To travel by catching the energy of the wind. From the beginnings of the civilization till today, we have been using the power of the wind to travel. Nowadays, the wind is mostly being used as an alternative energy source, though the means to travel it are efficient and accomplished as ever. One of these means is the kite.
Most of us associate the word kite with children, flying a kite on a plain; but there is a lot more to kiting than just that. In the last 15 years, kiting has evolved into one of the most popular sports on the planet. It is being practised on water (kitesurfing) and on land (land-kiting, snowkiting). And so, our story begins...
Duration: 27’
Script: Jure Breceljnik
Jerome Josserand
Director: Jure Breceljnik
Producer: Andreja Flach
Executive producer: Erik Kapfer
By the end of the previous millennium, man has realized his dream to travel up the snowy mountain using solely the power of the wind.
Snowkiting was born.
Snowkiting in its most extreme form (kiting up the mountain) was born in France in the beginning of the 21st century. The place most recognized for the beginnings of the sport is Col de Lautaret pass in Hautes Alps in the south of the French Alps. It is located at 2000 metres of altitude and surrounded with mountain slopes barely allowing kiting upwards. During the past decade, the design of the wing has improved enormously as well as the kiting technique itself, which enables the best kiters to overcome almost every mountain and to travel a few 100 kilometres per day.
Jerome Josserand from La Grave, a small village right beneath Col de Lautaret pass, is one of the best snowkiters in the world, a pioneer of snowkiting and a holder of a world record of flying as high as 450 metres up with his kite.
He started kiting 7 years ago and has – as a very versatile athlete – immediately recognized the potential of the new sport. During the years, he has been kiting and inspiring individuals all over the world. In the winter of 2010, Jerome had travelled to Iceland to discover countless beauties of nature and almost ideal conditions for kiting. Therefore, he decided to return and to kite across Iceland, from the North all the way towards the South.
In March, Jerome plans to kite across Iceland, from Akureyri in the north of Iceland to the greatest European iceberg Vatnajökull (8300km2) in the south. To kite a distance so great (more than 200 kilometres) in a single day, overcoming the weather and terrain challenges, is unimaginably difficult and takes a full physical and psychological condition. And it all depends on the wind.
More details are available here
