Well, she’s definitely the most determined in Quebec anyway. Who else would get out there in the middle of winter and train like she does?

Remember not everyone in the world is enjoying 35 degree afternoons with brilliant blue skies. While we’re sweating in a pair of boardies, kiteboarders like Catherine Dufour are freezing her you-know-what off in a drysuit, gloves and beanie, just so she can train.

Yes that’s right, it’s called training for her, for all kite racers in fact. That little transition from ‘going for a ride’ to ‘going to training’ is what sets the racers apart from the freeriders. In order to keep up, racers are constantly pushing to ride faster, drive the fins harder and milk every last molecule out of the available air flowing over their kite. Not to mention the money involved to fly all over the world attending races and events.

If you’ve ever had that sense of competitive drive, you’ll know why Miss Dufor is so persistent to get a training session in. But in conditions below freezing, in driving snow and howling wind, one does wonder whether it’s just a little crazy.

Don’t feel too bad though, Catherine has been spending a bit of time in Brazil and Mexico throughout the year doing some fair weather training. She says her goal is “to kite race in the greatest number of places, in conditions that vary as much as possible in order to defy nature, to adapt and to perform.” No easy task when you’re not being paid to do it!

Amongst the racing in water though, this racer-girl is also one of the fastest on snow. In snow-kite racing that is. This winter time version of endurance and slalom kite racing is nothing like you’ve ever seen here in Australia. Using the local terrain to race through, snow kite racing is a little more involved than negotiating your way around a race track in choppy water. Imagine having to navigate around entire mountains in order to get around a marker, while you’re freezing cold, can’t see through the snow and traveling at over 25 knots. Sounds like fun!

Feeling cold yet? Check out the video below to see what we’re talking about, up in Quebec (that’s in Canada, don’t be fooled by the French!) it’s the middle of winter right now, so things aren’t exactly hospitable…

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