Learning the Ropes: Getting to grips with the sport on dry land (John Bilderback)
Consistent winds clearly make for the best spots to harness that power atop a board—be it one that floats on water, or across remote fields of snow—and few other locations are better for kite-powered water sports than Hood River, Oregon. This funky town of 6,000 people is what Moab is to mountain bikers and Yosemite is to climbers: the one place where conditions are so good you'll end up visiting sooner or later whether you plan it or not. Windsurfers, of course, have known about the winds that come whipping through the Columbia River Gorge for decades, so it was a natural step for kitesurfers to get in on the fun early. Conditions here can be mellow, though those days are rare, to terribly fierce, prompting one kitesurfer to liken the ride to "waterskiing behind a helicopter." But no matter what the wind's doing, there are numerous shops in town that can get you set up with equipment and give you lessons. Instructors at Hood River Waterplay (800-963-7873, www.hoodriverwaterplay.com), just one of the schools in the area, offer lessons for beginners on how to control a kite or for the advanced rider seeking better ways to make a soft landing after a 30-foot-high leap.
Hood River, Orgeon | 
