Early Edge Change

[Horton]

@cragginshred made a comment in another thread about wanting to change edges earlier. I think this is an interesting subject that I am not sure has ever been really flushed out in this forum. I see lots of skiers at all levels who struggle with pulling too long. I think there are a lot of causes and effects.

 

For me I very much struggle with pulling too long through the gates at my hardest passes. Of course there are a lot of factors a the gate. The best coaching I have gotten in a long time was to keep my shoulders more level to keep from overloading and pulling too long ( @twhisper ).

 

I also very much like the idea of bringing my head up higher off the water as early as the first white water. In my mind the goal is not so much a early edge change as it is a long slow transition that starts as early as possible. When I am successful the result is a very early line to the next ball.

 

Any of you smart guys have comments?

 

 

[ozski]

In my opinion pulling longer than you need to is often but not always a by product of not enough angle. Its much easier to move early with the right amount of angle off the buoy.

[Wish]

@AdamCord @adamhcaldwell seem to have fare, flushed out explanations of this on why, when and where edge change happens as its not so much something that is done but rather a result. I believe they have written several posts on this.

 

[Marco]

As @wish states- edge change is a result, not an action. It is a function of load, compression, and release. Earlier load and compression leads to earlier release= edge change. Snow skiers experience this as rebound.

 

[6balls]

Regardless I like @horton's concepts above. A little more open to keep from overloading which may either stick you on edge too long or create too abrupt a release. Head a little higher at first wash is probably a way to just begin to come up so that the edge change does then happen earlier. The beginning of an edge change is not an edge change at all but rather starts as progressively less leaning edge.

[Adam Caldwell]

@HORTON, here is my take- appologize for the long response.

 

IMO, The issue isn't so much pulling to long, its too much ski-angle for too long regardless of edge.

 

Something that seems to be rarely covered at all is 'direction change', and is ultimately more important then changing edges. @Than_Bogan is learning a lot about the importance of this in pole vaulting during the transition into the takeoff at plant.

 

If you are a strong RFF skier or LFF and can get the ski to hit reach near 90 deg before CL, rolling the ski from one edge to the next is practically pointless if it remains on a very high angle of attack relative to the course as it crosses through CL.

 

If the skis trajectory is straight at the bank, the handle is going to force early core-separation as the handle path and ski path are not congruent. Which edge of the ski in the water is a mute point. The attack-angle or direction of the ski is important. If the ski has excessive angle after CL, you will become separated early, kill the swing up around the pylon and less space and time at the ball.

 

Conversely, if just a moment before CL you can focus on not 'changing edges' early, but rather, change the direction your ski is pointing, you will end up with a completely different scenario. You'll notice that it is entirely possible to pull-long (think mapple) without getting separated, AND without having an abrupt edge change that will shift COM inward prematurely and kill your ability to maximize width at apex.

 

@Horton, the reason the 'keep your shoulders more level" works well for RFFs is that the more option position to the boat at CL helps rotate the hips (leading hip can move forward) and effectively take angle and edge pressure away from the ski as it comes under the body through CL. This allows the ski to change directions more easily, travel more closely with the handle path, and keeps the core connected to the handle on a longer during the swing around the pylon. If you can change the skis direction (prevent it from going to the bank after CL), your less likely to separate and lose swing speed, this allows you to carry more energy up on the boat and have more space&time and the ball. Remember the infamous "Handle control" conversation? Just change the skis direction earlier, and handle control will take care of itself. Dont worry about changing edges. The edge isn't as critical as the direction is.

 

By changing direction rather then changing edges, the roll rate from edge to edge will slow down in the preturn which will create a wider, earlier apex.

 

Mapple was phenomenal at this. It is what allowed him to stay so connected to the handle, and by definition be 'pulling long', but somehow always had TONS of space and time at the ball with no slack. He could PULL LONG without the upper half and lower half of the body disconnecting from the line. Mapple was still highly loaded against the centripetal force well after CL and second wake, but his ski was not pointing at the bank. He changed the skis direction very early without giving anything up to the boat and was still pulling/swinging on the line with the ski pointing directly at his target apex. Nate is also another great example of this. His ski is closing in on 90degs on the first white wash, but before CL the skis 'direction' begins changing very early and very aggressively, with a much slower rate of roll into the preturn.

