Both on the same day is fun
When a storm comes, foil the frontal wind, then ski pow and then foil the clearing wind. Perfect storm. I donāt blame you guys who have to go on trips and spend a bunch of money and hope for good ski conditions being over it. I live in Reno NV. We kinda have everything here. Tahoe can have epic winging and DW conditions 20-30 days/year. There are days when shore pound is too big to get a wing foil kit through. Washoe Lake blows 150-200days/year. I have to drive 4hrs to ocean for proper waves, but foiling windswell has lowered my need for ocean trips considerably. If I ever leave Reno, it will likely be Maui, or HR.
Yeah itās kind of ruined it for me. Grew up in Salt Lake City and a longtime LCC skier too! Now live in Rhode Island (5 years) 1 block from the water. My quality of life here is so much better than back home. Even in a 5/4 with 5 mm gloves 4-5 months a year. Really nice to get a sesh after work with no driving. That canyon road blows. But I sure miss a good graupel wind buff day!!
snowkiting has a critical flaw: itās too close to paragliding and therefore extremely dangerous.
I know someone who was paralyzed snowkiting and lots of people are killed/paralyzed paragliding.
Itās just too tempting to boost off a hill and soar high in the sky
What we are talking about here, hydrofoiling, is childās play compared to the true upper echelon of flow state extreme sports: base jumping, proximity flying, speed skiing with a paraglider, etc. As I said previously I used to live in SLC and lots of people move there to pursue these sports, the newspapers have weekly deaths especially from paragliding and base jumping.
One of the reasons hydrofoiling is so great is that it is safe flying!
As a California coast person, foiling has reduced my interest in driving 4 hours to snowboard in the Sierras. I still love to be out in the snow and the views that come with that, especially at Lake Tahoeās Heavenly resort, but I donāt go as much. That said, āSierra Cementā is not the powder you speak of even though I have enjoyed that on very cold days at Jay Peak in Vermont.
I know this is āa thingā in my mind, though. I thought of the same thing when I realized I was less interested in booking lodging in Tahoe. Later, now, Iām thinking about it more as I consider a dry suit that would make winter wing foiling even more attractive to me.
GREAT problem to have! I am thankful to have time to consider life trivia of this nature.
Yup, foiling ruined my interest in temps below 70° F (or maybe itās just old age).
One thing I have noticed is that foiling all summer seems to improve my powder snowboarding. Thereās so much precision in a foiling carve that keeping your weight just right for an efficient/perfect powder carve is comparatively way easier. Also, the rapid forward/backward hip movement to trim your foil while riding waves/swell makes similar trimming in powder a breeze.
Havenāt really noticed the other way around, but donāt really have a way to gauge it having snowboarded for way longer before starting foiling.
@FoilyMcLipshitz how is the winging on Washoe? Only windsurfed there years ago and remember it being quite shallow/murky but powerful swell for such short reach.
Absolutely ruined me as a surfer, definitely get the powder day glide and I have a world class wingfoil spot 5min from my house.(that is absolutely responsible for me ditching countless drinbly surf sessions)Every ānovelty waveā that we used to day dream about surfing on a rare swell has suddenly become accessible and rippable on the wing foil. It is second to none in my life.
I wouldnāt say it ruined surfing, I just get torn worse than a personality disorder when there is mediocre surf and good wind. So I found the middle ground and batter myself in the waves with the foil and wing. However, I have surfed three times in the last 9 months. It doesnāt get world class often here but instead of driving myself an hour or two for a crowded point break or a hollow beachie, I just foil. And what a back up plan to have in the trucknif the wind kicks up and the surf goes bland!!!
Jumping a foil is gnarly and itās all I want to do. pull loops and 360ās as well as ride the biggest ugliest piece of windswell I can find are my current goals. It is truly endless stoke as we sail to the next set and do jot sit and wait. Endless powder glide = endless stoke. I literally feel like a cave man walking into the water holding a surfboard now !!
