Ed_Obermeier

Sorry man, I can't comment further until the ski tests come out.  I'm probably facing excommunication as is just saying this much. Once the tests are released I'll be more than happy to expound on my impressions of the various skis I got to ride at the tests.  Right now I gotta keep it on the down low... EdÂÂÂÂ

Brent, We're roughly the same size and capability (I'm a little lighter...), last spring I went from a 69.5" Monza to a 68" MPD and from the standpoint of stability and how well the ski supposts me, to say nothing of how the ski works for me, I'd never have known I'm on a shorter ski. I recently got to try a couple on new Nomad RC's and to my amazement the 67" worked better for me than the 68" did. Who knows? I think it's how the ski is designed that makes the difference. I'd say give a 68" a try and see how you feel on it - if it feels plenty supportive you're good to go. If not, I don't necessarily agree that the longer skis don't turn as well as the shorter ones. Depends on the ski IMO. Ed

CP's not listed as a team skier in the HO ad thing that came with the "Boat Test" issue of WSM yesterday so one is left to assume he's no longer there. Greg Badal told me personally at the ski tests while I was in the boat with him that CP WAS still at HO. Maybe at the time he still was, or maybe it was purposeful disinformation. I was asking him about the new ski HO's working on ("The World Changes on 3-1-08" ski). He really didn't want to talk about it too much for obvious reasons; after quizing him a bit he stated that at that time CP and Will Asher were the only two riding it but that HO was about to start spreading it around to several other skiers to get their input. Also stated that it was specifically for high end skiers and would be positioned above the Monza. Word on the Net is that it's positioned between the Monza and the Sys 8 so maybe I'm wrong on that one too. But that was what Greg told me FWIW. EdÂÂÂÂ

I agree with John for the most part, I notice firmness of pull more than wake. There are a few I've skied behind with noticably bigger or harder wakes (MC 205's come to mind) but out of the top 6 - 8 basically dedicated slalom boats, put me in the water, throw me a rope, and hit it. If it's got a motor in the middle and is (generally) under 21 feet I'm good to go. I think we all have some personal peferrences, probably due to what you ski behind most or what you've become used to. But as you said, put away your brand loyality and just ski and you probably wouldn't really care what brand name the boat sports. I ski regularly behind a buddies 2000 Moomba Outback LS and I ski as well behind it as I do another buddies new-every-year MC 197 promo.  Driving it and the points-for-snot factor are certainly different, but I get as many buoys behind the Moomba as I do the MC's. Ed

Exactly what we did last May. Two sets a day for three days, videoed everything. Some of what Matt was trying to get me to do didn't sink in immediately (while we were there) but once I got home and worked on it some more, reviewed the video several times, and let it finally sink in it all made perfect sense and really improved my knowledge base and my skiing. Cool thing about Matt IMO is that he has the ability to operate at whatever level you're at without being condesending or over your head. The net results were worth every penny and I'm intending to go back again this coming spring. EdÂÂÂÂ

Wish you would have told us where the good radio stations were when we were out there for the tests. We left SoCal thinking that the radio there totally sucked. Playing with the radio in our rental car on the ride back to LAX we discovered too late that it had an XM radio in it. Finding that too late sucked too. Ed

Note to those looking to upgrade to Stargazer - if you want one for next spring you'd be well advised to get on the waiting list NOW. The people I'm talking to who are in the know tell me that they are expecting a LOT of first year demand for the upgrade and like a lot the new hot skis these days, initial availability when it is first released may be somewhat limited. Yes, I'm on the list. I'm told that the upgrade should be pretty simple to do. Basically it's just replacing the old ECM with a new brain module (take the old one out and mount this one in the same place I'd assume) and mounting the GPS antenna. If you have the old display (I do) you need to replace that with the new display. Sounds easy enough to me. I'm also told that the pull with Stargazer feels just like the old PP except a bit softer. Softer is a good thing AFAIC. Ed

Amen!

OK John, your turn.

Just a few of the numerous things that clicked on for me this year - 1) Patience in the turns, probably my biggest personal breakthrough. Most of the new skis like you to be still in the turn, let them run and don't try to make them do anything. I know I'm a bit slow to this realization; once I got it my passes got a lot easier. Didn't result in a PB but I'm WAY more consistant and I can feel that next PB coming. 2) Improving core strength is major. I worked hard this year on getting my core stronger and the payoff was much more consistant skiing with better body position and control. I'm nowhere near perfect yet but much, much better. If you don't have good core conditioning and you want to ski better, WORK ON YOUR CORE STRENGTH. 3) Good coaching is paramount. I didn't know how much I didn't know (and how many misconceptions I'd had for way too long) until I finally got some GOOD coaching. You've heard the saying "the more you know the more you realize that you don't know" ? Ski with better skiers than you all you can and get thee to a good coach who can explain things to you in terms that YOU can understand. 4) You gotta REACH in the turns, really stretch it out. Again I thought I was better at it than I really am. Having someone who knows more than you do watching and giving pointers (thanks Keith A!) helps a bunch.   Videoing yourself skiing helps a bunch. That's enough for now... Ed  ÂÂÂÂ

Still kicking Bill. I've already started hitting the gym to work on rehabing my beat up shoulders (and beat up knees and beat up back and ...). As much as I hate that the season is over it's good to have a little recovery time. Hope the ankle is better soon.  Ed

Leon, I skied CR7's for years so I'm very familiar with the ski, it's definitely a very good ski. I also work with a lot of novice and beginner couse skiers so I'm also familiar with their issues. I'm here to tell you that a CR7 ain't a 28 - 30 mph ski. It's kind of amazing how much it wakes up and really starts to perform when you get it to 34, even from 32. I agree with Horton on this issue, you really need a ski that is designed for the speeds you're currently going.  I also have a solution for you. When I was still on my CR7 and started skiing Wide Ride class at INT tournaments (max speed is 30 mph for wide ride class) I wanted a ski that felt and performed like my CR7 but at a slower speed. KD made a ski called the Evolution CR that is simply a 1/2" wider CR7. Same layup, same bevels etc. The transition from one to the other is minimal (slow skiing does require some slight adjustments from faster skiing but the basics remain the same). And the Evo will also ski at 34 mph, I've run 22 on it several times just to see how it felt and I know it will go way deeper at 34 just haven't tried it. Might be worth looking into.  Of course KD isn't around anymore but Wileys does still have the Evo CR available for $359 with Wiley bindings, and you could probably get it for around $250 blank. I still ski mine and have run into mid 38 off at 30 mph on it so there is no doubt that it is a performance ski. If you get one get the red & black CR and not the blue version, the blue is a softer layup and isn't as much a performance ski as the red one.  Hope this was helpful.  Ed ÂÂÂÂ