Whats the most you've skied in a day?

[Taelan28]

Slalom skiing is so hard because a pass lasts 16 to 17 seconds and you can do at most 20 passes per day.

This was on the home page of Ballofspray. I was wondering how true it was. If 1 pass is 6 turns (am I right?) thats at most 120 cuts in a day. What the most passes/cuts you've skied in a day?

[bishop8950]

I have skied a few 4 set days. Must have run ~140 buoys.

Last year "spring training" at my parents wide open lake I skied 2 sets, each with 4 free ski "passes" of 20 turns = 160 turns. I was beat.

Normally, 2 sets, 8-10 passes, 100 turns.

At Squaw, if I assume I ride 15 chairs and make 30 turns (I bet its more) each run, then 450 turns.

KB

[Horton]

100 balls a day mostly on the blue loop is a big day of skiing for me. I know guys that ski more ... .. .

 

I rounded 6313 balls in 2011.

[Chef23]

I have done 4 sets in a day of 6 passes this is 144 buoys but I probably didn't run a full six balls in each pass. That is a lot of skiing for me.

[6balls]

Shorter lines are more difficult as well. If I keep it at 28 off I can run a mighty lot of passes.

[jimbrake]

KB - maybe 30 turns on the Saddle of KT, but if you are doing any other line on KT in 30 turns then you need to be racing Masters as you will probably win every GS, SG and DH. Were you thinking of Shirley Lake?

 

 

[bishop8950]

Jim, Squaw trivia you probably can confirm, isnt KT 22 named for 22 kick turns? I was just guessing an average top to bottom run for a chair like KT, having never actually counted turns. Even if its only 15 turns per run, we know you make a lot more turns in a day of snow skiing than waterskiing.

 

Brent, free skiing is usually easier, but I try to keep the intensity the same. And I go a lot more than 6 turns so it feels like that offsets the reduced intensity of not being in the course. I don't do it a lot but every time I do I am thinking "this is a great work out and its easier to work on a few things outside of the course, I should do it more" and I never do.

 

KB

[jimbrake]

Yes, that is the story on KT. Agree - way more turns possible on snow. On snow (free skiing) you can coast, cruise, stop, rest, etc. In the slalom course, even if you are as efficient as possible you still have to expend a significant amount of effort. Closest thing on snow would be race training on a steep, long course or skiing non-stops on a demanding, non-groomed, hill.

 

Now, how many turns on a surfboard in one day? I think yesterday I got about 5.

[bishop8950]

With you yesterday, I think I got 2 surf turns, and blew through as much energy as all day water or snow skiing. Maybe thats why I choose to ski more than surf? This said, it was still a blast and quality can trump quantity. I always said the next sport I add into the mix will not be super dependent on conditions you can not control like weather. And then I started surfing...duh

 

KB

[Jody_Seal]

Back in the day! 3 Trick set's 2 slalom set's and a jump set. Today.............. 2 Slalom sets six-eight passes Max. getting older is not for sissies!

[Than_Bogan]

Bottom line: I wouldn't restrict your ski time based on the guidelines that apply to hard-core buoy addicts.

 

I can't figure out how to say this next part without sounding like a pompous ass, so here I go! Until you've actually done short-line passes in a slalom course, it's hard to understand the intensity of such a pull.

 

An open-water recreational skier generally concentrates on the turn, because throwing water is the fun part! Building a little speed into that turn does help to throw more water, but not that noticeably.

 

So an open water skier aims the ski in the direction he wants to go and then rides it there. The force on the body is certainly noticeable, but it's also very manageable. Maybe 0.5-1.0 x body weight for a peak force might be expected.

 

When the objective becomes to get from side to side as quickly as physically possible while reaching nearly 90 degrees to the boat at the apex of the turn, the force levels go up dramatically. 3x body weight for a peak force is pretty typical. And, the "break" during the turn is almost non-existant now, as you need to keep pressure on the ski and your legs must resist the deceleration force or you'll crush.

 

While there are some he-men who can do this again and again, getting more than 20 productive slalom passes in a day is very rare in my opinion.

[Horton]

What Than said....

[Than_Bogan]

Amusing addendum: My cousin was/is a far better athlete than I am. Among many other accomplishments, he was an All-American in Div III soccer. Although he never became a total slalom addict like me, he definitely enjoyed it as a kid (and could keep pace with me with about 1/10 as much practice time -- grrr!). When introducing his buddies to slalom he would always say "there is no sport that is more tiring in under 20 seconds than a slalom pass."

[T-UP]

How many 20 productive slalom passes in one week is my question.