It definitely has ruined me as a surfer as well as a snowboarder(utah last year was absolutely unreal! 5ā snow in 4 days and it kept coming!!) but has turned my balance savage in the āold sportsā
But as far as longevity and frequency of use,
The month of May had me at 32 wing foiling sessions. And they were all absolutely amazing sessions. Two years in a row, May is the month for us here!!! The wind and waves seemed endless for a bit!
It HAS ignited my skateboarding game consistently though! If I wingfoil prior to setting foot on a skateboard I AM A FREAK!!! The balance is the sharpest ever. Suddenly doing things I never would have dreamnt of.
Foiling does indeed crush you but the refined after affects of climbing this sports learning curve have me hooked for life. And basically dropped every boardsport to run after this dream, whatever it is, I just wanna wing chuck and pray!!
Best vibes! We didnāt ruin anything. We have just evolved!!!
no truer words have ever been spoken
Up here in Eastern Washington state, I used to hope for early November snow and lamented when it thawed in March. Now Iām stoked when we have unseasonably warm temps in the winter because usually with instability comes wind; and the deeper lakes donāt freeze and can be downwinded as well. We surf river waves (standing waves) all winter, make the trip to the gorge when possible, and ski as a last resort. The biggest draw to foiling besides the obvious is the learning progression. Iāve tried to replicate that by monoboarding and now learning to telemark but the whole mindset is āIām crosstraining for the upcoming foiling season.ā This has helped me keep the stoke of skiing going when there arenāt any other options. 6/5 wetsuits, 8mm booties, hoods and gloves are the norm for the Inland Northwest crew.
Yes, ruined anything having to do with snow (for now). I used to think that having my mountain bike and a snowboard living in the mountains was the cure all, until I tried sup surfing and sup downwinding. Then four years ago came wingfoiling and then bam⦠along came paddle foiling. Forget about it⦠no more snow for now.
Gotta switch to snowboarding dude Same feeling and technique as foiling!
Time to add my stone.
Addicted to snowboard for 10 years, I used to spend 30 winter days in the snow. That was 30 full days 6am-8pm, 4 hours driving included.
Discovered foiling, I lost all interest in going to ski resorts.
No long road, no long days.
A foil session takes 2 to 3 hours.
Much more free time.
Much more practice days through the year.
I can buy a front wing for less than it costs to take the family skiing for a day. No crowds, no lineups, no skied out water, no gas wasted in travel. Snowboarding in powder is pretty special but, I canāt really justify the hassle for those precious turns.
Sled assisted BC skiing (gave up lift assisted skiing 20 years ago), paragliding, kitesurfing, windsurfing et al. are all in the rear view mirror. Sure Iāll miss them but simply canāt risk the injury at 60+ as I couldnāt bear to miss a day of foiling. Looking around the parking lot at the Hatchery it appears most wingers are my age and older so Iād guess of similar mind.
My drive to ski is the same to foil, 45 minutes in Reno. So, I like to foil the frontal wind and then ski pow and then foil the clearing wind when a storm comes. Foiling for me feels like pow. These are the only two sports I do that I can hurl my body through space and time while carving radical turns. I feel like I have super powers on foil. I am an evolved species. We are all sooo lucky to be on foil and flying through the air. I canāt believe more people arenāt doing it. First thing I check everyday is wind forecast and start scheeming how and when I will fly(and not piss off wife). Am I alone? My van always has no fewer than 3 boards, 3 hand wings, 3 masts, six front wings, 3 stabs, 3 fuses. So, no, skiing has not ruined foiling for me. They pair nicely where I am.
Trying mightily to get psyched up for ski season while putting up my foiling gearā¦not easy, but I have no realistic means of foiling year around, so Iāll keep trying to cope with my crushing 1st world problemsā¦
ā¦OKā¦from the depths of Idaho winterā¦where on the upside skate skiing has been unexpectedly engaging as a new sport for meā¦another upside of being forced out of the foiling game for at least a few monthsā¦it has been interesting and somewhat gratifying to just be an observer of the evolution of foiling and foiling gear (viz. not buying gear for a bit).
Super psyched to see and hear about it all, and for the prospect of getting back on the water soon, while not feeling too driven to make any big purchases (of course, still very much wanting many more of the toys available, but OK just watching for a bit)ā¦