How to deal with wake bouncing off steep shorelines

[TallSkinnyGuy]

I am planning on buying a portable slalom course for next season and have been researching lakes in my area to determine where I can use one. I live in the Sierra Nevada foothills in Northern California and the public lake closest to me (and most public lakes near me where I could use a portable course) were built in dammed ravines. This means they are usually deep and they have very steep shorelines.

 

This hasn't been a big problem when freeskiing because you can travel a mile or so in one direction before turning around and by then the wake rebound has settled down. Obviously, this is different with a slalom course where you are going back and forth in the same spot. I'm hesitant to go forward with purchasing a portable course if I can only ski one pass and then have to wait 5-10 minutes for the water to settle down before I can do the next pass.

 

Has anyone else been in my situation and figured out something to help with the wake bouncing problem?

[TylerR]

I ski an anchored course on Openwater in Alabama that is right next to the shore. There is probably a 3:1 rise there and it dies down after about 40 to 50 seconds at each end during the calm days. How bad of a ratio are you talking about? Is it possible to set the course up so you are farther out from the shore?

[A_B]

You won't be able to get anything to stop backwash that is portable and practical. How wide is the lake? I would put the course as close to one side as possible, so by the time you settle at one end, the other end should already be clear, and the wait would be minimal. Now, when it hits the far side and comes back, that would be the problem.

[ToddF]

I would locate a couple of spots that you think will work, do a few imaginary passes, drop and go back, take note of the rollers, it that spot sucks go try the other options, at least you can do that before you buy the course and locate the best option.

 

I am thinking a place like Bullards would have a few options, although it has been a while since I have been there.

[TallSkinnyGuy]

There are a few different potential locations for the course. The best from a boat traffic standpoint is up a river arm, but it is narrow and the wake bounces off both sides back and forth for a while. As you suggested, I was thinking it might be best in a wide part of the lake and set it up far enough from one shoreline to get in two passes before the wake bounces back from the nearest shore. Perhaps I should just do some experimenting and go back and forth in various potential spots before buying a course.

[BCM]

@TallSkinnyGuy‌ there are a handful of courses in some of the reservoirs in the foothills. I skied on one of them for 10+ years. My experience, it is lots of fun to ski on the lake. I skied with good people and always had a great time. The bad, its never going to ski like a tournament lake, never. You will get rollers, the water is deep and clean and isn't the easiest to ski in. Then add in boat traffic. The lake I skied in has a continuously changing lake level (currently the course area is dry...) and even a couple feet of change in the water level could change things drastically.

 

Every day was a different animal. Some days you had to wait for several minutes, others you would knock out 2-3 passes quickly and then wait for 5 minutes for things to settle.

 

I now ski on a private site a days drive away, but love to go home and ski with family and friends on the public lake. Some of my best skiing memories are on the public site.

 

Send me a PM with some more info on your location and I may be able to put you in touch with some people who run some of the public lake clubs. If the water comes up next season, I would go ski some of those sites before buying a portable. Also, we free skied on the local reservoir for almost 10 years before finding the slalom course and associated club. It was tucked way back in a cover far from the ramp.