Gorge Kiteboard School April 15, 2013 - October 31, 2013 Hood River, Oregon
With 14 years of experience teaching in Hood River, I can tailor your kiteboarding lesson to you, focusing on the skills and techniques you need to achieve your goals. Every student starts with different experience and skills levels and learns to kiteboard at their own speed. Some students are starting from the beginning and some are more experienced riders learning to kiteboard more efficiently in the demanding conditions the Gorge. Some students have flying or sailing skills, some have other relevant skills that can be utilized. I will carefully develop a lesson plan to take advantage of the skills and experience you bring to your kiteboard lessons and guide you to your goals at your pace.
I use a unique lesson plan created exclusively for The Gorge that is tailored to each student and the wind/water conditions encountered. Each lesson will start with a classroom session designed to help you understand the concepts, define a vocabulary and cover relevant safety topics. We will brake down critical kiteboarding skills into parts and you will learn about the specific exercises you will be working on in the water.
The second part of the lesson is one on one in-water instruction. Beginners start in waist deep water and learn to fly the kite as they bodysurf across the water. Students will work with the board as soon as kite control skills and bodysurfing skills are solid.
You will learn complicated actions in small controlled steps using exercises that divide the skills into individual elements. This careful approach to learning to kiteboard allows you to stay in control throughout the lesson process. You can also prepare for lessons or review the information from the class with the Gorge Kiteboard Online School, The Fundamentals of Kiteboarding.
Beginners often take from three to five lessons to reach a place where they are ready to kiteboard demanding locations like Hood River on their own. Each student is unique and has different goals. Some students need a few hours of help on one aspect of kiteboarding. Some students want a coach to provide instruction and emergency support when needed throughout their vacation. For most students one 3-hour lesson per day is enough and they prefer a less strenuous activity for the remainder of the day.
Kiteboarding in The Gorge can be intimidating for visitors from light wind locations. I often introduce these visitors to the fun of kiteboarding the Hood River area safely with a single three hour Introduction to Kiteboarding in the Gorge lesson designed for intermediate riders. High wind and big swell riding lessons are available for more advanced riders. A complete listing of the skills taught can be seen at: Lesson Programs
