{"id":15553,"date":"2016-01-30T12:33:59","date_gmt":"2016-01-30T20:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bayareakitesurf.com\/?p=15553"},"modified":"2016-01-30T12:33:59","modified_gmt":"2016-01-30T20:33:59","slug":"sierra-snowkite-center-back-in-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bayareakitesurf.com\/2016\/01\/30\/sierra-snowkite-center-back-in-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Sierra Snowkite Center back in business"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sierra Snowkite Center back in business thanks to Tahoe winter’s return<\/strong>
\nSource:<\/strong> www.sierrasun.com<\/a><\/p>\n

SODA SPRINGS, Calif. \u2014 For two straight years, the Sierra Snowkite Center was twisting in the wind.<\/p>\n

Unable to open due to the lack of snow, the Sierra Snowkite Center, which first opened in 2012 at Royal Gorge Cross Country Resort, was on the verge of pulling the plug for good on its short-lived operation.<\/p>\n

Simply put, the persistent drought had dried up the business.<\/p>\n

But then, the 2015-16 winter season swept in.<\/p>\n

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And thanks to the steady string of snowstorms since November, the center\u2019s 250 acres of undulating terrain at Van Norden Meadow (a high Sierra meadow known for consistent wind) is in pristine shape once again \u2014 finally.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sierra Snowkite Center really makes that transformation from knowing nothing to knowing the best practice for kiting.\u201d<\/em> Truckee resident Morgan Duncan<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so nice,\u201d said Tyler Brown, the Sierra Snowkite School director and a former North American Snowkite Tour champion. \u201cOtherwise, it was like, man, this was kind of the last year I could\u2019ve held on to it financially. If you can\u2019t open for two years, it\u2019s not very easy to run a business that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018IT\u2019S HUGELY EXCITING\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the Sierra Snowkite Center opened back up this season, Brown said he\u2019s given more than 50 lessons thus far, and the terrain has seen plenty of kiters riding on their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been non-stop,\u201d Brown added. \u201cIt\u2019s been tricky with the wind, but we got plenty of snow. I imagine we\u2019ll be able to be out here kiting through April, no problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, once again, local kiters, and those interested in giving the sport a whirl, have terrain tailored for kiting to explore.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hugely exciting that the Sierra Snowkite Center has reopened and is ready to allow people to enjoy the sport here,\u201d said Truckee resident Morgan Duncan, who took snowkite lessons from Brown four years ago. \u201cTyler, he\u2019s an incredible teacher; very patient and very methodical in the way he teaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sierra Snowkite Center really makes that transformation from knowing nothing to knowing the best practice for kiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The center\u2019s location at Royal Gorge, Duncan said, plays a key role in helping one learn the ropes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very conducive for kiting,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously when you\u2019re on a kite, you have quite a distance between you and the actual kite. You need to have big broad open spaces, and the Sierra Snowkite Center is fantastic for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of those sports you have to try, and once you try, you\u2019ll fall in love with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

GAINING MOMENTUM<\/p>\n

When it first opened in 2012, the Sierra Snowkite Center received a lot of interest, but very little of it came from the Truckee-Tahoe region. The bulk of the lessons given by Brown and his fellow instructors were to Bay Area residents.<\/p>\n

After all, the Sierra Snowkite Center is the first and only snowkite school in California.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was popular right away, only because we\u2019re only three hours from San Francisco, which is one of the main hubs in the world for kiteboarding,\u201d Brown said. \u201cRight off the bat, I wouldn\u2019t say we had so many mountain people that knew what it was, but we had all these kiters who had never been on snow. So we had a ton of lessons with all these kiters coming up and teaching them to do it in the snow.\u201d<\/p>\n

With an influx of skiers and snowboarders traversing Van Norden Meadow using colorful kites sprouted into the sky, it didn\u2019t take long for snowkiting to pique local interest, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople would be on the mountain, looking down and seeing all these colorful kites,\u201d Brown said. \u201cIt happened pretty quickly as far as gaining notoriety in the Tahoe area. Now I\u2019d say I get at least 50-50 as far as mountain people to existing kiteboarders.\u201d
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\n\u2018AN ADDENDUM SPORT\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

So why has snowkiting caught on and continued to grow?<\/p>\n

For Brown, the answer is simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just another way to play in the snow,\u201d he said, adding that the backcountry aspect also pulls people into trying it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou find a zone that you can ski and also kite up \u2014 it\u2019s above the tree line and facing the right wind direction,\u201d Brown said, \u201cand you can lap it with a kite and get 25 runs in versus three runs if you were just touring with AT gear. So as far as the travel aspect, you can go longer distances in the backcountry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Essentially, Brown said, snowkiting is in \u201caddendum sport\u201d for skiers, snowboarders, kiteboarders and the like.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ski and snowboard, you already know how to do that,\u201d he continued. \u201cThis is just a way of harnessing the wind and doing the same thing you know how to do on the mountain.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the same thing with the water, if you know how to surf or wakeboard, anything like that, it\u2019s just another addendum. Kiteboarding, it\u2019s exploding. And all these people have this gear and now they can use it in the snow, so why not?\u201d<\/p>\n