Hello fellow Mn kiters!
I am writing from Helsinki, Finland. I am here for school (2 years total). I used to live near WBL so I would kite there mostly and sometimes north (i.e. Mille Lacs or lakes near my hometown - Two Harbors).
Anyways, I thought I would say hi to everyone and give you all an idea of the Finnish kiting turf:
Summer/Fall
+ 's:
-some good beaches close to Helsinki.
-Wind off the Baltic sea is nice and steady.
-close to Netherlands
-lots of daylight in summer (i.e. sun sets for only a few hours at the peak)
- 's:
-rocky and lots of islands
-light wind in summer
-not a lot of sunlight in winter (i.e. right now sun rise is 9:30am, sunset 3:15pm)
Winter
Don't feel bad if there isn't much snow, ice and cold weather in Mn. Helsinki is at 61 deg. latitude north (i.e. same as Anchorage, AK) and there is no winter here yet. It is has been 40 - 45 F (record highs) for the past month. Ducks are still swimming in the pond outside my house.
Of course north of Helsinki by about 8 hours in Lapland (above Arctic Circle) winter is turned on. I think Lapland looks like an INSANE place to ride in the winter. Most of the hills there don't have any trees on the top and are perfect for riding. I spoke with a Finn who gives lessons and he said there is always wind. Go here to see some photos of the landscape: http://www.xtremewinds.com (click the British flag and wait a bit ... it is worth the wait). Looks sooo sweet.
In Helsinki the riding should be great once winter comes. The ice freezes in all the bays and channels surrounding Helsinki (and there are lots of them)... I understand that there is a breeze off the Baltic most of the winter so it blows nice and clean through many bays and channels. Take a look: http://maps.google.com/maps?client=fire ... a=N&tab=wl
Once I actually get to ride in the winter here ... I will take some photos and give a much better picture of what riding is like here. Email me if you are ever here for business or pleasure (mjturnqu@gmail.com).
You may see my brother Adam out riding near Duluth ... he just got his own kite gear and is addicted as I am!
-/\/\atthew
warm in Suomi
Moderator: MK
-
Protege Menace
- Posts: 136
- Joined: Sat May 27, 2006 6:01 am
- Location: Medicine Lake
I'm jealous although it sounds like you don't have snow yet. Have a great time there...see you in a couple years!UP POPS MATT
I didn't put 2 + 2 together until Nancy wrote your name! Sounds like you're in a great spot. Did you bring any gear with you? How is the local market over there for kite gear & the popularity of the sport? Can you please import more of those lovely Scandi-Kitechix? We need more over here! Enjoy yor stay..Watch out for Reindeeer Sausage & have a Merry Xmas!! Jim N.
hmm some rally would be sweet.
hi Nancy. Hope I can come ride again with you and steve on cedar in a few years. say hi to steve for me. did anyone get bit by that record size muskie in the lake yet?
hello Jim ... i miss talkin with you at WBL and watching do the windsurf+parking lot. drink a beer for me ... i miss american beer (i.e. summit pale ale)
>Did you bring any gear with you? yah i brought my 12m TD + acc. Bought a new snowboard/bindings ... and yes prices in finland are SO expensive. 22% or greater sales tax can really hurt the budget quickly.
>How is the local market over there for kite gear & the popularity of the sport? Hmmm one or two small kite shops. Lots of used gear ... can easily be found online in a forum. Populartiy ... well ... In the summer I was downtown and saw about 15 kites go up pretty quickly on a windy day. I've been told quite a few more kites in winter due to the challenging Helsinki water terrain (i.e. lots of rocks). I think the ~180,000 lakes, fells in lapland, and fields in the south seem to make Finland a sweet place to kite in the winter though!
>Can you please import more of those lovely Scandi-Kitechix? I met one finnish woman kiter this summer. and yes she was lovely. I'll see if she wants to do a "kiter exchange program" with someone from Mn.
photos and more Suomi snowkiting cultural to come soon.
merrry xmas! Reindeer meat is great ... I ate some last night.
