The battle to secure a spot in the world’s largest kite endurance race on snow starts Tuesday December 5th at 18:00 (CET). Returning in 2018 for its eighth edition, the legendary snow kite marathon Red Bull Ragnarok will April 5-8th once again gather more than 300 snowkiters from all over the world for an epic battle against the weather and each other on the plains of Hardangervidda, Norway. The 2017 edition was the hardest to date, only eight out of 350 kiters from 29 nations managed to finish all five laps of the 130 km long race. Equipped with kites, skis and snowboards the participants had to cope with winds of up to 23 m/s (small storm) and top speeds nearly reaching 100 km/h (62 mph). As always, the chase to secure a spot is almost as challenging as the race itself – last year’s tickets sold out in less than two minutes. Registration for the 300 available spots opens Tuesday December 5th 2017 at 18:00 CET. “It’s incredible. It’s a really tough race, it’s really long and has gusty wind. Every year is tougher, this year with really strong wind. Next year I will start again and try to …
snowkite marathon
Red Bull Ragnarok 2017 // 130 kilometers of madness
Only eight out of 350 kiters finished all five laps of Red Bull Ragnarok 2017. Out of seven editions of Red Bull Ragnarok, 2017 really turned out to be a battle to remember. Contestants had to complete five laps in five hours, meaning the total distance was 130 kilometers – the longest course in the history of the event. Luckily the weather gods kept that in mind for the day, providing what the veterans describes as the best wind conditions ever, reaching almost 44 knots. Only eight kiters finished all five laps. “I’m totally done. I dont know what to say. This was a really tough and really crazy race. On the top we had something around 40 knots, while in the valley almost nothing. I’m so happy to be the fastest“, says Felix Kersten, the male winner in the ski category. Results: Men Ski: 1. Felix Kersten 2. Bruce Kessler 3. Dominik Zimmermann Men Snowboard: 1. Jonas Lengwiler 2. Sigve Botnen 3. Miroslav Schutz Women Ski: 1. Stephanie Bridge 2. Camilla Ringvold 3. Camilla Nore Women Snowboard: 1. Aija Ambrasa 2. Iris Straume 3. Marie-Eve Mayrand
Red Bull Ragnarok 2017
The battle to secure a spot in the world’s largest kite endurance race on snow starts Thursday December 1st at 18:00 (CET). Over 300 snowkiters will meet up on the plains of Hardangervidda to battle against the weather Gods and each other, when the seventh edition of the legendary snowkite marathon Red Bull Ragnarok kicks off again from March 30th to April 2nd 2017. In the roughest snowkite challenge on the planet, the participants who overcome the harsh conditions on the vast mountain plateau, will battle it out to the bitter end (aka the finish line). As always, the chase to secure a spot is almost as challenging as the race itself. Registration for the 300 available spots opens Thursday December 1st 2016 at 18:00 CET. – It’s a once in a lifetime snow kite race at one of the most wildly beautiful locations in this world. No matter how frustrating it gets, you always learn something new about kiting when you put yourself in these out of the ordinary situations, says Susi Mai, professional kiter, co-founder and president of MaiTai Global. Another kiter who was put out of his comfort zone in the 2016 edition of the race was …
