Winter Waterskiing in Washington State

[WesternSkier]

doane,

does your winter dry suit differ from your summer one?

[RichardDoane]

No, I've been wearing the same bag style, just different layerings underneath, however I'm thinking of getting an Assault hybrid style for when it starts to warm up (May/June).  People seem pretty happy with that style of drysuit for when the weather's not quite summer.

[Nick Sullivan]

Two sets today in my Assault dry suit. Never got cold with it and set a new PB today. Super nice skiing conditions today at Mint.

[RichardDoane]

[Chef23]

What were the air and water temps? The conditions looked mint.

[RichardDoane]

water was 40, air was a little higher, as long as you were in the sunshine it was beautiful, in the shade it was winter

[Bulldog]

You guys are the best, please give us winter locked skiers more to watch…..

[RichardDoane]

A rainy afternoon at the Ski Park in Orting, WA. A pair of Bald Eagles kept an eye on us today.

[RichardDoane]

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_I-Kt0bXum5I/TTJn2dBRyAI/AAAAAAAAAyE/CuXfjfEvtYc/s800/SkiParkEagles.jpg.JPG

From Cool course Pics

[RichardDoane]

[kona]

WOW I am impressed. Good work gents. I skied in the rain the other but i'm an idiot because it was suppose to be snowing. :)

[ForrestGump]

You guys are freaking ridiculous! It's 55 degrees and drizzling today in Houston. There is absolutely no freaking way my skinny ass is getting on a slalom ski even with my dry suit. 

[Dirt]

That was great! You guys are nuts. I am glad I don't live near you. I can easily be persuaded to ski, even when it is cold.

[RichardDoane]

A big "thank you" to Dan Birch, who sent me his GoPro to try this weekend. It was a lot of fun. I filmed my first 2 sets, the first came out the best, so that's the one in the video. Opener @ -28, up the line to the 4 ball @ -38, then a -35 and a -32 to the dock. OfficerFriendly performed the driving duties flawlessly, getting me through the purple loop for the first time this year (3rd set, no camera - Rats!) Water temp of 42, air of 45. As always, it was a beautiful day at the lake.

[RichardDoane]

[jjackkrash]

Wow, that was a sweet video. Great skiing.

[disland]

Best GoPro slalom video I have seen. great skiing Nice and wide, Does the silicone on the gloves really help?

[danbirch]

Great post! Thanks, Richard!

[SM]

That's some impressive skiing for those conditions. Nice video.

[Old MS Accout]

Nice yellow suit. Watching that clip reminds me of whats comming in March. Keep going RD.  

[thager]

MS,

This year I think it's going to be more like May!!

[RichardDoane]

disland - yes, the silicone really helps cut down on wind chill. It's kinda gloppy, but that's last season's gloves.

[SM]

Don't believe Brent. If he lived in Washington state, he would be waiting on the dock when you guys showed up. He doesn't even wear a wetsuit until the water temp drops below 60. I think he would fit in with the hardcore folks just fine.

[Old MS Accout]

Thager,

When all this snow melts, it will melt the ice quick. I will have 2 feet of water sitting on top of the ice.

[EF]

Bad Ass Skiing Richard!!!

Please post more video! I like the fact You can see the path your taking! Where was that mounted? /vanillaforum/js/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-cool.gif

[RichardDoane]

Dan sent me his camera all set up and adjusted on the headband strap.  He had one small float attached in case of crashing, and I also added another bungee cord and float to really insure the camera's survival (it was a borrowed and needed to be returned intact).  I didn't realize it captured sound as well, or I would've commentated more.

[Dirt]

That was the best footage I have seen yet. We took the 1st ski ride of the year yesterday. The air was 70, water 54. sunny and no wind. It was warm in a dry suit. Hottest day of the year in WA. I missed 3 openers at 2 ball, darn ski. Had to be the ski. I finally decided I was going to slowly for my fat a.s and went 36. Ran three 22s and a 28. I am paying for it today. Really sore!

[kona]

Awesome way to be keeping it real. Out here in UT we could get a snowmobile and a set of skis to go ski the course. Hmmmm

[h2oski]

Great Video!  Thats probably the only way I'll see a -38 pass from that vantage point.  Terry

[RichardDoane]

[Bulldog]

Thanks again for the video. Was it a ice or wind storm that caused the damage?

[danbirch]

Ryder speak!!! LOL...

[RichardDoane]

freezing rain after the snow = broken trees

[jipster43]

@richarddoane Montana trees are tougher than that!

[RichardDoane]

[Azzure]

Richard you rock. Being a fellow Washington Waterskier I cant even imagine skiing in the winter. Way to cold. We are still up in the mountains! But that is why you are one of the best skiers in Washington. signed your friend, the firefighter.

[Bulldog]

Nice Work! Thanks again Richard!

[eleeski]

Isn't it always winter in WA? That sounds like the typical summer days I've skied there. I'm not skiing because the water dropped below 70 and the air is barely in the 80s. You WA skiers are tough!

Eric

[Not_The_Pug]

Richard,

 

You guys are way tougher than I am now. Skied for the first time yesterday at Bell Acqua in a wet suit, water felt fine in just that. No more dry suit skiing for me. :)

 

Kevin

[RichardDoane]

[Skoot1123]

@richarddoane - love the video. Had to laugh at the reference to @OB and the Green Buoys! Good times for sure!

[RichardDoane]

It was a beautiful sunny day in Western WA yesterday, Quinn Wiley and her pals went for some ski rides on Lake Washington

 

 

[Nick Sullivan]

We are still frozen over down here Richard. Is the Broho liqued? How about Radar?

[ToddF]

Eastern Washington has an inversion No wind, No sun, No temps above freezing. No skiing here, but real soon we will be 30 degrees warmer than seattle!

[eddie_roberts_jr]

Radar could be skated on right now.

[RichardDoane]

@sully - the Broho is frozen solid, hoping for warm rain next week

[Nick Sullivan]

Mint Lake, Last night. Should be thawed out and ready to rip today. I hope...

[ToddA]

@richarddoane, hey Richard! We are going to opt out of skiing Hilltop tomorrow for some longer Lake Stevens runs! See you in the summer at the tourny.

Todd Aalbu

[bogboy]

Hi todd, Ted here, your neighbor. Give us a call anytime and we will give a pull. Our boat is always ready to go.

[bogboy]

Richard, eddy, you too!