Passes ranked by fun

[Than_Bogan]

Here's an amusing nearly-off-season thread topic. Rank the passes that you normally ski by how much you enjoy them. Here's mine:

 

-28. It's been my opener for a long time, but when I do this one right it's like a very fast super-exciting walk in the park.

 

-38. Haven't run it in years, but it's damn fun to try.

 

-32. Fun, but just a little too challenging. That said, when I'm absolutely at the top of my game, -32 and -28 switch places on this list.

 

-35. Fun, but also slightly annoying. I know I should run it, but I have to work so hard to do so [or at least I used to before the c75], and I feel bad if I miss and yet not necessary excited if I make it!

 

-39. Impossible. I could imagine a world where it became super-fun if I felt like I had any chance to go somewhere. Maybe with a healthy body on the magic ski next season!?

 

-22. Please no. :smile:

[buski]

Any pass, regardless of difficulty, where an early screw up leads to fighting from behind the whole time only to remarkably still get all 6 and through the gates with a huge smile - most fun

 

Any pass, mostly of easier difficulty, where an early screw up leads to a 1 or 2 and straight tow down the rest of course or swim in the water waiting for the boat to come back - least fun

[Buxrus]

-32 for sure. its the first line length I can feel the whip/pendulum effect. when I am in rhythm with the boat its like a ride at an amusement park. -35 can feel like that too, just a little too much concentration at the blue to "enjoy" that line.

[BrennanKMN]

Agreed with -32. I love -32, especially at 36 MPH.

When I am skiing well 36 MPH is significantly more fun than 34 as well. -35 is still too hard for me to really enjoy it.

[6balls]

32 off 36 is great. 35 off 34 is great when run well. For any who have a rope with mid lengths 33.5 is a really fun line. Feels "thirty fivey" but lots more forgiving.

[MrJones]

35

[Wish]

32 without question. Mostly make them. I can work on settings and technic and learn from it. From that I can tell if a 35 is doable or even feel like there Could be a 38. It's typically not an opener, so it's a "here we go" feel. Just plain enjoyable.

[Brady]

I ran a 41 at 36 for the hell of it at lake Powell. Got up and saw how friggin close the boat was, went to the wash as the boat turned sharp and fell right on my ass before I even made a cut. Was still fun. Ps, how on gods green earth can these guys even attempt 41???? Unbelievably difficult

[ski4xtc]

The -22 off pass is almost a brick wall and not fun behind the Correct Craft.... especially at 32 mph (Women's 5 and beyond speed), difficult but doable behind the Malibu, a sweet and fun pass (including at 32 mph) behind the MasterCraft. The -28 off (at 32 mph) is fun behind the MasterCraft and Malibu, still a little difficult behind the Correct Craft.

[A_B]

Fun at 60 and 60 overweight is making my deepwater start at any line length!!

 

[swc5150]

-32 is fun because it feels like I finally break free of the boat going into the ball, and a false sense of shortline for me. -35 is just a bear...amazing the difference 3' of rope makes.

 

I too once tried to free ski at -41. Couldn't even make a turn, as everything happens at lightning speed that short. Agreed, how to guys even attempt it, let alone run it?!

[h2onhk]

-28 is my favorite for now. I free ski it a lot and can usually run it 9-10 times in the course.

 

-32 only ran a handful of times. very scrappy. love it when i kill one of my onside turns and rocket to the next ball though

 

-35 PB is 2. never even saw it this year.

 

-22 meh....don't hate it, but don't love it either

 

-15 early season free ski warm up getting back into ski shape. usually the first pass in the course as well. hate it. no feel from the boat and feels like the rope is a mile long. almost makes me lazy on the turns

 

-39 free skied it once. felt like I could almost high five my kids in the boat. slack hits on the turns almost elongated my arms. cross course speed was incredible. have a hole new respect for skiers that run short lines

[TEL]

Trying -32 for the first time this season just having fun at it. Not trying to take it to serious i laugh most of the time knowing it is so scrappy with a lot of slack line. My goal this year was to make -28 consistently, goal accomplished :) Next year i will probably take -32 to serious and not be fun any more

[Rednucleus]

My "most satisfying" are the smooth and early, feel like you could run a 10 ball pass. My "most fun" are when I think I am ruined by 2-3 ball, and somehow my Superlite ends up early again by 6 ball. IMHO it's the ski, not the operator!

