New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

[wired1236]

THANKS TO YOU EXPERIENCED SKIERS!

For those of us (relativlely) older people, I just had to post that I'm a 39 yr old that just got up on the salom ski yestday for the 1st time! I know there are many older people out there who still strap them on and do it with much better skill than I but for all that are thinking it's a young person's sport and it's too late to learn...no way.

We just got into boating last year. We put a tower on it and the wife and I began wakeboarding right away. It's a pretty easy sport to begin and It's been fun but every so often she would put the ski on and I would have to just watch. (She has been skiing sicnce she was a kid.) It's been really bugging me that I couldn't do it so last summer I gave it a go and hurniated a disk trying! I had to have surgury last Oct and have since healed up. So, last night the water was too smooth not to give it another go. I had read some techniques here and watched some YouTube vids and presto, I was up after the 3rd try! No, I'm no pro but I can get around on it pretty good now, (have always skied on frozen water).

Moral of the story? Well, if it looks like fun, there's nothing stopping you but your own doubt. BUT do your homework first! Don't be a moron and just strap them on and yell "hit it"! Keep trying until you get up and if you get tired, try it another day. You'll get it.

 

[skargo]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

Awesome! I tried to get up on 2 for the first time in over 10 years a week or so ago, but my leg cramped up. Can't wait to try again, and can't wait to get up on a slalom ski again.
I'm 43!

 

[farmermark]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

I am going to be 50 and plan on trying it this weekend. Bought a boat and can't wait to try. My skiis came last night and look sweet for combo or slalom skiing so I can't wait for the weekend. My wife is 48 and she went two weekends ago behind our friends boat and she got right up. She didn't get sore either because we ride bike for exercise normally. Can't wait!

 

[wired1236]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

Good luck. I'm sure you'll do fine. Just keep that back straight,chest out, and knees bent.

 

[chum1]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

ha ha....Hit it!! works for me

I was able to still get up on one ski the other day ( no easy task being middle aged and slightly heavier)

you definitely want to try to learn this skill as a youngster even if its a piece of crap boat or give those youngsters in your life the opportunity to learn, they will thank you forever.

 

[wanna-be]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

come-on guys, im 55 and did a deep water start for the first time in forty (40)years. yea i skiied as a kid 40+ years ago and last year started skiing again. practiced lifting one ski for 100 yards before kicking it off and goin slalom. took a fell and my son wouldn't give me the other ski. they thought they would make fun of me but instead i showed those teens how its done and gained some respect, of myself anyway...i had big doubts. but did it like i was 15 years old. it was awesome. if i never slalom agian, put it on my grave stone.

 

[Adirondack]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

Hey guys, glad to hear your getting it done. Don't let age make a difference. Just keep yourself in reasonable shape, and once you do it you always can. I'm 53, and can pull it off like I was 23. (well in my mind anyway). But get this. Pops is 79! Skied last year. He won't try slalom any more, but he says the day he can't strap on two and take a turn around the lake will be the day his ashes are going in it. Yea, he's a pip. If he gets the urge this year, and is successful I'll have video.

 

[jerrygable]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

Don't let age worry you too much -- I will be 60 in two months and I just re-learned to slalom after about 20 years off. We purchased a 19ft Bayliner with 4.3 V6 3 months ago. My wife and I have really been enjoying it since that time. She has rheumatoid arthritis so she is using two skis, but I was able to get up with one on my 4th try. We do stay in shape by bicycling so that helps.

I believe general conditioning is more important than age.

Good luck.

 

[convergent]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

I guess this is the geezer thread! I am 49 and got back into boating this year after being out for probably 20 years. I used to slalom ski recreationally back then. Since Memorial Day, I've been enjoying so much more time with my kids and two of them have gotten pretty good on a slalom ski - 14 year old daughter and 18 year old son. This past weekend we tried for the first time to pull them both at the same time and they had a real hoot trying to spray each other.

Anyways, I have been dropping one this summer but hadn't successfully done a deep water start until on Labor Day. It took more horsepower on the boat, and we did get a real slalom ski and that combo made the difference. The combo ski (Obrien Celebrity) isn't bad to ski on but the bindings I think were too far back and I was having a hard time pushing it over onto plane. Both my kids greatly improved as soon as I put them in real slalom skis. Its a good time of year to get them too... Overtons had them marked way down last weekend.

Nothing beats the adrenaline rush of slalom skiing on smooth water, and I don't like flying in the air so wakeboarding doesn't do it for me.

 

[skibrain]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

That is great to hear. Like a lot of things, just doing MORE of it helps. BTW Great looking boat. I'm a big fan of F/S and have done a lot of skiing behind them. The flat carpeted areas both front and back serve as great areas to gear up. Nice flat wake too.

 

[EricJRW]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

Thanks for the inspiration guys. 50 here. Skied on two skis for the first time in a long time last weekend. It was an odd feeling, but I did OK. Managed to get out first try and even skied through the wake a few times. Did not drop until I was ready too. Then my friend gets up on one (she's been skiing forever). Wow it looks so graceful. Definitely want to give it a try, but my past experience of getting out of the water on one ski has not been so good (never have, only time I've been on one ski is when I dropped one, and that's not an option). I think I'll go look for those videos.

 

[convergent]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

A couple of things to try. Get a slalom trainer ski rope. They have a little triangle of rope in the front that will help hold the ski straight until you are on plane. Also, they make some wider skis now that are easier to get up on. I was having a lot of trouble trying to get up on one of the combo skis and was debating getting a regular slalom ski or one of the wider ones. Ended up going with the regular kind, and together with the rope and a little more horsepower on the boat I finally got up. You said kicking one wasn't an option... why not? I did that much of the summer and I got to where I'd actually do it about 5 seconds after I got up so we'd usually start off to the side in a cove and I'd kick it before the boat was even up to full speed so it was easy to find it later and it stayed out of the channels.

 

[EricJRW]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

What happens to that triangle of rope once you are up? I'm having a hard time picturing it.

 

[WildH2Oskier]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

When you rise out of the water your ski just stays in the water and the rope rises up with the rest of you. You'll see.

 

[convergent]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

It does just pop off as you are coming up, once the tip of the ski goes down far enough, and by then you are planed off on the ski and don't need the aid any longer. I actually had the hardest time trying to use that rope at first. I used to get up normally years ago, and wasn't having trouble keeping the ski straight ... just couldn't get it over onto plane. My son learned with the triangle thing and kept telling me to try it. At first, it wasn't helping, but eventually it did... not sure what was different.

My daughter is driving for me when I'm skiing most of the time and I'm not sure she's really using the best technique either. For several outings I couldn't get her to go full throttle with me so she was just dragging me... I kept telling her full throttle and she was having a mental block on it. Now I think she's going to full too quickly. I have been paying more attention to what I do when driving to teach her, and once they are ready, I do a gentle rope tighten, then pull them with a little more for a split second, and then go swiftly to full throttle... then slowly back it off as they get out of the water. I am watching in the mirror carefully at the beginning to make sure they are squared up.

 

[EricJRW]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

Good point about the driver... My friend's very good at it. Maybe that was my problem in the past... A less skilled driver.

 

[wired1236]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

We're using the v-rope. It works good for me. Haven't even tried it w/o it so not sure how I'd do. I tell the wife to hit it full throttle after a few seconds of "in-gear" drag. With her, I ease through the throttle as her arms can't take the full pull right off the line. She's touchy and I hear about it if I don't get it just right.

But man, I half to say, it makes getting up on a board feel SO EASY!!

 

[Bullcamp]

Re: New to Slalom-but feeling much younger now

I'm feeling younger too.