Northern kite-skier pitching Great Slave Lake as premier destination for the sport

If you're in Yellowknife and need to get to Behchokǫ̀, you'd probably drive.

But adventurers Eric McNair-Landry and Clementine Bouche have another way to travel to communities on the shores of Great Slake Lake in the N.W.T. in winter — kite skiing. 

It involves an 18-square-metre kite, skis, a harness and sometimes a sled with supplies. 

Having made several kite-skiing trip across Great Slave Lake already — including to Hay River and Łútselk'e — McNair-Landry says he thinks the N.W.T. could be a world-class destination for the sport, especially with the combination of the big lake and lodges to support visiting kiters.

"There's so many different options and so many trails that you can do," he said. "I really think that this could be a premier location for kite skiing."

Red Bull sponsors a kite-skiing festival in Norway that McNair-Landry said has been dwindling and he hopes to pitch Great Slave Lake for future events.

It's not something typically done at night, but with the lights from nearby houses, McNair-Landry does sometimes zip around Yellowknife's Back Bay to ride under the northern lights. He attaches LED lights to his kite, adding his own kind of northern lights to the landscape.  

"Hopefully nobody's reported some UFO sightings," he said. 

Bouche is relatively new to the sport. She's been training with McNair-Landry to learn the technique and be able to go on expeditions of her own.  

One challenge, she said, are the ice ridges that form along the frozen lake — some three or four metres high.  

"Crossing those while managing a kite, while managing a sled, can be quite challenging," she said. 

But Bouche said the sport supports her interest in exploring and going on adventures. 

McNair-Landry says those ice