Tevskis

I'm sorry my rhetorical question was just that... not meant for anyone it was something i saw just today, another base jumper died pushing the limits of his abilities last week. it is unfortunate, but the sport isn't against him or the other three whom have perished before him already this year (by my count) I am not offended from any of your aforementioned comments just simply pointing out with progression comes risk. I am sure that the people on hand i.e. Redbull, DCshoes, the team around him including doctors, trainers, psychiatrists and Robbie himself took all of the dangers into account. Calling the man stupid is just discounting the feat that he accomplished... the two most dangerous things to call someone is stupid or crazy

How about a case of that KILOKAI @Horton I

bonfil isn't the scary part of acapulco to head out on your own. no close calls there, yet.... about ten miles down the beach closer to the ski site is the "danger zone" for us fair weathered sporting folk... @jimbrake

@mwetskier Have you ever had the chance to get in over your head in any surf conditions? It is possible to drown in three feet of waves with a life jacket on in unfavorable conditions. I myself have nearly drowned in unknown circumstances by being held under the water by the waves.... Water possesses an immense power and even with reasonable flotation you are just along for the ride no matter the size or power of the waves. Robbie had MANY more safety measures in place as he was working on this, than any other person in the water that day or any other. The countless divers, photographers in the water, boats and locals on hand for this were there specifically for him. Yes a risk, with monumental reward..... How about the fourth wing suit death of the year in Turkey? should we outlaw it?

@oldjeep I switch it around all the time during the winter while @Gordons in Mexico. Usually twice per week in the afternoon wind I like to go play right foot forward and feel what i see everyday from the boat. It is amazing in my mind what we can learn as shortline skiers when we just change up the front foot. I personally think the absolute most difficult part of the entire process is making the deepwater start then the gate pullout, once you have created your energy, riding it through the slalom course is relatively easy. LFF average 3-4@11 58K RFF average 3-4 @18 58K Ideally i would like to run a round of each in the same tournament just to see how many people we can throw off haha, got a few years to go for that though.....

I fly with my skis probably 50 commercial flights per year. Dakine makes a killer snowboard bag that is my new favorite since moving on from a single event roller... I can EASILY fit anywhere from 6-10 blank slalom skis in there and have loads of pockets and such for the rest of my gear. Unfortunately like stated above, airlines can break skis in nearly any bag or case (some of the worst breaks i have ever seen came in a "sporttube") so it really is just packing it as well as you comfortably can within weight limits and say a prayer as you check it in like @"Eric Kelley" said above.... I personally always remove fins and use my neoprene "sleeve" which i have pushed a fin protector into, then pack my skis around two towels in the bottom of my soft roller, strap 'em in tight then throw the rest of the gear in on top of it all... I prefer soft bags and try to use as many fragile stickers as the ticket counter can give me. Other than this you are at the mercy of the baggage handlers daily moods and schedules, pray that they got lunch and their cigarette breaks on time, as well as can read the stickers. Then send them on their merry way

I had the opportunity of meeting Robbie a couple of years back as they were all beginning the "testing" for this project. The team was huge and it took an incredible amount of determination and ingenuity to pull this off. It was truly inspiring to meet the man and watch him ride a motorcycle down the slalom lake at 60 MPH. The progression of sport in general, and what is known as "achievable" was the reason behind this project in my mind more than all else and my hat goes off to the man for making this happen. @ozski unfortunately putting Freddy out in the surf probably wouldn't do much to bring new people to skiing, a few years back the wakeboarders began riding the waves and it ultimately only led to some different looking "surf photos". Long story short, continued progression in any and every sport is needed to keep people interested in trying it out or joining, and Robbie just very creatively made the world look at motorcycles in an entirely different light. @mwetskier, yes it was crazy or foolhardy or maybe even "stupidity" but you cannot deny that it was f$@%ing epic! And in the eye of the beholder (Robbie) the juice was definitely worth the squeeze......

Below are a few of my notes and thoughts from my first two rides on the Flextail when I first got in it in Mexico about a month ago... I was getting higher and earlier into the buoy line than ANY other ski which I have ridden this winter (which is every ski other than the GT by connelly) and the line which I was able to travel through the wakes with the speed maintained throughout the turn was frankly unbelievable. This truly feels like the future of skiing as this moves right along the same lines of current coaching theory and really feels like a “tool” in achieving the proper line of efficiency through the slalom course. There has been a lot of work throughout the manufacturers to produce a ski that rips turns and moves across the course, leaving us as skiers to choose the correct path of travel and really need to work on holding this line across the course while simultaneously moving with the boat. This ski seems to carry speed back inbound but feels as though it chooses the line of most efficiency automatically. In two rides the flex tail has re-invigorated my skiing in a way un-describeable, as I KNOW this is the direction we as coaches have been striving for in the progression of slalom theory and technique. This is something that not only makes the move out to the buoy-line natural but also the movement in to the “work-zone” where every skier struggles to find the most efficient path of travel, as well as providing a stable platform to work upon that line. To state the obvious I am excited!!!

@igkya I have to agree with you! In theory the idea of skiing with one palm up and one down is to counter the action of twisting from the boats load so we can stay "stronger" behind the boat on a weak side pull. When one foot is forward the boat turns and pulls our shoulders down the course in ITS direction of travel, in turn we counter this force by placing one hand under the handle i.e. right palm up for LFF, This one move however tightens up the back and makes the initial load from the boat "bind" and hold on this side (the right) about halfway down the back, directly beside the spine. Try flipping your second hand to make your deepwater starts with BOTH PALMS DOWN and hopefully you will feel the boats load move all of the way from your hands into your lower hips instead of getting bound on the right side in your lower back. @pgmoore