Speed riding: skiing with WOOPY

Last year I wrote about a new extreme winter sport of speed riding/flying, and since it was not something I was able to try any time soon, I kind of forgot about. But a recent post on the Adventure blog, reminded me about this sport, and it looks like it's making its way in the United States.

As I wrote in my post, speed riding is a combination of skiing and paraglding. But the sport is so new that it can be difficult to find equipment and gear, especially in the United States, especially, considering that it's not the same gear used for paragliding or kite boarding.

But when I was looking for more information on speed riding and gear, I came across this:

It's called The Woopy, an inflatable wing - part balloon, part paraglider—used in speed riding. According to the designer ( Laurent de Kalbermatten ), the pilot can begin soaring across the slopes at speeds as low as 20Km/h. allowing the skier or snowboarder to glide very long distances or jump incredibly high.



As I've just said, the sport of speed riding is incredibly new , and the only place you can try speed riding ( AND WOOPY ) is in Switzerland. But from the video in the Adventure blog ( shot in Utah ), I won't be surprised to see those wings at US ski resorts any time soon.