Menzelskier

Started PT for a pulled hamstring last week. Couple of weeks left in the season, but I'm through for this year. Looking to be full speed to get my other skis on the hill in a couple of months.

Patience into the entrance gates. Lots of patience.

It's extremely important with a RTP to have a binding that will let your front foot go. I use Wiley rubber in front and Wiley RTP rear. If your front foot is locked in tight (which seems common with double boots) you are asking for a knee injury. I think it is hard to switch bindings. I tried a double boot once and had no control at all. Did not like the feeling of my rear held in the exact same angle all the time.

Poplars surround many ski lakes in the PNW, both west and east of the mountains. Very fast growers.

Marcus Brown -- I wonder if your video could be re-edited. When I look at the ropes, it is clear that the skiers have been superimposed, but their actual runs have not. The 15-off run's boat is well ahead of the 38-off boat. You can tell this by the still shot of the first frame, and since the 15-off skier should be 23 feet back of the 38-off skier at the wake crossing, this tells us just how far ahead the first boat is. Could these videos be re-superimposed to the same time frame? I think this would be better at showing the actual relative positions of the two runs and might prove further instructive.

You have listed multiple frames of reference. To me, the basic frame of reference is the boat, for unless there is slack all paths travel along the arc of a circle, as the radius of the line never changes for any given line length. A skier at 15 off can certainly choose a longer arc, but it is not necessary. All calculations can be performed using the boat as a stationary frame of reference (which it is for the drivers, passenger, and skier). If we change the frame of reference to be the lake itself, then we will have a zig-zag graph. If we change it to a point above the Earth's rotation, then the skier could be traveling backward in such a frame. The frame of reference from the boat is the simplest in my mind. But it may not be that for everybody! Jumpers take advantage of long line lengths to get way out on the boat so they can generate acceleration for the longest period of time.

As a math and physics teacher, I agree with Bruce. And as a math and science teacher I will try to simplify the principle he states. In Bruce's table are two easily comparable arcs. A 16m radius (22 0ff) would generate a circle with a circumference of 2(16m)(3.14) = 100.5m (rounded). An 11.25m radius (38 off) would give us a circle of 2(11.25)(3.14) = 70.7m (rounded). Now the nice thing about 22 off is that we get about a 45 degree angle from wake to ball, giving us 90 degrees total travel, which is one-quarter a circle. One quarter of 100.5m is about 25m. Using the same principle, 38 off gives us 90 + 90 = 180 degrees, which is half a circle. Half of 70.7 meters is about 35m. And 35m is a significantly longer distance that 25m! Just for fun, what if you skied 22 off but went out to 90 degrees? Then you would be skiing an arc of 50m. Try doing that in 2.53 seconds!

JAS -- A couple of them. One was establishing my stacked position and holding it about 5-10 feet past the wake. It's easy to do, but I would often get narrow waiting to turn in to make the gates. My friend told me to forget about the gates for awhile. He said get wide, settle, and turn in with width. I got to where I could consistently come in with great angle and, being LFF, really come out of one ball with great angle as well. Since I prioritized my body position, I would at times ski before the gates and end up turning before the ball with quite a bit of width out from the ball. Sometimes I would run an entire pass turning wide of and in front of every ball. Starting to sound like a book here. Coming into two ball I was edge-changing too late. I get such great velocity with my onside pull that I was overshooting two and ending up pointed right at 3-ball. My friend adjusted my fin for tip and steepened my wing angle, but especially told me to edge change at the second wake. All of a sudden I'm carrying out to #2 and settling into good position for 3. It worked right away! So very soon I'm running 22 off the dock, and it's easier. When I went out at 28, I got as wide as I could on my pullout (still well past the 2-4-6 line) and simply applied the same principles. Only this time I'm hardly working at all. The ski comes around easily and quickly -- it feels like I'm just lightly skipping from side-to-side. My buddy tells me my ski is finally in its element, where it was designed to work. It really came down to prioritizing form over buoys, and now that the form is fairly solid I'm running the buoys most of the time, and getting the gates more. But If I'm ready to turn in and wait for my perfect gate shot I'll get pulled narrow and be lucky to get halfway downcourse. WAWASKR -- Yes, he's been doing it for a long time. He'd run 35-off regularly in his younger days. Right now he needs a knee replacement, and has turned to coaching and tuning skis as a hobby.

Thanks for the feedback. Being 55, I am acquainted with several National competitors who have likely seen their best passes. One fellow in particular has won nationals in 3-event in his age category more than once, including a 38-off pass that he will always be proud of. He still enjoys competing, but another forte of his is coaching. The flip side is although I'm still improving, I probably won't ever run a 38 off like he did, so it is a two-edged sword. What a fun sport either way!

I'm 55 and have been skiing the course for at least 20 years. Finally joined a ski lake a few years ago. I guess I must be a slow learner, as it has taken me until the least few weeks to finally run a comfortable 22 off at 34mph. About three weeks ago, a knowledgeable buddy watched me ski, gave me some tips on timing, and helped me adjust the fin on my D3 Z-7. By last week, I was getting far downcourse or running my 22 off fairly easily. Well, I decided to try 28 just this last week. My first pass I got four balls, and my second got all six. Then for the heck of it I tried 32 off, and on my third try got four balls downcourse. I might have run it if I hadn't run over three-ball. 28 just flat-out feels easier and a lot less work than 22 off, and 32 doesn't seem that bad. My goal was to run 28 off this season, and now I think I might run 32 also. Cliff's notes: after years on a plateau, my skiing has taken a quantum leap. Has anyone else had this happen? Is 28 off easier for some people? It seems to be for myself.