I have reached middle age, and want to slalom ski again...

[skibrain]

Regina. REALLY wanting to get to the other side of the slalom course to make the next buoy.

 

[firstx1017]

I could pull a picture like that off of one of my videos and look just like her - except that is before I hit the water from falling! lol

 

[milehighjc]

That. picture. is. just. insane.

Will be out with the HO in the morning, have driver and observer. Had to do a late night battery swap on the boat, that was kind of a revolting development, but far better to have found the problem at 10PM than on the ramp in the morning. Swap complete, boat is ready, I am going to make it up on the HO tomorrow!

 

[milehighjc]

Suucess! Got up on the HO ski today on my third attempt, LOVED it. Much more responsive than the Combo ski. I still was having a hard time NOT flattening the ski crossing the wake, but wow, what acceleration turning back in! It was a grin machine, had a great time with it. It was a short run, ended when I cut hard back to the wake, and picked up some slack in the rope, and couldn't hold on when the slack was taken up. By then I was too tired to get back up again. But I know I can do it now, and hopefully will be able to get up on the first try next time, and will have some more energy left for skiing.

.

 

[milehighjc]

Today's video on the new ski. Fun fun fun!

So many things to work on tho... so little time. Fall is in the air here. Hope we get a nice bout of indian summer so I have more time to work on it.

 

[firstx1017]

Major congrats Jeff! Woo hoo!!! Glad you got to go out and the battery fiasco didn't have to have you cancel things. Your video looks great! Wish I could see your turns - you need to develop a mount that will follow the rope and get your turns! How long of a rope are you using there - standard 75'?

Both the hubby and I got up on the Mid SX first time yesterday and it was WAY better than the Big Daddy! I then tried the Mid LX and I LOVED IT! It is a very short board - 60" and I am over the weight limit for this board - but I got up the first time and it was effortless! Could turn easier and was easy to be pulled by - not NEAR as sore as on the Big Daddy. We video taped and each time I was getting better. The last 2 videos did not turn out - for some reason the camera stopped as soon as I got up on one video and the other video the rope came out of the camera holder and so the camera wasn't facing me - go figure!! I couldn't wait to get home to review the videos because I felt like I was understanding how leaning with a strong hold after turning to go over the wakes made it a heck of a lot easier. But, I have no videos to refer to and we can't go anymore this summer. I was really bummed. I really liked the board so the hubby tried it and he actually was having fun on it also. It did not bump us around going over the wakes as much as the Big Daddy. So, we came home and I was on the search for some narrower skis. I found an intermediate O'Brien Impulse 66" for me with a better boot and found a Radar P66 69" for the hubby with an upgraded boot - went and picked them up today. Guess we will have to wait until next year to try these.

Here is a side by side video of the Big Daddy vs. the Mid LX - as you can see I don't bounce near as much going over the wakes. I can't wait to improve next year!!

 

[sheyski]

Your story sounds SO much like me. I think of myself having been a decent advanced intermediate slalom skier in my day. But over recent years, I just have not been able to make it happen - and not because I wasnt trying. I would try 3-5 pulls on the slalom ski, then finally give in and take a second ski. By the time I got up on the two (I would pop right out of the water) I was so tired that I would have a pretty short kind of boring session. "Forgotten how to ski" is EXACTLY how I feel. Ever since I learned to slalom (when I was about 14), I pretty much hated skiing on two. As I research this, I do think that at 55 Im getting a bit old for it, but I have no intention of giving up.

I tried blaming it on under-powered boats. Well, that didnt work out. Tried behind a Malibu towboat, no luck. When I bought my boat last year, I removed all remaining excuses. An 18' boat with a 5.7L and 19P prop is hardly underpowered.

Then I thought it was just that I needed to adjust my deep water start technique a little... well that still might be the case, but I sure have tried a lot of things with no success.

Im hoping the wide/parabolic ski is the answer in combination with weight loss and some good conditioning. The Fly High looks interesting, but not sure I could get that mounted on my boat... cabin is a bit cramped as it is. However, I may try hooking onto a tower the next time Im behind a tow boat (surely sometime this summer).

I can't believe I haven't been on this forum since I initially signed up. I totally missed your response.

I had to actually ski on 2 skis several times this summer. I put on 20 lbs over winter and even my wider ski wasn't that cooperative. I did get up a few times but I get so frustrated. I could get up on my wooden ballet ski with no issue but I guess the slalom ski is just narrow enough to make deep ups challenging.

OldJeep is also right that you can't carve with the pole. But at least it helps your pride a little bit to get out of the water with it

This winter I'm losing weight the right way and enjoying my "skinny slalom" again (KD3000) next summer!!

 

[milehighjc]

It has been an exciting summer for me...Getting up on the combo slalom in July, then on the HO in September was a huge victory for me. I think the biggest contributing factors were:

• Weight loss... dropped 20lbs from April to Sept. I dont think it was even so much the absolute weight, I think it was that there was less of me being a giant sail in the water.
• Slalom trainer rope. I really didnt think I needed it, I never really had a problem with the ski wandering, but I cant ignore that success came on the first trip with it.
• Maybe the most important... staying back on the ski during the hole shot. I really thought I knew how to get up on a slalom, but it had been MANY years. I think my biggest error was trying to muscle myself up as soon as the ski started to plane - which would result in the ski sinking, an then me getting pulled over the top of the ski and/or yanking the rope out of my hands. I sit WAY back in the water now, and make myself as small as I can. When I think it is time to stand up, I do at least another five count before I even attempt to stand up. It has worked.

