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After the second day of no-jumping on my snowboard, I wanted to ask you guys how you do it. The only bunny hops I was able to get was on ice skates. I tried the techniques I have read about, i.e. gather some speed, send the kite back towards zenith and feel the pull. Being a newbie, I have a small 4.5m foil kite (Windwing 440 - kinda between a Slingshot B-4 and B-5), so maybe that's why. Any pointers are welcome.
BTW, today on Cannon, after a failed attempt to get some air I sailed back West. When I looked up, there was six kites suspended between the lake and the sky in front of me with a gorgeous sunset as background. What a sight!
Not that I am in any means a pro and hopefully some of the other guys will chirp in as well.
First of all, you were underpowered. You have to be pretty powered to jump. I think if you had enough power to jump today, you would have had trouble holding a line on the snowboard with the conditions we had. So you need power and the ability to hold an edge. This may be why you had an easier time on skates.
Resist the pull
One of the biggest things I learned this year from Coach was to edge sharply upwind as you send it up and back. This tensions the lines generates more power in your pop. You can also head off the wind a bit just before sending it. This will speed you up and drop the kite farther back into the window. Don't head off too much or you'll luff the kite and not be able to send it.
Another thing I found myself doing was to pull on the back hand and keep pulling on the back hand. This forces the kite to go in a low arc instead of shooting up and back. Turn the kite in the direction you want and return the bar to equal so the kite flys right where you want it. Watch the kite for a few jumps.
Speed helps.
Just like heading up wind, speeding forward when you send the kite back increases the pull and the pop.
Hold the edge as long as you can then release.
You'll have to adjust how high the kite is before you send it, based on the strength of the wind. Lower in low winds and a bit higher in high winds.
Any pointers are welcome.