Andrea Ammann wins Snowkite World Cup

We are stoked to see Andrea Luca Ammann back on top of the podium winning the International Snowkite Open in Reschensee, South Tirol.
Read about his experience in the interview below!

Andrea, congratulations on winning the recent snow kite championships, how was the event and conditions?
Thanks!! The Int. Snowkite Open was amazing! Feels great to confirm my title of 2016 with another win after getting second last year. With this years’ World Cup status of the race category there were almost 70 people competing. Unfortunately the freestyle discipline lost a bit of popularity over the years so less riders started in this category. Nevertheless this does not mean it was an easy win for me. My opponents performed very well too, showing a great variety of wakestyle tricks. However, in the end my all-in tactic proved itself taking the win with a well executed front blind and backmobe. This year we had a fair amount of snow and even though the wind was a bit up and down it was pretty solid for our big kites!
 

What gear were you using?
I was using my 2018 Cabrinha FX in 14m on the freestyle setting combined with the 44cm bar which turned out to be the ideal combo for me.  

 

What advice would you give someone wanting to get into snow kiting?
Just do it! Some people think it’s more dangerous or that it needs specific snowkite gear…However, to be honest, due to the fact you cannot sink, kiting might be even easier on snow and unless you’re doing crazy backcountry tours, snowkites really don’t have any major advantages. Just take your tubekite for a spin, it might perform even better!  

 

What are some of the main differences between riding on snow and water?  Do you have a favorite?
Riding on snow adds a whole new dimension. Using the terrain as your playground, especially riding up and flying down mountains is truly amazing! I really can’t tell what’s my favorite, every year i‘m really excited for the snowkite season to start and then in spring to hit the water. So let‘s say it‘s the diversity which makes me loving kiteboarding so much!

PHOTOS: mTwo Media I Marc Metzler