Professional kite skiers love Tug Hill
Kite skiers from all over the United States are on the Tug Hill taking advantage of the wind and snow. Our Katie Gibas tells us what the sport is all about, and why professionals think Northern New York is one of the best places in the country for kite skiing.
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HARRISBURG, N.Y. -- All you need is a pair of skis, a kite and some wind, and then you're off soaring across the snow and through the air.
"Flying across the snow and flying through the air in some cases is definitely really fun. I mean, it's the most addicting sport you'll ever do," said Patrick Nedele, professional kite skier.
"You can start jumping if you want or you can just go cruising and exploring," said Jan Brabant, kite skiing instructor.
Many of these professional snow kiters wanted to take their skiing and snowboarding to the next level. Others just picked it up and started learning this weekend.
"I can't believe everybody who owns skis or a snowboard doesn't have a kite to do it. You can do this in your backyard with two inches of snow," said Nedele.
Kite Skiers from all over the United States are here in Lewis County for the annual Kite Skiing Weekend. The Tug Hill is one of just four stops in the entire country for this event.
"There's a lot of terrain up here, and it's just awe-inspiring. You've got windmills and we're kiting around them with the same wind power," said Nedele.
"It makes me feel great. We're talking about recreation. The Tug Hill is known for snowmobiling in the wintertime, but we've got skiing. We've got sledding. We've got everything and now we've got snow kiting, which not a lot of places can do," said Bob Diehl, Lewis County Trails Coordinator.
Kite skiing is another great winter sport to bring tourism to Lewis County and support the local economy.
The Kite Skiing events continue through Monday.
Annual Kite Skiing Weekend Information:
www.lewiscountyrecreation.com/kiteskiing.shtml
Kite Skiing:
kitesurfingschool.org/kiteskiing.htm
www.my-best-kite.com/kite-skiing.html
Kite Skiing in NNY:
T.I. Adventures
1011 State Street
Clayton, NY 13624
(315) 686-2500
www.tiadventures.com