Kai Lenny, Balz Müller Levi Siver - they have all used wings or windsurfing sails for other purposes and taken them into the mountains, true to the motto: Snow is only frozen water! Austrian snowboard pro Seppl Ramsberger was sceptical about snow wings at first - but ended up getting really hooked. Here he reports on his new experience in the snow.
Seppl: When I got the call from Burton and Vayu asking if I wanted to go snow-wrestling, I was sceptical at first. I'd only seen a video by Kai Lenny and thought it was cool, but I couldn't really imagine it. My photographer Fischi, on the other hand, was immediately hooked! He really wanted to see what was possible with a wing and snowboard. As a windsurfer, he's much more into water sports than I am.
So up the mountain and then? How did it go on?
Of course, it was unusual to sit in the lift with a wing and pump, but when it was pumped up in front of me, I just thought to myself: "It'll be fine" (laughs).
At first I was quite sceptical about wings in the snow. But as always, it's good to let go of your preconceptions and embrace new things.
You're a pro when it comes to the board, how did the whole thing feel with the Wing?
The wind on the mountain is quite tricky, on some descents the wind came up the slope, that was something I had to get used to. I felt pretty helpless in the first few minutes(laughs).
But you haven't given up, as you can see from the pictures?
(Laughs) Of course not! On the second dayclick and I was surprised how much control I already had over the wing - from that point on I was hooked.
You also went straight to the fun park, that's brave...
Yes, I really wanted to find out what is possible with the wing in the park and how you can use it. At first I was a bit scared that the other snowboarders would start hating me straight away, but the opposite was the case (laughs). A lot of people came up to me and liked what I could do with the wing on the obstacles.
Your best trick?
Definitely a 270° onto the rail with the wing! In the park, I left the handleash off afterwards and it almost felt a bit like wakeboarding.
Was the wing more of a restriction? Or were you even able to use it for your tricks?
It was a real challenge, but it just got better and better over time. I was able to use the wing at the end to cushion jumps where I would definitely have dived in without it. Grabs and simple freeriding were so much fun.
Where do you see the potential in snow wings?
In any case, on a good day I'll try out the Wing again on open terrain at the Speicherdeich and go for speed. But even in deep snow, it's really fun to use the power of the Wing in a turn to build up full pressure on the edge.
Have you been so taken with snow wings that you now want to try foil on the water?
Definitely! I am so hooked! The feeling I had after a few days in the snow was brilliant.
Your conclusion?
I see an incredible amount of potential there. On the water, of course, it's already the absolute trend sport. On the piste, it was a fun addition for me and definitely a welcome change. Snow is only frozen water!
Here's the clip:
