I've dodged a lot of hazards in my years of skiing—boulders, stumps, death cookies (ice chunks that snag ski tips)—but this was the first time I ever had to worry about hitting an ice-fishing hole. Then again, I'm not at Whistler or Vail; I'm sliding across Squirrel Lake in northern Wisconsin. Number of lifts: zero. Vertical feet: zero.

My speed comes not from gravity but from the wind that fills my bright parasail. When an ice-fishing hole looms, I roll onto the edges of my mid-fats and carve a GS turn around it. Scudding nearby is my guide and instructor, Dan Clausen. He dips into a tele turn and screams past me on the opposite reach.

Kite skiing—a cold-weather cousin to kite boarding—may be new to most Americans, but Europeans have been at it for years. The sport's adaptability may be its biggest draw. No need for mountains: You can kite ski with Nordic or Alpine gear across any wide-open space—fields, meadows, even golf courses, where you can grab big air off bunkers.

Kite-skiing hot spots include Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire and Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota. Clausen takes advantage of Wisconsin's hundreds of frozen lakes. "We skate-ski through the woods," he says, "then if we get to a lake and the wind is up, we sail across." And maybe do a little ice fishing along the way.

—Tina Lassen

CONTACT: Minocqua Winter Park & Nordic Center (+1 715 356 1099; www.skimwp.org). Private kite-skiing lessons are $40 per person per hour.