[baja]

6 sets of 6 passes attempted first day I was on a private lake. Didn't have enough grip or strength left to even tie my shoes for a week. At our free skiing secret spot, we once had a guy down as a guest who was a very good non-course skier but also happened to be a pro motorcycle racer. Bruce Miller, he won the Baja 500 & 1000 twice each in the early 80's and came in 2nd in the Baja 2000 in Y2K. That cat could ski 3 times farther along the river than any of us locals. I guess when you can stand up on a Honda 650 for 32 hours at 50+ mph average speed across the baja desert when you are nearly 40, then smooth water seemed easy. As Than Bogan implied above, a world class elite athlete can make it look easy.

[lpskier]

I used to ski six sets a day: two slalom, two trick and two jump. That was living, but it wasn't earning a living. Now, I ski one slalom set a day April first to October 15, +/-, every day it doesn't rain, snow or blow. Typically 8 to 10 passes per set. At 55 (age and speed), I think that is too much skiing, and I plan to ski less this season day in and day out, play more tennis and ride my bike, and see if my scores come back up.

 

@bishop8950 My son is in Incline. Loves it!

[lpskier]

Oh yeah, I was a teenager when I was skiing six sets a day.

[Ilivetoski]

I ski alot, and I mean ALOT. Each time I ski I will do about 5-6 sets of 6 passes and then 1 set at the very end when no one else is there of like 25 passes. One time my dad counted me and I did nearly 40 in one set. So yea, I ski alot.

[Than_Bogan]

@T-UP. I bet I ski fewer passes than the typical hard-core slalomer, because I'll get beat up easily and start really regressing. But anyhow, for me the limit is about 50 passes in a week. I can certainly ski more, but over time this will make me worse.

 

That's about the same limit I had when I was younger, but the difference as a 40 y.o is that in between I better do: massage therapy, lots of stretching, and a little bit of core strength and dynamic strength supplementation [e.g. jumping over things]. Skip any one of those 4 and things start locking up.

[ral]

If I do more than 12 sets a week, my buoy count and body start to get worst and not better. So I am with Than on this.

[Ham_Wallace]

After the first 50 passes we use the Jim Michaels system to make it easier for the next 50 passes.http://static.cl1.vanilladev.com/ballofspray.vanillaforums.com/uploads/FileUpload/69/62c0cb167403e89fb5a7008f3c8e1f.jpg

[Marco]

That is HILARIOUS!

[Razorskier1]

Probably the most is 4 sets, somewhere north of 300 buoys. Mix of 28, 32, 35 and shots at 38. When my brother visits for our annual water ski and beer week we probably get 250 buoys a day for 5 days straight plus somewhere around 15 beers a day (after the skiing!). We definitely start to get worse about half way through the week!

[Horton]

That is insane

[jipster43]

I had a four set day when clinicing with Jodi Fisher. At least two of those were 10 pass sets, but I was just trying to get through the course - so the intensity wasn't all that fierce.

[6balls]

That week at Razor's throw in a few barefoot laps around the lake each day as well (and who knows how many games of corn hole). One year during a storm we pulled out the 60 lb dumb bells and had a bicep curl contest, last year push-ups. Afterwards we stare out the window at the rain waiting for post storm glass.

[Than_Bogan]

Ooh! I can curl a 60-lbs dumb bell ... err ... um ... never.

 

Would that be enough to win? :)

[skier2788]

The most I have done is 16 sets 6 passes a set. So 96 passes, I know didnt run all of them so averaging 4 bouys per pass thats 384 bouys. Plus a barefoot turn and two wakeboard rounds cause I needed to clear my mind before my next slalom set. Yes it was a competition between my buddy and I. I won he tapped out at 13 sets. I ran between 22 off and 32 off.

[Taelan28]

Damn Skier and Razorskier. Those are intense. The most I've done was somewhere between 250-300 turns on the open water. I was pretty iced at the end of the day. I still had strength but i couldnt really ski at an acceptable level. The next day I was paying the price.

[Razorskier1]

Perhaps my mid-week deterioration could be due to the beer and complete lack of sleep . . .

[Razorskier1]

Taelan28. Interesting thing is that this is the only week of the year where I ski that much, drink that much, and sleep that little. After that week is over, however, my endurance jumps by 50% for the rest of the season and I will easily ski 2-3 sets a day of 12-15 passes for the balance of summer, weather and water time permitting. I guess the theory of overload training really does work!

[GAJ0004]

Barefoot two lengths of the lake which adds up to about 3 miles. 2 sets of slalom 8-10 passes each, 2 15 minute sets of trick skiing, and 2 15 minute sets of kneeboarding.

 

6 or 7 sets at day of slalom and tricks at Mike Hazelwood's ski school in 1993. I was 24 at the time.