Molly Savard Age: All in your head. (my driver's license says I'm 38) USA

Team Rider - Snowkite

 

Why I kite:

Snow kiting is meditation for me. I reconnect with myself, remember to trust in myself. I tune out the world's problems for hours in a healthy way. Oh, and it is really, really FUN!

Why jump?

No doubt my strength is speed. Speed in conditions a lot of people wouldn't consider going out in.  These are the conditions we usually have and that's why so many fast riders are from here. Going for speed is just the natural fit, I'm riding glare ice with a race tune on dh boards in winter winds gusting to 30-40kts. But in the last couple of years I've started playing around in the air. When we get snow I like to bust out the short twin tips and if our gusty mountain winds will allow it, I air as big as I can, attempting to dial a new "trick of the day". Jumping on frozen lakes takes a huge level of commitment and the potential for injury is very high with our lack of snow so I try to make the most out of those powder days.

What I'd like to be known for:

I'd like to be regarded as positive ambassador to our sport. Here in the little state of New Hampshire, USA we are a cozy network of snow riders. With our snowkite school we emphasize safety, personal responsibility, respect of land owners and respect of other recreational users. You know the expression, "One bad apple...". We don't advocate the "extreme" aspect of the sport, our focus is on safety , respect and FUN of course.

Windless fun

I'm a mountain biker. I've had the pleasure of riding a wave for the last 20 year that has taken me from XC riding to All Mountain to Freeride to Dh. Currently, I'm somewhere back around All Mountain/ Freeride. I dabbled in endurance road cycling, but quite frankly, I think THAT was the most dangerous form of biking there is, so I've gone back to the woods. Our new summertime counterpart to our winter snowkite school is mountain bike skills coaching and guiding.

Favourite set up?

This is HIGHLY subjective as it relies completely on surface, wind and venue. Over all, I favor arcs they work well in our gusty mountain winds. This is the main reason I ride Peter Lynn. I have to say my most fun jumping to this day is on my 19M Charger I. My fastest personal speed (56.6mph) was on a 6M proto Phantom II.

Comp results

The past couple years I've been working on getting our snowkite school, Hardwater Kiting up and running so I've not raced (officially hehe). I'm a consistent 4th place (overall men & women) in the Kitestorm race series and the top woman of all time in the Stormboarding Global Speed Ranking (56.6 MPH).
 

Why snowkite as opposed to buggy/landboard?

Well, the answer is location, location, location. We have little to no open land to land board/buggy on here. So when the lakes (40 launch sites within 1 hr drive of my house) freeze, I'm out there every day all day until the sun goes down and the wind dies. This is not to say that I wouldn't like to learn water some day, somewhere with a lot of open space and a consistent steady breeze.

 

Favourite color: (you guys spell color weird btw hehehe) Whatever doesn't show gravy or red wine stains.

Style

Dirrrty. (that's with 3 "r"s)

Vision for kite sports

I just want to share the love. I'd like to see everyone who has the urge to try a kite sport afforded that opportunity.

Other sponsors

Well, I'm the worst for going after this stuff. I guess waiting for "them" to come to you has its price to pay, but I'm proud that Ride Like a Girl and Peter Lynn have got my back.

Jumping on land

I think it all starts with getting completely dialed in on the kite. Getting to where you have the confidence to handle yourself and your kite/gear in any situation, even if something goes wrong. It's  all about progressions.  With confidence, sky is the limit. It is a mental game.

How to get more gals on land jumping?

One thing I've learned through years of mountain bike instruction is that one has "got to want it". If their heart is not really in it, they're certain to fail. Then, it's all about building up that confidence. Show 'em what's possible, keep going out there and throwing it down. Lead by example

Maintenance

I rig and pack all of my own kites. I also land and launch solo. I want to understand how EVERTHING works and how to use it before I ride. I do ride a modded bar set up and leave that to Christopher Krug's expert hand. I trust him with my life. If I tear a kite, I'm patch it up myself. If it's too bad, we call Pep! Chris also does nearly all of my ski tuning for me. When riding glare ice, you need and expert race tune so I leave that to the veteran tuner.