/\/\atthew
hi Nancy. Hope I can come ride again with you and steve on cedar in a few years. say hi to steve for me. did anyone get bit by that record size muskie in the lake yet?
hello Jim ... i miss talkin with you at WBL and watching do the windsurf+parking lot. drink a beer for me ... i miss american beer (i.e. summit pale ale)
>Did you bring any gear with you? yah i brought my 12m TD + acc. Bought a new snowboard/bindings ... and yes prices in finland are SO expensive. 22% or greater sales tax can really hurt the budget quickly.
>How is the local market over there for kite gear & the popularity of the sport? Hmmm one or two small kite shops. Lots of used gear ... can easily be found online in a forum. Populartiy ... well ... In the summer I was downtown and saw about 15 kites go up pretty quickly on a windy day. I've been told quite a few more kites in winter due to the challenging Helsinki water terrain (i.e. lots of rocks). I think the ~180,000 lakes, fells in lapland, and fields in the south seem to make Finland a sweet place to kite in the winter though!
>Can you please import more of those lovely Scandi-Kitechix? I met one finnish woman kiter this summer. and yes she was lovely. I'll see if she wants to do a "kiter exchange program" with someone from Mn.
photos and more Suomi snowkiting cultural to come soon.
merrry xmas! Reindeer meat is great ... I ate some last night.
/\/\atthew
-
steveb
- Posts: 2146
- Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2002 3:31 pm
- Location: sblain@frontiernet.net
Hey Matt!
Good to hear from you bro. We've been hurting for snow here too. But I didn't notice it too much b/c of work and school.
I just got a new twin tip snowboard that I can't wait to try. I think that this season will see a lot of unhooked wake style on snow. If you can take some time off to go Norway, they have a great crew there too. Too bad the Semnoz tour has been cancelled for 2007. Would've been fun to check it out since you are so close.
Keep us posted man.
Denis
Good to hear from you bro. We've been hurting for snow here too. But I didn't notice it too much b/c of work and school.
I just got a new twin tip snowboard that I can't wait to try. I think that this season will see a lot of unhooked wake style on snow. If you can take some time off to go Norway, they have a great crew there too. Too bad the Semnoz tour has been cancelled for 2007. Would've been fun to check it out since you are so close.
Keep us posted man.
Denis
(================P-</
Sponsored by Slingshot Kiteboarding
Sponsored by Slingshot Kiteboarding
-
dtownkiter
- Posts: 174
- Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:12 am
- Location: MINNEAPOLIS
Hey Matt aka Brother...Not to make you jealous but I got out again on Xmas. We went north of Two Harbors to Christianson Lake and the conditions were good. Lots of ice, about 4 inches of untouched snow, and fairly good wind. Hope u had a good holiday and I will take care of the "having a beer for you" but im not sure i can cough up the change for a Summit. Take it easy and I think Dad is going to send u pix of Xmas and kiting.
ANY BEER, ANY WOMAN, ANYTIME!!
Nancy & Co: I didn't think I'd have to repeat it, but just in case....I'm still available as a somewhat unreliable witness for Steve's "1st Woman to Boost 15+ft." contest. As with most males, I can be bribed, preferably with beer (Shiner in TX/ Summit Pale Ale in MN) Hope that clarifies matters! 
Jim N. P.S: Plane tickets accepted to foreign destinations...spread the word, Matt
Jim N. P.S: Plane tickets accepted to foreign destinations...spread the word, Matthello Denis ... great to hear from you! I got a new twin tip too ... can't wait to ride it.
woke up this morning to a beautiful 43F and raining. Am i really in finland? Ha. My snowboard looks so lonely in the corner of my room ... waiting so patiently to go out. Although another week of forecasted +35F weather may not allow that!
happy new year ... it is coming your way! celebrated on top of huge hill and watched all the Finns in Helsinki light off more fireworks than I have ever seen! It was like a war zone with all the noise and smoke. insane. They weren't the roman candels or whistlers ... they were huge ... I suspect illegal russian fireworks. yes drinking was involved.