 

Because of the vantage point, this is hard to see from sitting in the boat. But if you go back and watch any high level 36mph shortline skier you can pick up on the subtleties of it.

 

 

[Wish]

Can't remember which Adam challenged me to ski as I normally do but at or before CL decide and try to ski at or inside the buoy. Eye opener.

 

Another thought I heard which I liked. You can pull as long and as hard as you like on the line past the second wake but there cannot be any load on the ski past centerline .,,aka it's changing direction/transitioning/changing edge.

 

Both require things happening correctly before first wake. Doing the opposite of those is gonna cause issues.

 

I still can't rap my head around the pole vault analogy.

[6balls]

@adamhcaldwell very cool insights...funny how things said in a different way than before somehow resonate I like this a lot!

[andjules]

@wish @adamhcaldwell those are some interestingly counter-intuitive (and counter-ski-culture) thoughts. Reminds me of something Chris Rossi wrote a long time ago about not trying to ski an unskiable path.

[Adam Caldwell]

@andjules

 

Its not counter ski culture by an means. Its more part of the missing links and holes that exist in a lot of theory.

 

[andjules]

@adamhcaldwell right, I suppose I mean that decades of ski marketing has (over?) emphasized the importance of "generating incredible angle", so much so that we imagine pointing 90º from the boat is the ultimate goal and the means by which we'll get "wide and early", while under-emphasizing how we transition that cross-course angle from the CL to the apex.

[Adam Caldwell]

@andjules - YES 100%. Very well put.

[Terry Winter]

@adamhcaldwell what is it that you do with your body to get that ski to change direction? I agree that there is a more optimal line or path to ski the course, and it’s not always about getting the most angle or pointing the ski across the course as much as possible. At some point the angle becomes unmanageable no matter how much physical effort we put into it. With my skiing I think about taking a more manageable path from the finish of one turn to the next, knowing the path I want to take and giving it the required physical input to stay on that path. Out of some turns I have to apply more physical lean or effort, and out of other turns I have to back off. In my mind that ski’s direction is a result of my body’s lean, and knowing whether or not I’m on the path I want to be on comes from my vision. How do we allow the ski to change direction at a certain point without giving away too much? Many skiers struggle with maintaining body alignment and a connection of the handle to the core of their body regardless of the angle they’re attacking the wakes at. If I understood what you wrote, you’re saying that if you can change the ski’s direction then the ability to remain connected to the handle will take care of itself, so I’m wondering what physical cues do you have in order to allow that ski to change its direction.

 

Just some of my thoughts, and I wondered about your perspective since you described it differently than what I hear from most skiers.

 

TW

[ozski]

Line pressure with less ski pressure after center line sounds like something I could work with on the water if I understood the comment correctly.

[Wish]

@ozski that's basically it. If you have pressure on the bottom of the ski after second wake, you are no longer driving the ski along the handle path, and in a battle to stay connected.

[Stevie Boy]

Just putting across a point of view here, surely it is about generating enough speed into the c/l to enable you to stand up and ride the handle path, with both hands on and moderate pressure, giving you control of handle and body position without the boat taking control.

Something that sounds easy but requires a good amount of skill and awareness.

I accept that I do not ski at the level that some of you Guy,s and Girls ski at, but I would urge you to view the wiremill pro slalom vid on youtube, the pro,s seem to be fairly free of the boat as they move out to the bouy line, giving them control of the handle and freedom to maintain or change body position any which way they wish.

[Adam Caldwell]

@twhisper Great question. This is kind of challenging to answer without repeating a lot of things we've gotten into previously...but here is my best shot.

 

My focus is 100% on geometry, timing, course positioning and the body position on top of the ski to get the ski to do what I need it to do before I get there. The better I get at understanding the geometry, the less effort it takes to run passes. I was running 39s in 2010/2011 for the first time, but realized it was taking a tole on my body and I needed to find a new way or my time on a ski would be limited. Fast forward to today, I have days where I feel like it takes more effort at 32 then it does at 38/39. There is just way less opportunity to screw up!

 

Changing the skis direction, (where its pointing), is more of a conscious thought and awareness then a cue or a 'move'. Knowing and understanding an immediate body-position, ski angle, roll angle, etc and where it is going to take you as you move into the space in front of you is HUGE. Not much different then driving a racecar on a track down a straight-away knowing there a HUGE turn coming up. If you don't think ahead about the path your entering the turn with, you will be slammed in the wall EARLY. "The wall" is equivalent to "separation" for a skier. Drivers on a racetrack are setting up for the turn as early as they can on the straight-away.

 

I think a lot of high level skiers have learned to "compress" and "advance" to force or allow the ski to change direction in the preturn. I think yourself and Cale Burdick, Wade Cox and others would fit this description very well. Most people though, are ripped apart and separated before they have the opportunity to do so because they're literally trying to hold on to, or actually get more ski angle after CL without the strength, body position, speed, understanding or whatever to make anything good happen with it.

 

I think its more of a case where people are stuck on a thought of "ANGLE through CL" which causes them to separate before they can even begin to think about making an effecitve movement to initiate and control the trajectory into the turn.

 

Realizing the CL is in essence a TURN itself is important. Meaning, the handle physically changes directions at CL. Where it shifts from traveling opposite of the direction the boats travel- to the same direction. We need to be aware that the instant after CL, we must get going downcourse. Still focusing on going across is not productive. Getting the mind to let go of the need for "angle" at CL will allow you to naturally begin a more progressive change in direction a moment before hitting CL so you are able to stay connected and continue to allow the ski to change direction as the ski rolls naturally onto a new edge.

 

I am a believer that 'angle into CL = angle away from CL'. Knowing the ski is like a big rudder, if I have the ski pointing 90degs at CL, its going to want to continue that path until my body separates from the line and the ski is forced to turn down course aka - "hitting the wall".

 

Learning to build "load" on the boat without excessive ski angle allows for getting the ski to change direction earlier. The energy created before CL hugely a function of timing and body position. We don't need the ski to have a ton of angle to create the energy.

 

The less angle I take into CL, the less need there is for a direction change. With less angle into CL, it becomes exponentially easier to change directions early because there is literally less physical ski rotation "YAW" the ski must undergo in order to enter the turn on the optimal path. Not enough angle will obviously not get you there. But trying to take the ski beyond 45deg into and through CL is a waste of effort.

 

I think it might be good for @AdamCord to chim in on this topic as he made a huge breakthrough with this on the C-65 this year and took his skiing on average nearly a whole pass higher. Huge considering he could already run 38!

[Adam Caldwell]

One last thing to chew on in terms of ski angle...

 

On a gate pullout for example, I focus on trying to keep the ski as parallel to the boats path as possible (yes there is some ski angle, but its not at all a goal or objective). I rely on my COM leading the ski, and the reaction force (Resultant of lift and drag) created on the bottom of the ski to move me wider on the course, while the energy of the boat literally pulls me up next to it. Even with very little ski angle, the resulting force on the tunnel will drive me on wider path, until I am up next to the boat. This takes very little effort to execute. There are a few different techniques or body position that can be utilized to accomplish this, and can be executed a number of ways. Each has there benefit and shortfalls.

 

If, lets say, I were to focus on building ski angle in order to get width during the pullout, I end up putting the ski on a very in-efficient angle of attack and resisting the pull of the boat. This uses lot more effort then necessary to overcome the drag and inefficiency of the skis position in the water, and produces a result that you can do very little with going into the next phase of the slalom course.

 

A place where the high ski angle can (sometimes) be useful, or important, is after the apex of the turn into the finish. A time we WANT to have maximum down-course deceleration in order to get boat support as early as possible. However, even still, more is not necessarily better as it can disrupt our ability to accelerate efficiently as we move into the first wake and CL. The higher you are up on the boat at the apex of the turn, the more angle you will need to finish the turn with.

 

Note: From the passengers seat, a ski with a lot of tip rocker can 'appear' to have a lot more angle then it really does as its rolled over on edge. Need to look at alignment of the feet and knees to see where a ski is pointing. Overhead drone footage also exposes a more realistic picture.

 

Here is a video of myself as a LFF skier. No judging as I'm on a different ski setup almost daily, so its not nearly as smooth as TW, but my hope is that it will highlight some of the points made, and where my focus tends to be. A couple turns I fall in slightly as my setup is dialed for shortline, but the element to look for is how 'transition' is starting to happen prior to crossing CL, but the edge change it self is not actually taking place till later. That "transition" is a conscious effort to keep COM leading as long as possible to not build excessive angle, and managed the 'trajectory' that will happen as I cross through CL.

 

[AdamCord]

Really easy to see what @adamhcaldwell is talking about here

 

[cragginshred]

Two things stand out in both those videos

 

1) The best ski into angle off the ball I have ever seen.

 

2) Not the earliest edge change I have ever seen but who cares? It was plenty early and consistent on both sides.

 

I would rather watch passes like this all day long than someone trying to get an extra 1/2 buoy at a super short line length.

[Terry Winter]

This is a pass with my intent being on skiing an appropriate amount of angle in order to keep the line tighter at the finish of the turns. It gets away from me a little bit coming out of five ball, and you will notice the drastic change happening at the wakes rather than a nice smooth progression.

[Terry Winter]

@adamhcaldwell thanks Caldwell. I appreciate you taking the time and effort. Hearing your perspective helps with my understanding, and is going to be another tool for me.

[mlange]

This thread has really opened my eyes and given me something to think about. Thanks to everyone for chiming in on their perspective.

 

My question/problem is similar to @Stevie Boy's comment above. In order for all of this to work after CL I still need to carry a lot of speed into CL , right? And THAT is where I'm still struggling. So much of what we talk about on here is that it's what we do 10 steps before X that determines if X will be done right or wrong. So it's those steps that lead to everything Adam hit on above that I'm also interested in.

 

 

[AdamCord]

@mlange it starts with the gate https://goo.gl/LRGFsx

[Adam Caldwell]

@mlange

 

I think we had that conversation a couple months ago maybe.... Anyone recall the thread?

 

The ability to generate ENERGY is a function of your ability to set your-self up for an effective gate. That would encompass positioning yourself in a geometrically effective position with the course and the boat at the same time during the gate sequence to create an efficient downswing.

 

Back to the pendulum concept.....A pendulum has NO speed at the top of its swing. Its all energy potential. Gravitational acceleration is the responsible for the force acting on the pendulum mass. It accelerates the mass from rest down to the base of the swing where has maximum kinetic energy (speed). Centripetal force keeps the mass swinging around the pivot.

 

The "slalom pendulum"....In slalom, the reaction force (resultant of drag and lift) acting on the ski is your own personal method to control "gravity". In other words, we can utilize the reaction force to manage how quickly the boat accelerates away from us - creating the desired centripetal force that pulls us into the downswing toward center-line and creates the swing around the pylon.

 

Luckily for us 'gravity' is not a constant like the simple pendulum. Its a variable component in our global system. We have the ability to manage how quickly the boat is accelerating away from us. For example, if we slam the ski on edge to develop lots of ski angle, the boat will accelerate away from us very quickly and we will have a huge "gravitational force" helping to create a HUGE centripetal force.

 

The trick is learning how to stand on the ski properly to control body-position and body-lean such that the ski will go where you need it to without getting physically ripped apart. Additionally, we need to be in a position that the developed centripetal force acting on our body is productive and manageable for us to use throughout the entirety of the pendulum swing around the pylon, and not just in the downswing to center.

 

@mlange , To finally answer your question, In order to generate and maximize swing energy (speed) through center-line, a slalom skier would look to maximize "gravity" before CL, and achieve near "zero gravity" after center-line. Load on the line after crossing center would be a purely centripetal force.

 

The issue is this.....90% of skiers have "zero gravity" at the initial turn in. This is because they are still traveling the same exact speed as the boat as they roll in for the gate. Then they try to build into maximum gravity (max ski angle) all the way to the right hand gate ball -far beyond centerline- by continuing to be on a hard accelerating edge, and creating way more load then necessary with no actual results.

 

If you had to be a powerhouse to accomplish this, no offense to Nate Smith, but he wouldn't be where he is today. Despite how powerful he is on the water, he is not in the gym putting up numbers like @Razorskier1 and @RazorRoss3. It can be accomplished though understanding timing, position, and the overall big picture GUT objective. Some people instinctively figure it all out Nate, Andy, Parish etc. But for mortals like myself, It had to be a learned skill-set.

 

Equipment is a big part of the formula as well. Bindings, ski setup, boot position, ZO settings, it all plays a roll in how successful

 

Again, I'm sorry for the long post...,this was meant to be a couple of sentences. Just trying to help the fellow Baller out.

[ColeGiacopuzzi]

Thank you @adamhcaldwell , @AdamCord & @twhisper for taking the time and breaking it down. Definitely a great read, and something I can apply and focus on more for this season. Great stuff.

[cragginshred]

I was told there would be no math???

[mlange]

Thanks yet again @adamhcaldwell Now I just need to figure out how this translates to the water. :)

 

In all seriousness, this really is great content that gives me something to think about besides trying to figure out when the ice is going to clear up here.

[AdamCord]

The limitation that we have when considering the pendulum and "variable gravity" aspect of skiing, is that we are moving across the top of a fluid. By moving across the fluid with speed, both lift and drag are generated. Now something to keep in mind about lift and drag, is that they are two perpendicular vectors that are drawn to represent the one resultant force that is actually acting on the airplane, boat, ski, or whatever it is we are looking at. In this case, a ski.

 

Now the SLOWER we go before sinking, the more that resultant vector is going to be pointing backward, away from our direction of travel. The faster we go, the more vertically the vector will point, thus lifting the ski higher in the water, and resisting our forward motion less.

 

What this gives us is something of a paradox. We want a lot of "gravity", or downward swing relative to the pylon. But we also want to accelerate as quickly as possible with the least amount of load. Therein lies the problem. I can jump on the tail and slow my speed rapidly, thus increasing my downward swing, or I can stay forward, keep the ski as flat as possible, and try to keep the ski moving, resulting in less drag. What is right?

 

Luckily, there is a way out of Pandora's box.

 

A higher ski speed relative to the water is required to maintain a favorable resultant lift vector. Also we need to increase our "gravity" downward relative to the boat. What this requires of us is to move through the turn efficiently. By that I mean we can change our direction from down course to across course, with speed. Changing our direction from down course to across course is effectively increasing our "gravity" relative to the boat, and doing it efficiently, by staying ahead of the ski, allows us to maintain a favorable lift/drag vector.

 

While that may sound obvious, the challenge is doing that while keeping a tight line. THIS is where a good gate and understand of our timing on the boat comes into play. If you are still swinging up on the boat when you try to "efficiently change your direction from down course to across course" what will happen? You will ski directly toward the boat, resulting in a very limp rope.

 

BUT, if you can do that while you are starting your downward swing on the boat, suddenly you have what can be seen in the videos above of @adamhcaldwell, Nate, and @twhisper. Lots of angle and speed out of the buoy, but very little load.

 

The magic result of this is that by STARTING with a great deal of cross course speed as you start your pull, you never need to heavily load the ski, and you're able to enter the wakes in position to do what Caldwell described above: take less angle, let the ski point down course, and ski the handle path.

 

This is a "rhythm" that repeats through each turn and pull, and it all starts with the gate. You must perform your gate in sync with the boat in order to set yourself up to do the same through the entire pass. Without setting up the gate properly, it's impossible to get this later in the course.

[cragginshred]

So trying understanding all this technical stuff is interesting and I am super appreciative for the time taken to share it all, however I am curious as to how we can summarize all this from a coach in the back of the boat to the skier in the water perspective.......

 

What are 2 points you would make in a couple a short sentences that would aide in helping the skier achieve the goal of what @Horton called 'pulling too long' in the OP?

 

Thanks!

[Wish]

My 2cents and will defer to the Adams but if your gate is not producing the nessisarry speed, your edge change will be delayed through the course as Cord mentions and most likely you will be battling separation from the handle path as you long pull past CL. Just watch vids posted here and see how that never happens with any of them. So perfect the gate first. Once that is in play, what I found helped is experimenting with 2 concepts just to feel out the geometry of the course rather then being told to "get wider" or "you need to change edge sooner" or more lead arm pressure" 1. Try to get your mind to accept the idea of pointing the ski at the ball off CL. Not necessarily any one or multiple movements but just thinking it had me heading that way. Again, this is just to see what happens. 2. Past CL you can pull on the line as much as you want but there can be no more load or close to that after the second wake on the bottom of the ski...think flat by CL. For me it became an epiphany of understanding handle path management and discovering what staying connected is truly about vs forcing a connection through "doing" certain movements. Didn't necessarily add buoys right away by any means but with time came the understanding and rewards. I still manage to slip back into the old ways of "more angle" and trying to keep that excessive angle. My skiing looks less boring as it very quickly becomes frantic. If done correctly, it's the fountain of youth really as skiing is just easier and my passes look boring and slow motion or like I'm skiing a narrow course. I don't think there is a single or even multiple "move(s)" you can make to alter what may be happening if you are doing the opposite or have an inefficient gate. On a case by case basis yes for moves or movements but not for general ideas. I'd say perfect your gate (see Cords vid and explanations) and play with the 2 points to see just how following the handle path and beating the boat to the ball results in plenty of width and time. I'm still learning.

[Adam Caldwell]

@cragginshred - here is my shortest rundown of a gate.

 

 

Fix your equipment, mindset, and body position so you can stand on the ski without riding the tail excessively.

Every move you make on the ski should be in a forward direction. Never let anything fall away from the boat or toward the tail of the ski. Look to occupy the space thats in front of you, not the space that you just came from.

Pull Out Early with lots of speed.

Give the boat AMPLE time and distance to pull away from you before you roll in. (You should have the sensation and visual that the boat is acutally pulling away from you before you commit to turn the ski in toward center.

Do the previous step far enough up course that you can also commit to the gate-roll-in early, but very progressively and slow. We do not want to 'rush' into CL. Let the boat pull you to CL.

Aim for a relatively 'shallow' angle of attack during the approach to CL, just enough to sneak inside the right hand gate ball. We are not looking for a steep 90deg gate shot, aim for something more 45degs ish at most.

During the approach to center, lead the ski as much as you can as the ski rolls over. Keep thinking and moving forward with your COM Keeping sternum tall and high, legs strong and handle connected to core.

Use the entire distance from the point of turn in for the gate to the centerline to build your position and ski into a stacked position (reach a maximum stack at CL).

Enjoy the ride.

 

Or, come ski at Trophy Lakes in Charleston for a couple days.

 

A huge part of getting better at slalom has nothing to do with learning which hand to put more load on, which foot to put pressure on, or which hip to point where. Taking some time to adopt a big picture understanding of the systems at work within the slalom course will go a lot further in ones progression as a skier.

[rfa]

Below is a post I made in another discussion ("where does speed come from") that applies here. I had just spent 3 days with Adam Caldwell at Trophy lakes and shared my thoughts

 

I am not nearly a good enough skier to contribute to this discussion in terms of knowledge or advice. My engineering background does help me understand the physics and technical parts of this topic. Even so, I agree it is sometimes difficult to grasp all the concepts when described in writing without visual aids. Well, this week, I had the privilege to spend 3 days with @adamhcaldwell at Trophy Lakes. You can tell just by how well he's able to describe his concepts in writing, how much he knows this "stuff". But 3 days of drawing diagrams, showing videos, discussing the physics with 3-D visuals, watching him ski (practicing what he preaches...), seeing some of his ski/fin technology development, etc. was a real treat. If I can only put in practice some of what I learned...

