The Columbia River Gorge has long been the place to be for the North Hemisphere’s summer months. The cool, wet coastline and the hot, dry desert create a pressure gradient unlike anything else, providing constant winds funnelling against the river from April to October.
For many years, windsurfing was the go-to sport for the river-goers, and then kiting became hot in the early 2000’s and the scene slowly changed. Kiting has always been tough due to the gusty winds and tough launches The Gorge provides, but where the Hood River flows into the Columbia, lies a huge sandbank perfect for kiting and a great location for the Slider Project Kite Park. Recently it has become a proper world class destination for foiling, where tricky launches and gusty winds don’t matter, and you’ll find hundreds of people surfing the famous river swell.
The Slider Project is what brought me to Hood River originally, with its thriving scene and huge array of free features, it was the perfect place to hang out in the centre of the industry. Although the Slider Project is what brought me here, it is not what kept me coming back, and eventually calling it home.
The River is what kept me coming back. The diversity of what it offers to the region keeps you ever entertained and always wanting more. You can kite, wing, sup, windsurf, pocket wing, paddle or sail on the beautiful waters, and in the surroundings, the hills and mountains provide world class mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, snowboard/skiing and paragliding.
The idea behind this video was to showcase the beauty on the waters of the river, and show what I am up to during the summer months these days. With all the amazing sports we have these days, it really is just a case of choosing the best craft for the conditions. When the breeze is steady, the kite park comes alive, when it nukes, I find myself endlessly surfing the river swell from A to B, and when it’s marginal, you can explore the river by kitefoil, the fastest way around the river, and find yourself shredding the glassy waters and taking in the scenery.
So enjoy the charm of The River and make sure to visit www.prolimit.com before you plan your visit to wind sports paradise.
