A Harrison man who co-founded a wilderness education program in the White Mountains died in a snowkiting accident Monday. Adam Tsapis, 49, was remembered Tuesday for the zest with which he lived.

The founding partner of Summit Achievement, a residential treatment center in Stow for troubled adolescent youth from around the world, Tsapis was snowkiting on Crystal Lake on Monday morning around 11 when a gust of wind caused him to lose control and strike a metal shed near his home.

He was taken to Bridgton Hospital and then flown to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, where he died of his injuries, Chief Deputy Naldo Gagnon of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release. Tsapis is survived by his wife and four children. 

In a post on Summit Achievement’s Facebook account, Tsapis was described as a man with limitless energy and enthusiasm for everyone he met. 

“Adam was known not only for his passion for helping kids and families, but also for his infectious grin, raucous laughter, quick mind, sharp wit, entrepreneurial spirit and encyclopedic knowledge of both the relevant and the arcane,” the statement read. 

In a phone interview Tuesday morning, Mik Oyler, an executive director at Summit, said the organization was respecting the family’s request for privacy, and directed questions toward the prepared statement. 

According to the release, Tsapis was raised in New York and educated in Berkeley, Calif. He had more than 25 year of experience working with adolescents in wilderness treatment therapy.

“Although he often quipped that his favorite job at Summit Achievement was being the owner who got to mow the lawn, the fact is that Adam’s influences can be found in nearly every aspect of the program he co-founded, where he dedicated almost 20 years to helping kids and families through what were often the most trying times of their lives,”  the release stated.

An outdoors enthusiast, Tsapis was a former ship captain, hockey player, sailor and delivery captain. He co-founded Summit in 1996, and in the late 2000s served on the School Administrative District 17 board of directors. 

As the name suggests, snowkiting is a combination of sailing, skiing or snowboarding, and kite flying. It is unlike downhill or cross-country skiing, and involves operating a hand-held bar attached by a long cord to a wind sail, which in turn is strapped to the waist. Riders often coast atop downhill skis or a snowboard, harnessing the wind speeds to zoom a across a frozen lake or field. 

Zebulon Jakub, 35, who has been teaching snowkiting out of North Conway, N.H., since 2004, said that despite high rates of speed that make the sport enjoyable, injuries are relatively rare.

Jakub said he had heard of Tsapis but had never ridden with him. His death, Jakub said, had caused ripples of concern in the sporting community.

Almost all systems have a pull-release cord, which disengages the user from the kite. However, if an unexpected gust of wind catches the kite, the rider can suddenly be rocketed forward or lifted into the air, he said, recalling that he once was cruising steadily at 55 mph when a sudden gust of wind propelled him to 75 mph. Average wind speeds in Harrison on Monday were 8 mph and topped out at 24 mph, according to Weather Underground. 

“You may only have half a second to a second to shut the situation down,” Jakub said.

Eric Heath, of Bridgton, called Tsapis a close friend who coached youth hockey with him. As an outdoorsman, he was passionate, snowkiting when there was wind and hitting the slopes when there wasn’t.

“It’s a crushing blow,” Heath said. “He was a hell of a good man and is very badly missed. It’s going to take a toll outside and inside of the kiting community.” 

Fundraising in Tsapis’ memory is underway, according to the statement, and those with questions are directed to contact Will White at [email protected].