Thank you @adamhcaldwell

 

So, @cragginshred my first advice is yes, if you can, go ski with Adam. His 9-point advice above will come into focus. I know that I will not be able to incorporate all I learned and understood into my skiing. BUT, I also know that my gates will be better than ever before because I understood it, saw it done (Adam skied everyday when i was there) and was able to focus and FEEL it myself. His point #6 may make you think you'll miss the gates (if your current approach is anything like mine). No worries, it works! One more thing...if you go, "order" warmer weather, than I did, haha...

[Stevie Boy]

Great inspirational stuff to think about and try to work out, I admire the mathermaticians amongst you that can understand and get in that deep, but how would you begin to get some of this across to a meat head, that could not comprehend the mathematics and other points that have been projected on this discussion, it all very interesting and surely valid, but a lot of people would struggle with some of the complexity of this discussion, it,s a long way from turn the ski across the lake hang on and then point it the other way across the lake and hang on.

Is there a basic definition of what you guy,s are trying to put across?

[AdamCord]

@Stevie Boy There are two things to focus on that can be a good starting point.

 

As Caldwell said above always be moving forward on the ski. In your mind you want to occupy the space ahead of you, never the space behind you. This is at least 50% bindings and ski setup, and 50% technique and understanding.

 

The second thing is take the time to learn to ski in rhythm with the boat. The absolute BEST and FASTEST way to learn this is to put the rope on a length harder than your hardest pass, and go free ski as much as you can. Start softly but work your way up to skiing aggressively with your focus on keeping a tight line and skiing smoothly through the turns. This will force you to learn where you are in relation to the boat, and to stay in rhythm with it.

 

Once you do those two things well you will be well on your way to doing the rest of this.

[Stevie Boy]

@AdamCord , thankyou your response is much appreciated.

[dchristman]

@AdamCord 's suggestion to ski the rope lengths shorter than your best pass is a great one. Previously he had suggested a drill here Edge change just happens or do you make it happen

 

"I came up with a drill to try train my brain to think understand this concept. I pull out like I would for a normal gate, then cut through the wakes and try to get as high on the boat on the other side as possible. Then just wait on the line and cut the other way, also seeing how high I can get on the boat. I don't try to run the course or even make any turns in this drill, it's all about seeing if I can pass the windshield."

 

After this suggestion the last few sets last fall I cut the line all the way up to 39off. Until now I have only gotten through 28 occasionally and never thought I would ever be able to get anywhere near 39 anytime soon except on a trick ski at 18mph. Now, this is not a miracle story, but trying the drill was a lot of fun and enlightening. I was actually able to get around the 6 ball (just the 6 ball :-/) at 39/34mph and keep skiing a couple times... that was thrilling! I surely have a lot of other stuff to work on, but skiing the shorter lines and trying to get higher rather than wider really gives you the feel for what the edge change/transition should be.

[cragginshred]

Last time I occupied the space in front of me I face planted OTF.

 

But I think I know what you guys are talking about.

[Ed_Johnson]

@cragginshred ... Know exactly what your talking about. My goal for a LONG time has been to get that forward space with simultaneous lean and not OTF. Last week by accident it finally happened, but it was because I changed props. The new prop had different load characteristics and gave me that mili-second more time to get in the forward, leaned, leveraged position. What happened next was shocking and I got to see it on video. As soon as I got into that super position, the ski magically went from behind, under, and out the other side. No great execution of skill on my part, all I did was fall like a tree in the direction of travel, and BAM !!!!

I have been trying to do this for years, but when your a big Guy over 200LBS, ZO shows no mercy. Now, by accident, I may have finally solved the problem. Unfortunately, the prop vibrated the boat a lot and I had to send that one back. Hope to have another one here this week though.

 

[DaveD]

In other news, @Ed_Johnson was just offered a sponsorship with ACME Props.... :smile:

[customski]

I have followed the Adam's theories and gate videos for quite some time now and have tried to adopt the changes required. I couldn't feel the gate as described the first few tries but yesterday's set I certainly did.

I dont know whether skiing on a Denali is a prerequisite but wow when it comes together it really does open your eyes.

Cant wait for the next set!