Snow kiters have found their niche in C.O.

Finally, a gust of wind blew hard across the cold white terrain, puffing a swirling cloud of snow into the blue sky on a ridge near the east base of Ball Butte.

Tim Carlson took immediate advantage of the wind. His bedsheet-like foil kite flapped into the air, and suddenly he was up and skiing. The kite took him back and forth across the flat swath of snow as he turned expertly on his telemark skis.

Soon others joined in, and the mid-January sky was filled with half a dozen colorful kites as the skiers and snowboarders carved their way along the snow.

“It’s the new chairlift,” quipped Carlson, president of a group known as the Bend Kite Crew (BKC).

One of the latest winter sports to hit Central Oregon, snow kiting has a small but dedicated following in the BKC. The seven-member club meets most winter weekends at Dutchman Flat Sno-park near Mount Bachelor before snowmobiling about five miles due north to Ball Butte.

Snow kiting is an offshoot of kiteboarding, a water sport that is popular in places such as the Columbia River Gorge. Snow kiting, however, is practiced on land.

Just like kiteboarders, snow kiters use large inflatable kites — some use foil kites that are easier to power down — that allow the wind to pull them along. Kite lines attach to a snow kiter’s harness and handle, which is used to maneuver the kite.

Most snow kiters in Central Oregon are snowboarders, but telemark and alpine skiers also take part in the sport.

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