Kite boarding

Kite boarding is a sport based on kitesurfing

Kitesurfing

Kitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a...

 and snowboarding

Snowboarding

Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...

. It involves the use of a snowboard, with the most obsessed riders buying or building slightly modified snowboards for greater impacts, creating, essentially, a sturdy snowboard, as well as the use of a kite similar to the kite used in kite surfing.

Technique and Ride

The technique of kite surfing is very similar to basic snowboarding, except it is at a higher level of difficulty. It is very much like windsurfing except with a snowboard under your feet. it is harder to keep balance at the minimum, as your arms can't be entirely devoted to balance, although this can be offset to a degree due to the up-and forward-force generated from the kite, depending on the wind and size of your kite. Also, to effectively kitesurf on a snowboard, you need to have a snowboard with the least amount (preferably none) of side cut, to avoid inadvertently riding upwind. (Because, as you lean back to be a counterweight against the force of the kite, your heels naturally dig in the snow forcing the board to turn upwind)

Terrain

Kite Boarding is practical on very many areas, as long as there is a significant amount of wind to keep the kite up. It is not always used on slopes, and can in fact be used with no slope, or even an upwards slope, as long as there is enough wind to offset the drag incurred. It can prove more difficult to have any riding time when you go on a steeper slope, as the wind can be blocked and or become turbulent passing over the peak of the hill, causing the kite to behave erratically and even fall or be pushed to the ground.