RGilmore

Shouldn't that first photo be in the "Stacked" thread?

@MISkier & @Mastercrafter Water weighs just over 62 lbs per cubic foot. Concrete weighs ~ 150lbs per cubic foot. A 100 lb block of concrete will measure 0.66 cubic feet. This means at 100 lb block will have an effective anchoring force of approximately 58 lbs. An easy way to make consistent blocks is to use standard document storage boxes lined with heavy trash bags. Add eyebolts (with nuts and washers) while the concrete is wet (duh). 1) These blocks will weigh 227 lbs dry, giving you an effective anchoring weight of 133 lbs when under water. These will be very difficult to accidentally pull out of position. 2) Do all this on a flatbed trailer you hauled to the concrete plant. If they have a "overage pit" you may be able to arrange to wait there for returning trucks (which are ALWAYS overfilled for their deliveries), and your concrete will probably be free. 3) Built an Ed Brazil type "anchor wanker" for install purposes. Find a surveyor to help with the install, or use a good floating course to guide your placement. 4) Never look back.

Nobody seems to have mentioned yet that the US Gear handle pretty much eliminates ski damage due to "handle pop".

Based on the last dozen years of CDC statistics, it seems clear that COVID-19 pretty much cured the seasonal flu. So there's that.

@swbca 1) I haven't defined "trailing arm", Chris Rossi has. My assumption would be that "lead arm" or "leading arm" would a be the logical choice for the non-trailing arm. 2) Again, I was speaking about Chris Rossi's teaching, not my own (since I don't have a "teaching"). But yes, according to the Rossi article the trailing arm pressure is carried all the way out to the apex of the upcoming turn. (I personally differ with that part).

I'm a big Chris Rossi fan. When Rossi has written about it, he refers to the right arm while going from 1-ball to 2-ball as the "trailing arm" (and vice versa). On a related note, "toe side/heel side" makes sense in wake-boarding, insofar as your feet are actually turned sideways on your board. Meanwhile, on a slalom ski both feet are pretty much pointing forward, so using "toe side" or "heel side" just seems goofy to me. "Offside" and "onside" have been used for decades, and... c'mon man... not everything in our sport needs the BNG treatment. As always, IMO.

@swbca wrote:"My simplified understanding . . . if skiing from ball 1 to ball 2, use your right shoulder/arm/hand for most of the pulling force..." This sounds exactly like what Chris Rossi advocated more than a decade ago when he when introduced the concept in his article "The Power Triangle": "Our goal at the finish of the turn should be to connect what I call the 'Power Triangle.' It is defined as the outside hand (trailing arm), the outside hip (trailing hip) and the handle. At the completion of a buoy one turn, your right hand will connect to the handle and the handle will connect to your right hip (or slightly below). When done properly, all three will connect at the same time. You will feel your outside elbow tight against your vest. This is very similar to old school skiing except that it is not done with the inside hip and elbow." The more things change, the more they stay the same.

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” [George Bernard Shaw]

I had almost unbearable plantar fasciitis 20 years ago (ish), and the best thing the podiatrist was show me how to tape my insteps up with good old non-stretchy white medical tape. High-arch insoles are fine for when you're wearing shoes and bearing your body weight on the insoles. However, nobody spends 24 hours a day on their feet, and when you're not on your feet that expensive insole is doing nothing. I taped and re-taped my arches so that I had that "lifting" pressure on my soles 24 hours a day for the better part of a month. This meant that I was working on the problem even when I was sleeping. After the first several weeks I slowly weened myself down to just working hours and skiing, and eventually down to just high-arch insoles. It never bothered me again.

I don't know if Wim DeCree (at 5'7") ever ran -41, but if he didn't it certainly wasn't for lack of skill or trying.

I applaud this policy. I personally banned political discussion of any kind from my ski site because I realized I didn't want to hate any of my ski partners anymore than I already do.

Sorry, my mistake. Just repeating what I read on a forum that pre-dated BOS; not pretending to know Marcus OR having been there when it happened. But I DO know a guy who lost a finger almost the exact way you describe here - his was caught between a loop of slack and the pylon when the skier yelled "hit it". And in an unrelated note, that's also the reason many rodeo ropers are missing digits - thumbs, mostly. Lots of videos on Youtube for those with stronger stomachs thane me.

@liquid d I believe that "pinch" you're describing is how Marcus Brown managed to seriously injure his left hand, forcing him to use a "clincher" style glove on that hand for the remainder of his pro career. (He continued to use a conventional glove on the other hand, IIRC)

@thager That's not a new concept. The original Jobe, debuting in the mid 70's, only had one mold - a 67" model. There is a fascinating story about how that mold came to be in Jeff Jobe's garage, which I do not feel at liberty to disclose. In any event, the 65" model was simply a 67" ski with 2" cut off the tail, the foam core carved out a bit, and the resulting hole filled with orange epoxy-based putty. (the putty was a very good color match for the orange hull of the ski itself). This sizing solution predated the adjustable fin and hard-shell bindings by at least a decade and a half, to give you a timeline perspective.

@ScottScott Perhaps if you apply for a forgivable stimulus package loan? @BraceMaker Are you sure that "redirect" wasn't just tapping into your own browser history? (JK, of course)

@UWSkier RE: "extra length" - wouldn't that hold true for either end of the handle? Meaning, if it's significant, why not hold both hands at their respective ends, giving extra reach on both sides?

@adamhcaldwell Yeah, I get it about "flailing your [outside] arm with no actual intention". In fact, my personal beliefs about counter rotation can be summed up in two points: 1) successful counter is accomplished by driving your inside hip forward over your front foot, not by pulling your outside shoulder back, and 2) counter rotation is an action, not a position. I don't have any particular "science" to back those things up, but they are what works for me.

@adamhcaldwell , @AdamCord Not to be argumentative, but your point about skier Will Asher keeping his "outside hand over inside edge of ski" seems a bit moot to me. In all the photos you use to illustrate this - both on snow and water - once the skiers are well into their turns they would have to have freakishly long arms to get their outside hand NOT over the inside edge of their ski(s) - even if their outside arm was stretched straight out sideways. Just sayin'

"We droppin' SCIENCE, son."

Stumbled across this 1958 television ad, featuring our favorite sport and starring a famous skier from that era. Anyone guess who's doing the stunt work?

I doubt that lever is custom made for MC. Just search for various spline clamp-type handles until you fine one that's compatible. OR, drill and tap a large (I.e. 10-32) stainless setscrew in from the side, such that the tip "digs" into the shaft splines. I see that as a 10 minute job... if you really take your time.

The indomitable Jeff Rogers has one of the very best onside turns in the history of the sport. A couple of decades ago an interviewer asked him how he does it, and he answered, "I try to sit on the ball". Make of that what you will.

Rather than "hold the [heel] in place", I think the nylon screws are intended to guide the heel into the left/right placement you prefer PRIOR to locking the rear binding closed.

Nylon screws and / or bolts (with heads on them) are readily available at Lowe's and Home Depot in their specialty fasteners area. I doubt a screw head on the outboard side of the binding is going to cause any problems.

The following photos may give you some insight into why the gate is actually a much bigger target than it appears. Notice how far downcourse the skier has been pulled, versus how far crosscourse he travels in the same few moments. Also, believe it or not, this skier (wearing a head-mounted GoPro camera), easily cleared the right hand gate ball.