jeblanc

Thanks @Rednucleus! I managed to ski through November with just a wetsuit but had to winterize December through last week. I think all those years growing up skiing in the Columbia in Eastern Oregon numbed me for years to come.

First time I've ever skied in March. Water was about 55 degrees.

Hoping to be able to make it onto the March thread (:

I'm RFF and was right palm up for years because I didn't know any better. I switched last year when I started skiing on a course and did notice a difference. I spent weeks holding a rope handle the correct way while I watched television to get gain muscle memory. It made switching a lot more seamless.

@YumpR I can't recommend the Connelly V enough for someone in your position. It's fast and forgiving, especially when you're learning to ski on a course but also if you spend time just skiing open water. And you can get it new for under $500, with the boots included. Connelly has always provided top-notch customer service for us. It's comparable to the Radar Senate, which I've only heard good things about as well. Good luck

Strike that delicate balance of pushing (gently) my daughter to ski more but also sitting back and hoping I set enough of an example that she jumps in without any prodding (no easy task).

@MISkier, that's what I get for not reading the whole post. I let myself get distracted by the video clips. It's not just my skiing that needs more concentration.

I'm still waiting for someone to post a clip of the Fonz jumping the shark.

@Horton, thanks for the videos you post from time to time that show your daughter skiing. Our oldest is 8 and she got up on 2 skis early this summer. Sometimes it was difficult to keep her motivated since she (shockingly) has a lot to learn. Showing her videos of other kids doing it, such as your daughter, helped inspire her. Thanks for sharing.

I'd been skiing on a Connelly V all summer and loved it. It was a great ski for getting better on the course, stable and forgiving. Last month I had a chance to buy a never used 2018 Connelly GT. After getter some helpful input from fellow baller nleuth, who is very familiar with this ski, I went ahead and bought it. I finally tried it out this weekend and it's everything I hoped it would be! It turns great and gets me across the wake much faster. Can't wait to get back out there.

Great camera positioning. It gives us amateur skiers multiple angles to watch his technique. Now if only it were as easy as watching it a few times and then just going out and mimicking it.

I saw him play at the Gorge Amphitheater back in the nineties. It's an amazing venue, right on the Columbia River, which appropriately enough is the river I learned to slalom ski on. He'll be missed.

I really like the lace adjustable rear toe plates. I use the one made by Connelly, but I'm sure the other brands such as HO or Radar work great as well. You just slide your foot in place and lace it up tight. Once I got it to where I wanted at the beginning of the summer I haven't had to readjust it since.

For the longest time I wasted a lot of energy trying to use my back leg to push when I turned, thinking it was necessary to get a sharper turn. A skiing partner told me to think of my legs as "jello." Just be in the right position, obviously easier said than done, and let the ski do the work. "The ski wants to turn" were his exact words. He also really drilled into me that I need to keep my hands low at my hips and outstretched when I come out of my turn. Those two pieces of advice did the most for improving my course skiing, and just my skiing in general. It kept my rope tighter and got me across the wake a lot faster. Good luck.

I agree with Jmoski. For many years I skied open water on an F1 when I wasn't skiing on my old Concept. The F1 was definitely squirrelly but I learned to adjust to it. However, when I began skiing on a course last year I was making very little progress with that ski. I had developed bad habits, I believe, due to making those adjustments. I couldn't maintain an edge when crossing the wake. Plus it was a very tiring ski. At the beginning of this summer I got a Connelly V. Since then I have made far quicker progress on the course, and I have more fun on it. I can regularly ski 15 off and I am now working on -22. And the V leaves me far less fatigued. I finally understand what it means to be a ski that is more "forgiving." Go with the Omni, and the Carbon Omni if you can afford it.

I've always used an RTP. For many years it was just because it was all I knew. I have used a friend's double boot several times over the past year or so since I started skiing regularly on a course. I found that I can better keep my weight forward and balanced with an RTP, which was a bad habit that I didn't even know I had until a friend who's a much better skier than me pointed it out. It may be because that's just what I'm used to, but it may also be because I can lift my foot up more freely in order to not have all of my weight on my back foot.

I'm John and I live in Coos Bay, Oregon. I grew up slalom skiing but after college I didn't get many opportunities to ski. For about 15 years I skied one week a year when we vacationed to my parent's place, which was on a lake. I would pull out my trusty Connelly Concept that I got in 1996 and ski as much as humanly possible for those 7 or 8 days of vacation each year. Last year we got a boat and I once again had the chance to ski on a regular basis. We also got my daughter up on 2 skis. A friend of mine introduced me to to a couple of guys who maintain a course on a nearby lake and I really re-discovered my love for slalom skiing. They are pretty phenomenal skiers, and they are always willing to impart their knowledge to me, and now I can't get enough of it. Skiing the course was quite the humbling experience as it exposed all of the flaws in my abilities that I never knew I had. Earlier this summer I got all 6 balls for the first time at -15 off. Now I'm working on -22 off. I turned 40 this year and words cannot express how rewarding it has been to have something to strive for. When I'm not skiing I often find myself thinking about how I can improve my technique for next time. And yes, I did get a new ski, a Connelly V. It's been a great ski as I hone my abilities and learn from my mistakes. I want to extend my thanks to all of you who always seem willing to impart your wisdom on this forum to those of us who still have much to learn.