Boat vs cable skiing, how big of a difference?

[Guest]

After looking at the results from the open European cableski championships and seeing the top result being 0.50/58/9.50, as the title says, what difference is there between boat and cable skiing? is cable easier or are they better ? I have never tried cable before, but that result just seems mindblowingWhat are your thoughts on this?

[MISkier]

Cable skiing has no wake to cross and the rope is attached at a height well above regular pylon height, so it can actually lift you up like a wakeboard tower might. You'll see cable skiers basically laying on the water in the turns and then rise up to ski cross course.

[2Valve]

Tried cable skiing in Australia when I was there for the 2000 Olympics (working). I could never get off the dock. The big speedometer next to you says 36mph and let me tell ya, that cable is whistling over your head. And when you said go, you better be ready because you're literally shot out of a cannon. For me, it was one faceplant after another. I went over the the Wakeboard lake (12mph) and had more fun. :(

[ToddL]

For those who have never seen this...

[Than_Bogan]

That video needs a "may be upsetting to some viewers" warning...

[WoodySkier]

It looks fun, it also looks a lot different than skiing behind a boat. I’d give it a try. Are there even any sites for cable skiing in the US?

[BraceMaker]

You can trick ski at most cable parks. It is very different the pull is far more upwards, so after a day of cable I feel like I've been doing sit ups and pull downs.

@Mat_Larsen I don't think you can compare the scores. The rule boats have details but the line lengths have formulas to compute because some of the cables are higher off the water than others, and some of the cable parks are further apart between the pylons that hold the cable up than others. So they have to do trig to figure out how long the ropes should be.

[B_S]

Looking at those slalom skiers in particular, it's vastly different.

[MISkier]

The guy who got into -45 has a regular slalom top score of 2@-39 and some -38 and longer scores after that. So, it seems to be different.

[BKistler]

Cable skiing is fun but strange. No wake. The rope pulls up. The pull is not solid since the cable sways a bit from side to side. You have to ski to the outside of fixed turns or you lose speed. Dock starts are at right angles, not straight ahead. Got to try it at least once. Will never replace a boat in my opinion.

[liquid d]

That looks like a blast! The thing i see in common is a lot smiles!

[jcamp]

How hard would it be to make the U.S. team? :-)

[MattP]

@jcamp I would say easy...@eleeski didn't your son ski in worlds a few years back?

[Garn]

The Orlando Watersports Complex (not sure if its still called that now) used to have slalom cable skiing. I did it about 15 years or so ago. I thought it was a blast. It took me about 5 face plants before I figure out how to start (you go from zero to your skiing speed instantly!). The only thing that sucked was if you fell, depending on where you fell, you had a long walk back to the starting dock.

For me, did it replace skiing behind a boat? No. But it only costed me $25 for I think an hour of skiing. If somebody can't afford a ski boat, that's a great deal! And I had a great time. But....they don't do it anymore. I guess the demand wasn't there. It is now just wakeboarding.

[BKistler]

Low cost. Convenient and safe. Teenagers can hang out all day and have a blast.