Next season is going to be all about form and conditioning. I need to build more stamina (hard to say that at 55 now, 56 then) so I can ski longer. The season after that hopefully is a towboat, and getting into surfing.

 

[firstx1017]

What fun Jeff! I will have to tell you that I got my hubby into trying to slalom ski now - he has been wakeboarding for 9 years and double skiing for 15 - never has tried a slalom ski. We were able to go out last weekend for our last outing of the year - I had to wear a wetsuit - brrrr! This is his 3rd time - I think he's doing great - I'm sooo jealous! I have a question maybe you can answer - I notice when I am skiing that I have a lot of water spraying into my face and legs while skiing - is this because I am going too slow? Am I too far back on the ski (should I move my boot forward more? My husband has really gotten into this and he can't wait until next summer - and he will be 61 next year! Us gummers have to stick together! :joyous:

 

[skibrain]

Just because we're qualified for the senior discount doesn't mean we have to eat off that menu.

Yes slalom skis tend to throw water forward and that water gets thrown up in your face when your ski isn't on edge. Faster will cause the ski to ride higher in the water. When the ski is on edge, the water will be thrown to one side or the other. Both of those things help. (Your husband gets less spray in the face because he is more decisively edging the ski) How fast are you skiing now?

 

[firstx1017]

Yes, I'm jealous he is picking this up so quickly! I was doing 25 mph and he was doing 28 mph. We want to get used to this speed before going faster. I told the hubby I was pulling him at 25 mph when in fact it was 28 mph - so when he was done I asked him if the speed was okay and he said yes, then I told him I was actually doing 28 - he was shocked! Next summer we hopefully can progress faster.

 

[milehighjc]

Update : The addiction continues. Had a great season last year, gained a little weight late in the summer, and boy did I notice it on the start. I have decided that my days of slalom are probably numbered, and while my Crownline has served me well, I want more space, a better ski wake, and the ability to start surfing. Net, we are planning to upgrade to a cross over (Malibu 22 VLX with a diamond hull is the current target). I expect to have a much flatter wake when trimmed for skiing, with smoother water between the wakes.

I plan on learning to surf, and expect that I will transition to surfing over the next 3-5 years. But... I sure hope I have at LEAST another 3-5 years of good slalom in me.

 

[gt2003]

Your days of skiing aren't even close to being numbered...UNLESS it's a VERY HIGH number! I turn 48 in 5 days and just got up again on slalom maybe 3 years ago this July. So, get after it! I'm in the process of dropping a little of the winter PUDGE right now and plan to be on the water by April 15th and I can't wait. I've played in the slalom course the last couple of years, am still terrible at it but finally catching on a little bit. I plan to run the course at 15 off this year so my slalom days are just getting started. I read about many die hard slalom skiers who continue well into their 60's and older!

 

[milehighjc]

Your days of skiing aren't even close to being numbered...UNLESS it's a VERY HIGH number! I turn 48 in 5 days and just got up again on slalom maybe 3 years ago this July. So, get after it! I'm in the process of dropping a little of the winter PUDGE right now and plan to be on the water by April 15th and I can't wait. I've played in the slalom course the last couple of years, am still terrible at it but finally catching on a little bit. I plan to run the course at 15 off this year so my slalom days are just getting started. I read about many die hard slalom skiers who continue well into their 60's and older!

Well, I am 57 now, so 60's are not far off (ugh). I will stay on the slalom as long as I can tolerate the pain of the falls, and I am not close to that yet. But... I do have the winter pudge to get rid of too. Actually, mine is a bit more than a pudge, I want to shed 20lbs before watersports REALLY gets serious. Also, I am just a recreational free skier - which doesnt mean that I dont make aggressive cuts, just that I am not running courses any more. It is going to be interesting to see what the wake behind this V-drive will be like. Pretty sure it will be better than my Crownline was, but it will be nowhere near as good as a DD.

 

[Mellisa7]

I am approximately your same age, size and shape. No way I can get up on my old slalom ski. But I have a Big Easy slalom ski that works great. You can't cut hard like you could on a regular ski, but you will be up and out of the water before the boat moves 10 feet. Im in a Rinker Captive 350 also.....

 

[pnwboat]

I'm 62 and have been skiing on and off through the years. Mostly off because I didn't own a boat. About 7 years ago, my wife wanted to live by a lake so we purchased a house close to a lake and also bought an old Bayliner Cobra with an outboard cheap. Didn't want to put a lot of money into water sports and it has worked out good for what we do. Needless to say we started skiing again pretty much on a regular basis. My wife uses two ski's and we taught our daughter how to ski using two also. I ski slalom, and the daughter is trying to get the hang of slalom skiing but hasn't quite gotten there yet.

About 3 years ago, I finally bought a dedicated slalom ski and have really enjoyed it ever since. I had been using the slalom ski from a combo set. I have to say that it's harder to get up on the dedicated slalom ski than the slalom ski from the combo set. For me it boils down to technique. If my balance or technique is off a bit with the newer ski, it takes a lot more effort to get up. The older slalom ski seemed to be a little more forgiving in that respect. It's really puzzling because both ski's are the same length and width, although once you're up, the newer ski is much faster and able to cut harder.

After a day of skiing, the old body does feel a little more beat up than in my younger years, but it's still worth the fun to continue to do it.

I've tried some wake boarding and find that it's a lot of fun too, although I'm not very good at it, and seen quite a few folks with inboards doing the wake surfing thing but I prefer the speed of the slalom.