hyvaa uutta vuotta,
/\/\atthew
woke up this morning to a beautiful 43F and raining. Am i really in finland? Ha. My snowboard looks so lonely in the corner of my room ... waiting so patiently to go out. Although another week of forecasted +35F weather may not allow that!
happy new year ... it is coming your way! celebrated on top of huge hill and watched all the Finns in Helsinki light off more fireworks than I have ever seen! It was like a war zone with all the noise and smoke. insane. They weren't the roman candels or whistlers ... they were huge ... I suspect illegal russian fireworks. yes drinking was involved.
hyvaa uutta vuotta,
/\/\atthew
2008 warmer than 2007
Hello to all friends in Mn!
Still happily living in Finland ... working and playing hard. Just wanted to say a quick hello and say that I miss winter in Mn. I was actually back for a few weeks and enjoyed some rides near duluth with my bro adam. I wrote last year about it being warm here ... well this year has been warmer! Record warmth this winter has left me sitting in my apartment watching the rain come down and thinking about new hobbies. Today I saw kiteboarders at a beach near my house on WATER! They rigged their kites on green grass and went out. I would have joined them but there are tons of huge rocks in shallow and out deep. Crazy finns.
Anyways I during my boredom I found a video of some great finnish riders from this past summer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roLCKQqczmQ
All of the riding is done here (with the exception of one small clip from spain): http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=han ... &z=10&om=0
A 7 - 9m kite for a 170lbs rider is required here ... the baltic delivers some huge winds in the spring, fall oh and now winter lol. Last week I had a 39mph reading on a skywatch.
Enjoy the video and wish I could come to the crossing!
Waiting for winter,
Matthew
Still happily living in Finland ... working and playing hard. Just wanted to say a quick hello and say that I miss winter in Mn. I was actually back for a few weeks and enjoyed some rides near duluth with my bro adam. I wrote last year about it being warm here ... well this year has been warmer! Record warmth this winter has left me sitting in my apartment watching the rain come down and thinking about new hobbies. Today I saw kiteboarders at a beach near my house on WATER! They rigged their kites on green grass and went out. I would have joined them but there are tons of huge rocks in shallow and out deep. Crazy finns.
Anyways I during my boredom I found a video of some great finnish riders from this past summer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roLCKQqczmQ
All of the riding is done here (with the exception of one small clip from spain): http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=han ... &z=10&om=0
A 7 - 9m kite for a 170lbs rider is required here ... the baltic delivers some huge winds in the spring, fall oh and now winter lol. Last week I had a 39mph reading on a skywatch.
Enjoy the video and wish I could come to the crossing!
Waiting for winter,
Matthew
HOWDY!
It was fun to hear from you again, Matt. Had to laugh at those old posts from last year. Hope you get a chance to do some kiting soon. I was so desperate, I actually drove to Iowa to kite last Friday. I'm thinking about dragging out my old ice sailor, since there's no snow cover left on d'Bear.
You should really take the time to visit Lapland and Norway & get your fiil of Kiting before you come back...We'll want to hear all about it over a cold Summit some day soon. Jim N. P.S: No Kite Chix have offered bribes of ANY form since that last post.
You should really take the time to visit Lapland and Norway & get your fiil of Kiting before you come back...We'll want to hear all about it over a cold Summit some day soon. Jim N. P.S: No Kite Chix have offered bribes of ANY form since that last post.
Way 2 GO!!
Hey Nancy, Congrats on the SkiJourning finish!! Who knew that big mutt was good for something, besides slurpy face licks. Now if we could get her to retrieve kites & fetch adult beverages.... Jim
JimWell Jim I'll keep an eye out for some lappish kitechix when I head up there. Hopefully a trip into the arctic circle this spring ... there is a lots of snow and wind up there. Ah yes and some summit PA would be so tasty. Please send some to me in the mean time ... shipping is really cheap here I promise.