[skialex]

My knee hates -22. I only run it as an opener at tournaments, -28 is good especially during the off season, -32 is the most fun, -35 is fun, rarely.. when I run it, rarely...

My vote goes to -32

[Dacon62]

-22 makes me smile because it is the first year that it has been my “for sure” pass. Made -28 20x but still a hard pass for me. When I’m behind coming into 2 ball(am LFF) and get caught up by 4 ball that is a great feeling. My vote goes to -28 off.

[GaryWilkinson]

-15 off: that’s for barefooting when I was 16 yrs old

 

-22 not fun anymore. Too much time, rope and drag. I usually screw it up!?

 

-28 NOW we’re getting somewhere! It’s where I work the most free skiing time at with Pierre T.

 

-32 when run, feels like ,... well you know! That, and it’s a good test of shortline technique. Buries the needle on the fun-o-meter when completed.

 

-35 off? Haven’t run it yet. (And I’m 60!) true shortline. Tough to time it all right. A few times got to 4 in practice but not close enough to be fun yet. And for me it’s the holy grail. When I was young, buff and competing, 4.5 @ 38 was the world record. I want to get to one ball, but only after I run 35 !

 

Tick tick tick tick

 

Than again, I always tell my friends,: “ slalom is not fun”.

You want fun? Go buy a wakesurf boat.

 

Slalom is way to intense to be “fun”.

[Stevie Boy]

Any pass that you know was the real deal, before the coach tells you how good it was,

[6balls]

@wish try making -32 your opener for a while. It will make you better.

 

My best year in tourneys I dropped -28 and opened at -32. Before a tourney would add it back in then make game-day decisions based on wind conditions.

[Wish]

@6balls I've dropped 28 over many seasons. Every once in a while I bring it back do to lack of skiing. I think by spring it will be long gone again....hopefully. ? Even with 32 as an opener.. I enjoy it the most.

 

[Luzz]

32

39

41

38

35

[2Valve]

We raise our course on the weekends and get a few passes in before the lake traffic shows up to ruin the conditions. On those days when the wind and waves are high, we like to shorten the rope to 38 off (or more) and just have fun. Spray from the boat is usually pretty nasty, and goggles are required to keep your eyesight. We just turn it into a crazy free for all, faceplants, crashes and lots of photos and video.

 

[Than_Bogan]

@2Valve I hope you're a lot younger than I am. That sounds like a recipe to send an old guy to a long hospital stay.

[Rich]

32 is fun when I'm at my best I still always enjoy 32, and also love 37 38 is always a challenge & when I'm spot on I feel like I can't miss it and when I'm off it feels impossible.

[paul413ski]

Any pass through the slalom course The G.O.A.T told me you have done a lot of stuff right to do what you have just done sadly missed :'(

[JaredSmith]

I think for most it is the shortest pass you can run clean with a tight line, so one or two passes back from the shortest pass you can scrap out on a good day.

[Spencer_Shultz]

I like 28 because the whip side to side isn’t fast enough to be a complete blur. I enjoy breaking down skiing into zones and actually feeling my movements!

[BlueSki]

@Luzz, your answer is intriguing given that 32 is at the top of your list and 35 at the bottom. As a top level skier, why does 35 rank so low?

[Drago]

I'm with @Luzz : never liked 35. 32 is just sublime. 6@39 is awesome.

41 though, downright scary 99.9% of the time

[Luzz]

@BlueSki The reason why 32 is at the top of the list is that, when skied well, it just makes me feel like I understand it all.

39 is next favorite simply because of the feeling out of the exit gates when I run it, basically euphoria after a lot of focus and (in my case) sheer intensity.

At 41, I am clueless most of the times, but it does feel good to get a little extra knowledge when it comes my way.

38 is really close to 41, particularly when run well. It is tough to explain, but a clean 38 feels much better than a clean 35, but not as good as a clean 32.

35… well, nothing exciting about that for me. It's not short line, but it doesn't feel like 32 or 28 either...

[bishop8950]

What @Luzz said. I love 32. Short enough to get a little whip from the boat but long enough I have time to work on my skiing all the way down the lake.

 

A few times I have come away from a tournament with a score within one buoy of my PB and was way more excited about how good the 32 opener off the dock was than the fact I got into 41. It feels really good to ski my best and I do t care if it’s at 32 off. “NICE 2@41!” “Ya, but did you see how well I skied the opener!?”

[Drago]

There have been times when after a 32 opener I think, I should just walk back from here.

Now i should anyway for different reasons