This page answers many of the questions that we have been asked over the years…

Sled & Gear questions:

Really well! We built the latest kitesled with the Sastrugi fields of Antarctica in mind. On our Canadian trip we constantly tested the loaded sleds ability to:
A) Maneuver around obstacles, and;
B) Ride straight over the big bumps at speed.
The sled excelled at both, and afterwards showed no sign of wear and material fatigue.

  

Survival questions:

All clothing and equipment is of the highest grade:
When we are working hard, or no colder than -10 degrees we usually wear:
1.) Woollen thermal underwear

2.) Polar fleece mid layers (with lots of zips everywhere!)

3.) Mountaineering cut goretex shell jacket and pants.

4.) Down parka and pants

This layering system allows us a lot of options in how we prepare for the conditions, importantly the thermal layer keeps the skin dry, even when we are working hard, this avoids the spectre of wet clothes, which at best are not as warm, and at worst carry moisture that may freeze!

On our feet we use Scarpa “Laser” Alpine touring boots which are comfortable and warm to wear on the sled, and allow great kiteskiing control when clipped into the dynafit bindings on our skis.

WHAT ELSE?

Each one of us carries a radio and a survival bag:

   

WHAT DO WE EAT?

Well…we need to consume almost 6000 calories a day. For the sake of morale a bit of variety is nice, as long as it is heavy on the carbohydrates and fat!

At dinner time we are always looking forward to our freeze-dry meals from Back country cuisine . We usually add roughly 100g of Butter to each meal, the extra energy in this helps us sleep warm at night.

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(errr….anybody in this tent know how to read Greenlandic?)

This is a tricky one to get right! After a lot of trial and error we found the best setup was:
1.) A thin thermal balaclava,

2.) A medium thickness windproof schoeller beanie

3.) A thin, windproof Gorilla balaclava with removable nose guard.

4.) Dirty Dog Goggles (for wide angle vision)

5.) An insulated ski helmet .

This combination is warm, gives good peripheral vision and channels breath away from the face, meaning the goggles don’t get steamed up.

Get the right technique and the right Hardware!

It is quite a challenge keeping condensation from fogging up the inside and outside of lenses. We keep the camera sealed in an airtight bag when not in use, and then try to plan ahead so that the camera has “adjusted” to the temperature of the next environment we will be recording in. However, if that environment is -30 degrees then we will not get much power out of a cold battery, so we always keep a spare battery warm in our inner layers of clothing.
After a lot of trouble with our last video camera in Greenland we sourced a Panasonic AG-HSC1UE High definition video camera for our latest expedition, this little machine is solid state (no moving parts) so it can take the cold and the knocks. It records to SD data cards and the battery sits within the camera body (which insulates it somewhat from the cold)

DO OUR ARMS GET TIRED HOLDING ON TO THE KITE ALL THE TIME?

The kites are on 4 long lines which are between 5 and 90m long (depending on the wind strength and our angle of travel), these lines attach to a control bar or handles which have a strong sheeting line that attaches to our own waist harnesses via a loop with an emergency release. This way the power of the kites’ pull comes straight to our waist area without any work from the hands, except for steering

   

HOW DO I LEARN KITESKIING AND/OR KITESURFING?

Like many other climbers and backcountry skiers the members of the Kitesled team are resourceful and independant types, and as such we taught ourselves the rudiments of kite control and use. In hindsight this was a dangerous thing to do, and it was only our competance as skiers that allowed us to avoid serious injury. We were fortunate to fall in with Lachlan Bede from Kiteworks Newcastle whose patient instruction and attention to safety put us back on track.

If you are in Australia and want to try Kiteskiing/Kitesurfing then try these:

For Kiteskiing and kitesurfing in Newcastle contact Kiteworks .

For Kitesurfing in Sydney, Brisbane and Geelong contact Kitepower .

Contact us and we will answer them!