We’d wanted to ride The States for a while so when the NABX(North american Buggy expo)on the dry lakes of Nevada, reared its head for another year, we decided to take it on. And as luck may have it. The OSKM at Skyline in Utah just so happened to be around the same time.. Sweeeet!!,

Our crew was small, Dan Vaughan , Ozone UK buggy freestyle maestro, Jamie Clayton, team photographer, my lovely wife Shelly, and Myself, Butch.

First stop was the OSKM at Skyline, Utah, situated at one of the most breathtaking backcountry locations the states has to offer, boasting a myriad of snowkite playgrounds. The 2 day event rocked! With the biggest turnout for a snowkite event in the states to date. Moderate winds buffeted the slopes and event village as kiters of all skill levels ripped up the snow with all kinds of spins grabs, kiteloops and passes. Leading the way was the man himself, Chasta, boosting bigger and further than anyone else dared with his own unique style. An awesome spectacle to behold nomatter how experienced you are.

One last session on the Monday after the event and we were off, driving back down south 6 hours to the NABX, at Ivanpah dry lake, 35mins south of Vegas.

HARDCORE, is the only word to describe the surface we had to ride on. Fast, hard, grippy and unforgiving dont even come close. Full armour jacket, gloves, pads and helmets are a necessity here, as is a huge set of Kahunas for freestyling on such a gnarly surface.

The MBS crew turned up with a range of kickers and rails, but were ill prepared for when Phat Dan Vaughan launched his buggy straight off the back of their pickup, soaring thru the air to start off a huckfest of mammoth proportions. Kites, buggies and boards flying in all directions with, Christoph Riddle and Zebulon from the US ozone team ripping HARD, while Dan and myself represented the UK crew, tearing up the dirt like maniacs, whilst Eli Anderson filmed it all and spurred the boys on to bigger and better things whilst nursing his injuries.

The entire trip was epic! and we came back to the UK with a renewed zest for our land based day jobs.

Look out for the full story coming soon in PowerKite mag.

Cheers

Butch

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