When I heard about the accident, I had a reflexive thought of "kiting by power lines, WTF?" until I heard that Chris is 16 years old.

The guy's in high school, still growing up. I am glad to see that the post flaming Chris was removed. Let's give Chris a break and not write him off as some jerk who was bound to get hurt somehow, someway because of recklessness. Whatever Chris's story is, I am sure he is not as wild and insane as I was at his age. I don't believe that I've met Chris but it sounds like he is a pretty cool guy.

Besides, Chris is hurt. I am sure no one has the cajones to go to his hospital room and spew venom at the guy in front of his family, so why go on this forum and kick him while he is down? Some of his decisions may have been bad but personal attacks on a forum are weak under any circumstances and even worse here. Quality people make bad decisions at times. It is important for us to talk about the controllable factors that contributed to his accident so others can avoid such decisions, but there is no need to insult Chris or any other kiter around here.

Chris's accident drives home the point of why it is important to identify and calculate risk in this sport, at all levels. If Chris had assessed the situation correctly, he likely would have kept his kite on the ground or found another place to ride because he would have realized that the risks inherent at that spot at that time were too great for the potential reward. I suspect Chris wishes he could turn back the clock and decide differently.

It sounds like some other kiters dodged the bullet that day, but a bad kiting decision is a bad decision regardless of outcome. Sometimes you pay sooner, sometimes later, but if you keep making questionable kiting decisions, the odds will eventually catch up with you. Every kiteboarder who plans to continue pursuing this sport needs to think long and hard about that reality and sweep his or her own doorstep.

The sure way to avoid kiteboarding injuries is to shun the sport entirely. Given that such an approach is not acceptable to most kiteboarders, the next best approach is to minimize or eliminate risks that do not contribute much to the rewards of kiting. Riding in appropriate weather at safe kiting locations with well-designed gear that is in good repair goes a long way to reducing the likelihood of an accident. Start messing with that formula and your risk starts to go up but you are probably not having much more fun. Indeed, you are probably having less fun.

Get well, Chris. I have a stack of kiteboarding mags from the past several years, so if you want something to read while you are stuck in the hospital or at home, send a private message my way with your mailing address and I will send them to you via UPS Ground.