Aside from these dimensions the 38-mile completion of the Eklutna Traverse looks like a walk in the park. Nevertheless with the crossing of three major Alaskan glaciers and many hazards such as crevasses and intermittent steep climbs along the way, it will be no simple task in itself.

Bigger, stronger, faster – it is the extreme sports annual effort to beat all existing records, in the case of the skiing and snowboarding industry it is not an athletic challenge anymore but rather a competition for the biggest helicopters budget. A lack of endurance and environmental pollution – the Ataraxia crew wants to supersede this trend and follow an innovative approach to pushing the limits of big mountain winter sports.

By combining the experience and skills of former snow kiting world champions with the expert knowledge of Alaskan mountain guides, they will make the impossible become possible and reach the summit without the unnecessary combustion of more than 200 liters of fuel per hour.

The Kickstarter project goal is  to share this unique experience with the rest of the world, a professional photographer and cinematographer will join them for the entire project, putting all the action, all the drama and the emotions experienced, once they finally succeed on record.

If you like, feel free to follow the link below to backup the project with a donation which will directly contributes to the quality of the movie. As the team has already having some sponsors, and the flights are booked, the project is definitely happening!

Website: Kickstarter Project

Website: Ataraxia2012.com

The WLS is is going to happen on the 10th February – 12th February at the Haidersee/ Lake San Valentino.

At the same time Flysurfer is hosting their Video Jam Snowkite Testival with great prices.

Website: Wild Lake Session

Facebook: Event

Flysurfer: Video Jam

The Wasserkuppe is located in the heart of Germany and is more easily accessible by car (see directions on their website).

Spot and Location:

The plateau offers ideal conditions for the hosting of the Championships. Hotel `s, restaurants, parking and flight centers are located directly at the location.

Schedule:

Friday 11.02.2011 – Training Day

Saturday 12.02.2011 – Competition

Sunday 13.02.2011 – temporary Competition Day

Competition Rules after the current competition regulations of the GPA.

Webpage: International Snowkite Championship 2012

Facebook: Event

Webcam: Spot Wasserkuppe

The location Adolfov is one of the most famous snowkiting places in the Czech Republik with tons of snow during the whole season.

The event will have the following disciplines, Race (Ski and Snowboard) and Freestyle (Ski and Snowboard).

Video

Gallery

Website: Kiteforce.cz , (translated via Google)

Location: Adolfov (translated via Google)

Facebook: Czech Kite Force

Red Bull Ragnarok is an endurance based competition where the riders race on skis or snowboards, while being pulled by a kite.The riders go through a 12 kilometre long course five times. The first to cross the finish line wins. The men’s class is divided into ski and snowboard, while the women compete in a mixed class.

Once again the sound from the mighty horn of Heimdal is heard all over the world, and again the warriors of Ragnarok are summoned to battle the elements at the mighty plateau of Hardangervidda.

The name “Ragnarok” stems from an incident in Norse mythology, describing the last battle between the good and evil Gods, where only the heroes of the battlefield survive.

Video

Website: Red Bull Ragnarok

Facebook: Event Information

Details:

Race day:

The best way to experience snow kiting on Tug Hill is to make the festival, get the tour of sites, and have a great time. This year the festival takes place from January 14th-16th, MLK weekend.

Main Base Camp has changed for 2012, it is at Killenbeck Road Location. This location is the most fun and can take the most wind directions.

Registration atarts at 9am every day at Main Base Camp. Registration gets each person one free raffle ticket, and more raffle tickets can be purchased at registration. Raffle money will go towards a local charity.

Trainer kites with hands-on demo Sat. & Sun. ALL DAY!

The party on Saturday night will take place at the Ridge View Inn, in Lowville, starting at 7pm. We will announce the winners of the raffle there. Starting at 9pm there will be a live band playing till closing called Myself and Bob.

Video

Website: TugHillSnowkiting.com

Facebook:  Tug Hill Snowkite Rally

Part of the event is to test the latest equipment from manufacturers like: Ozone, Flysurfer, HQ, Nobile and Peter Lynn.

Here are some impressions from the past events:

Video

Website: Foilfest.de

Website: Kitefabrik.de

Event Schedule

Friday (February 3rd, 2012)

12:00 – Trainer kite class (beginner)
2:00 – Trainer kite class (beginner)
10:am to Sundown – Free Ride by any and all kiters

Saturday (February 4TH, 2012)

12:00 – Trainer kite class (beginner)
1:00 – Lunch (BBQ, people bring own food to grill and drinks)
2:00 – Trainer kite class (beginner)
3:00 – Trainer kite class (beginner)
5:30 – Dinner at local restaurant / party (or we keep it all on site and have a bonfire/dinner)
10:am to Sundown – Free Ride by any and all kiters

Sunday (February 5TH, 2012)

11:00 – Trainer kite class (beginner)
1:00 – Trainer kite class (beginner)
10:am to Sundown – Free Ride by any and all kiters

Video

Website: Southwest Snowkite Festival 2012

Polar explorers Dixie Dansercoer and Sam Deltour wisely decided recently to stop with their current route of the Antarctic ICE Expedition and re-commence their expedition with a new route.

Widespread and enormously high sastrugi (rigid snow and ice formations) and a strong headwind have made it impossible for Sam and Dixie to use their kite system in order to achieve their planned 60 to 80 kilometers per day in the direction of the South Pole. The size and scope of the sastrugi are a result of immense “super storms” with wind speeds of more than 160 km/hour which pummeled the Queen Maud Land region of Antarctica in the recent barren winter months.

Mission

Honouring the 100th anniversary of the Race to the South Pole between Amundsen and Scott and their incredible perseverance.

Amundsen reached the South Pole on 14 Dec 1911 by dogsled and skis and made the return journey in a total of 99 days and over a distance of 2993 km. Scott, on the other hand, used pony’s to reach the Pole and arrived there a little over a month later, on 17 Jan 1912 , but perished with his team of 3 on the return trip.

Main targets

• Pioneering a new expedition route in Antarctica with an itinerary based on the direction of the wind (circular anti-clockwise motion)
• Raising the bar of sportive accomplishment of long haul Antarctic expeditions. Longest supported expedition so far is The International Trans Antarctic expedition from 1990, covering 3741 miles (5835 km) in 220 days. The longest unsupported expedition is 4808 km in 90 days by Rune Gjeldnes.
• Scientific study of the catabatic winds in cooperation with a number of universities and meteorological institutes
• Supporting Educational programs promoting environmental awareness 

Videos

Gallery

SNOWKITE & Friends 2012 Topics:

- Spot for Snowkiteaction - from Georgia to the US

- Beginner review of Trainerkites

- Current available Snowkites

- On Tour with Chasta

- Safety and Security Tips & Tricks

Order here: Snowkite & Friends

Website: Snowkite & Frieds 2012

Gallery: