Profile snowkite rider: Thomas Ligonnet
 

http://www.kiteforum.com/download/file.php?id=31602

Nationality: 1/2 french 1/2 spanish
Date of birth: 28/06/1973
Lives: Cadiz (Spain) Chamonix (France)
Sponsors: ABoards Kiteboarding, Ozone kites, Kitefrenzy
Gear: Aboards snowkiteboard 158cm, Ozone kites
Industry experience: R&D for Rossignol snowboards, R&D for ABoards Kiteboarding snowkiteboard, snow & ski instructor, photoshoots for KiteWorld, Kiteboarder, Sideoff.
Personal website: http://www.kite-eyes.com

http://www.kiteforum.com/download/file.php?id=31603

http://www.kitesurfing-kiel.de/_foru...hp?pic_id=2793

Video HERE>>>

Full interview HERE>>>

Nice profile, thanks for putting it up. I see the video below was shot at Le Tour near Chamonix. Do you know if he has ever been able to kite in some area around Aiguille du Midi say below Helbronner on the French side or some place in Mer De Glace? It would be insane if someone launched off the access ridge below the Midi but might be a one way trip. I would think the winds would be pretty uneven through wind shadow in the narrow valleys, still it might be possible to kite in some areas if permitted? I've wondered about kiting in the area for some time.

Hello RickI,

Aboards told me that you had a few question's, so here i am :p

Yes i did kite a few time in the start of the vallée Blanche, a place named "col du midi", just under l'aiguille, it's a nice place, really big, wind are not to good like you said..., S-E winds work's good (coming from Helbronner).
I Kited to up la mer de glace (just on top of the cave) up to "la vallée noir and vallée Blanche", but same story with the wind...
Hope to see you kiting in Cham on day A+

Hello Thomas,

Thank you for posting. It is such a dramatic place, trouble is a lot of the terrain that creates that impression isn't so good for the wind over distance. Do you have much trouble with rotor (gust and lull cycles) with SE winds coming up and over the ridge along Helbronner?

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album473/Cham_1.jpg
Vallée Blanche and the area adjoining Mont Blanc. Chamonix, France is just in the valley to the right of the Massif with Courmayeur, Italy just below the ridge line to the upper left.

I noticed a few serac areas across the snow field NW of Helbronner. I suspect you try to stay out of those areas, in the upper or mid slope area? I recall some great, deep powder in that area. Have any problems in the past drifting into serac zones, how about uplift zones by steep mountain sides? Back in the day, C kites didn't depower all that well!

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album473/serac.sized.jpg
A serac zone in Vallée Blanche. A glacier is more or less a continuous moving flow of ice, which develops stretch marks or seracs at certain friction and turning points with underlying crevasses. I recall a couple of skiers are said to fall into crevasses here each year.
From: http://www.noc.utoronto.ca/~mikep/peterson_m.html

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album473/Mer_de_Glace.jpg


Does this show part of the area of the Col du Midi? I never descended from L'Aiguille du Midi but came from the Courmayeur side via Helbronner sometime back. Looks like a nice plateau.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album473/Cham_1a.jpg

Wow, from the tunnel all the way up to the split into Vallée Noir and Vallée Blanche. That is a long run, what wind direction works for that? I recall a few serac zones through there as well, did you jump them or just go to one side or the other? Then again, it is sort of like kiting through some really gnarly rolling waves, like from the wake of supertanker. Any kiters ever end up in crevasse? Hope not.

It may show up a bit better in this one.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album473/VB_VR_05.sized.jpg
CLICK PHOTO for full sized image


It is a magnificent area, worth some hassles to try to kite it for an expert like yourself. Have a great winter!

http://img2.allposters.com/images/CLU/50211.jpg

Ok, i see that you are quite informe on the place... ;)

I don't go there much any more, 4 snowkiting, has every time i went it was a kind of a mission, and that wee have really good snowkite spots up the valley.
It's really hard to "understand what the wind will do in that area, and when there is too much the top télecabinne is closed, so wee kind of stop the kite exploring up there.
But when wee did try to find spot's in that area, wee kited a few time in col du midi with verry light wind coming from italy side (S_E) and N and they where ok... I allways wanted to kite in the Italy side (S-E) by the hold ski lift but never did at the end (i think you could access lot's of good free-ride back into vallée blanche...).
The day wee went up the end of vallée blanche to the Vallée noir was a lucky day, Top telecabinne closed with srtong north wind, and a friend and i dicided to go up with the train to see if it was possible, it was not a really enjoying day, it was hard but wee made it to the split and a litel more into vallee noir, but the all thing was a workout...
I spent all my life in Cham, was on of the 1st snowboarder there, and this place use to be my playground 4 free-riding and i know it quite well, and it's a fact that that area is full of danger and lot's of people died there every year, every time wee went there wee keep clear of all those danger, huge drops, crevasses, seracs, storms...