After the locals strut their stuff in the French championships at the weekend, the World champs kicked off. It was pretty light wind up at the Col, but was blowing in the right direction and they started with the chic’s freestyle. There was a kicker down by the judges but the wind was pretty fluky down there. I had a super fun heat! It was the first competition I’ve done on the snow so I was going in not quite sure what to expect. I’d just got my new pink AH Pro kites from Flexifoil, so I got to use the 11m which behaved so well even though there was next to no wind! I did a pop to switch with a pass over the kicker which I’d tried for the first time so I was pretty happy with that. As the end-of-heat buzzer went, I did a big kite loop to floor and had to lay there a little winded for a minute or two!

It was awesome to ride with all the snowkite legends and get to know everyone. As its still a small competition scene everyone is super friendly, if a little shocked that a couple of “Anglais” girls turned up in a pink fury van for a SNOWKITE comp… how funny is that!?!?

When we were waiting for the wind in the morning, our kite bitch/ photographer/ videographer/ trainee… Jenny, along with our little English companion Jack, got on the kicker building mission at the Col and sessioned it tirelessly! When the wind never showed, we headed up to Serre Chevalier and did some little hikes on a hunt for some fresh pow. It was a bit on the crusty side but the views made up for it!

Mid week it got windy down in the valley but the conditions were not right up at the Col. So we all headed to Le Cassette in the valley bottom. Jenny built a kicker and we sessioned the day away! Perfect! It was pretty gusty as it came over the cliffs but my 7m AH Pro blasted through and I hardly noticed! My fellow Turbulence Angel Sheryl had an amazing time on her 7m Ion3 which dealt so well with the gusts and she was pulling huge kiteloops. We then gave Jenny a lesson on the 7m Ion3 and she was up and riding straight away, it was awesome!

The conditions were difficult at the end of the week for either Best Line or Best Trick, so Race director Matthias Charton decided on a Mountain Race around the Col. The wind was so up and down, there were times when even the best in the world couldn’t keep kites in the sky! But at least everyone was up on the hill having a blast!

We are now staying in the Alps for a few extra days as the breaks on ‘Charlie’ the van are gone, i.e. down to metal! So we have to wait a few days for the parts to arrive. Meanwhile, its snowing a lot so, as you can imagine, we’re gutted!! NOT!

I want to say a HUGE thank you to the event organisers for putting on a fab week and making us so welcome. We will definitely see you next year for the Snowkite Masters at the Col du Lautaret!