People are always trying to take our humble past time of snowboarding to new heights (ho ho ho) but none really seem to work. The beauty of sliding sideways is in its simplicity: all you need in essence is a board, something to fix yourself on to it with and the means to stay warm and dry.

We received this edit in our digital mailbox the other day: snow-kite-boarding, seemingly at the other end of the spectrum from simplicity. Wires, harnesses and wind gusts are all a complex part of this off-shoot from our simple version of shredding.

A hundred foot airs are all well and good, but there is a world of difference from what’s going on here to Travis Rice/John Jackson launching themselves into the snowy abyss.

There is an argument for what this sport does lack – a need for uplifts, a hill etc. – and it has to be said that a powder slash looks just as good however you’re achieving it.

For us anyway, once again this might just be too far from what we reckon snowboarding is, but what do you guys reckon?

Could you see yourselves taking this up instead of a riding holiday next winter? Could this be the way that Scotland finally embraces the inherent wind? Angus Leith attached to a kite? There’s something to be said for the image alone…