Dysfunctional Beauty
Warm water was obsolete, sunshine was a memory left in a rainy haze and dry wetsuits were an unspoken dream. This trip was not about comfort or serenity, more like endurance and extremity. It was about braving conditions that would help dignify our ego. It was about the cold; it was about Iceland.
Point of view
"Riding in front of a glacier and in between icebergs in a 6mm wetsuit makes you feel small and humble.”
TEAM RIDER
Camille Delannoy
Off the Grid
Ozzie and Camille were stoked when they heard Iceland was on the table. As were we. When the perfect conditions hit in May, the whole crew was on board a flight to Reykjavik.
People flock to Iceland for its dramatic landscapes. In recent years, we’ve returned to our roots and found inspiration in the north. To be in Iceland and shoot there was a dream, but we wanted to capture its raw side instead. Everybody’s seen the picture-perfect version of Iceland, but not its chaotic side.
Unspoken Dreams
We rented a camper van and a 4x4 for the week. As the trip progressed, it became clear to us that Iceland is not the easiest place to kite. Winds would change course around every corner and drop without notice. From the trials and errors of trying to find the best locations to kite the whole time, we said - screw it, let’s just kite wherever there’s wind. This changed the whole dynamic of the trip from perfect locations to abstract locations.
We kited everywhere and we mean everywhere. In a riverbed with a waterfall and its laced legs sheeting down next to them. Upstream between pebble stones. Offshore between houses. The precious glacier lagoons. Anywhere.
Point of view
“I remember coming out of the water at 2 am and couldn’t believe my eyes. What a time to be alive.”
TEAM RIDER
Oswald Smith
BLOG POST
Iceland Antidotes
Final thoughts on kiting this frozen sanctuary? Our response might surprise you. Read Oswald Smith's journal entry covering the ups, downs, lefts, and rights of Iceland. As seen in the latest KiteMag Issue #50.