Not much new in news from the team, they have been tuning the rig, practicing their upwind technique and preparing for the ideal conditions to present for a big run.

What’s it actually like driving a Kitesled?

Driving a kitesled in subzero temperatures is fairly straightforward if you know exactly what you are doing! Here is a list of the sort of things that you need to be in control of if you were thinking of giving it a try:

• The body needs to be properly insulated without overheating - it’s easy to overheat the upper body while the legs freeze, so we wear down filled pants and triple layered boots;
• The face area needs to be well managed, Goggles are easily iced up from breath, and throats/lungs can be quickly damaged from the cold, dry air;
• The Kite needs to be trimmed so that hands take little strain. (as the hands are held above heart level blood circulation is retarded, and frostbite can strike, clenched muscles make this effect worse);
• The kite that is launched needs to be the right size for the wind strength and ice conditions (The power of the kite has an adjustment range, but this is limited);
• Navigation - sometimes you can just follow a coastline, compasses don’t really work this close to the magnetic pole, so we often steer by the wind and sastrugi patterns, with the occassional GPS check;
• Ice conditions - Though the sled can ride over big bumps, we’d be twits if we took every obstacle head on, it can be a gruelling experience spending several hours navigating through giant fields of rough ice and avoiding refrozen melt pools;
• Keeping tabs on the other guy - sometimes he is sitting behind the pilot on the sled, other times he may be whizzing along on skis with a survival pack, pulled by a little “smart kite”;
• Staying hydrated - we usually wear a camelback full of warm water under our jackets, and:
• Keeping a lookout for other dangers such as bears!

There’s even more to consider, but I’d hate to bore you, suffice to say - there is a lot to do, and it’s not really the sort of thing where you can just switch off and listen to your ipod, or whatever.
I guess this sounds very tough and full-on, and it is a very serious business, but don’t forget - we do this because we love exploring these places, in our own way, at our own pace, with out best mates. What I’m trying to say is, It’s great fun.

Fair winds Ben and Dave!