Thoughts on Body Position Please

[davehr40]

Attached is a video, I am just getting back into skiing, about 3 weeks as of the video date, after a 20 year lay off. Skiing on a 67" Vice, factory settings, I am 5'10", 170lbs. Video is 34 mph 15'off. I am having a blast and skiing very well relative to my 20 year younger self. Would like to try and progress and thus am asking for help on where to start/highest priorities. With this form - I can consistently run 15' and 22's but only have on 28'. Getting tons of slack into 1 at 28', so basically either get only 1 ball for get deep - but basically 95% of the time get 1 ball at 28'.

 

Certainly, I feel a little too bent at the waist, stay too far back on the ski, and love to bend the knees. All things I think I did 20 years ago as well, though of course no video to prove it. I would like to nip the worst habits in the bud before I reform all the muscle memory. At the moment I feel that I can always get 15' no matter how poor my form by cranking a 2 or 4 ball, and thus the poor form (bad stack position) really catches up to me at 28'. So with a month left in the season in the PNW I would like to get the most bang for my buck - so would you 1) concentrate on stacked position at 15 and 22' even though the penalty of a missed run or ability to ski poorly and still catch up is ever present 2) keep running at 28' where all my form errors get highlighted but with the likely hood that I spend many many passes getting 1 ball, or 3) a different approach all together? Thanks for the help.

 

[6balls]

Butt lag! Get those hips up to leverage and you won't have to exert much pull effort. Helps me to get hips up to think chest up and proud, then pin my rib cage between my elbows. If my chest is up, it draws my hips up. If I think hips forward it throws my upper body too far rearward. Looks like fun as I sit here "on call" with no hope of water time today!

[rodltg2]

I dont have any advice as I can only scrap up 4 or 5 at 28 myself. But I did notice those turn bouys look huge and high. Maybe its just the video.

[andjules]

@6balls is absolutely right for the overall picture.

As for slack, ball 1 @ 28 off, my 2¢: Pull right out wide, but make your turn in a little slower/earlier, and coming off the second wake concentrate on elbows-to-vest, trying to keep your momentum outbound/across-the-course. Looks like you're taking all your speed downcourse after the wakes, with your arms out towards the boat. Lots of great reading about this all over these forums.

 

AND

Good skiing @davehr40 - great to get back to it, isn't it? Keep it up!

[sunvalleylaw]

I nothing technical to add, but was curious where in the PNW? That site looks east of the Cascades anyway. I am from the Tacoma area, and now live in the Sun Valley, ID area, so another PNW'er.

[davehr40]

thanks for the input.

 

This video was from a vacation in the Lake Roosevelt, Spokane River area, specially up river on the Spokane about 3 miles from Porcupine Bay. No idea who keeps that course there but it has been there since I was a kid in the 80's.