jimbrake

Got to ski two sets w Thomas Degasperi in September at his family's ski school in Trento, IT. This is EXACTLY what he was trying to get me to do coming into the buoy. He didn't specify back leg, but he was trying to get me to be as tall as possible coming into the buoy. That centering (or getting forward) plus being patient and slow back to the handle really helped me. I knew that being tall, especially into my offside, was a good thing, but I wasn't consistent with it and that coaching kind of cemented it's importance for me.

I'm doing it. As @mlusa indicated, it's way more mobility oriented. So far. It's just starting to get a little "weighty".

@skialex - where is that in the snow skiing pic (looks windblown and fun) and what exactly is going on there in that pic?

awesome

Bullfighting and bar-riding. ;) Alpine skiing, surfing on actual ocean waves, shaping surfboards, and trying to stay in shape for all of it.

@AdamCord - if I order another CG fin soon (like early next week), will I be able to get it before Christmas?

I got my CG fin back in September. Put it on my D3 EVO at the same settings I was running my D3 fin - basically long/shallow. It worked great from the get go and really helped my onside in particular. A couple of weeks ago I decided to try short/deep just for the heck of it. Just kind of randomly set it around 6.85 and 2.5. For someone who has been pretty sensitive to small fin movements in the past, I felt essentially no significant difference and my ski/fin set up still works awesome. Have been super happy with the EVO and the CG fin made it even better. Next I'll try 7 inches long and 2 inches deep, then 6 inches long and 3 inches deep, just to show that fin who the damn boss is anyway.

Drag is one of the reasons I still use D3 Leverages - no drag with them. Drag was one of the significant impediments to me switching to hardshells.

@wish - slalom, trick, and jump. With a gun. Duh.

@Drago - his set up is not DIN. Won't pass FIS inspection either.

Got to watch my son take a beating last Sunday at collegiate Western Regionals. He's not getting any jump practice lately except tournaments and he also was pretty sick from collegiate tournament Saturday Night-itis. His mom had come out to watch him jump, too. Late cut on his first attempt (what else are you going to do when you're hung over?), arms pulled out, crap position off the second wake, horrendous out the back. There was a lot of gasping, yelling, dudes heroically running and diving into the water. I just stood there with my arms crossed because I knew he would be OK even though he got the snot knocked out of him. He shook it off, put his skis back on and put up a shaky, but decent second jump that got him the win. Barely. Not a great jump, but I was impressed with his getting back on the horse.

When I fall in and get deep on the backside of the buoy, I usually yell at the driver. JK @MillerTime38 - I agrees witchoo.

It's also boat-based/skier-based. Each boat is diff. Each skier is diff. Example: driving a light, smooth, pretty/cute, nice, shy skier behind a 200 vs. a big, heavy, hard-loading, hard-drinking, smelly, mean SOB behind a Carbon Pro. No diss to Centurion. I love driving them and skiing behind them.

I’m IN Italy right now after skiing last week with Gordon Rathbun at the Degasper’s site on Lake Caldonazzo near Trento and with Matteo van de Putte at Lake Palas near Viverone. Spending this week touring around but no skiing. Skiing on L. Caldonazzo was insanely beautiful. We had absolutely perfect conditions every day. Air was low to mid-80s and water in the high-70s. Thomas popped in on Tuesday between tournaments to coach which was really cool. His mom and dad are awesome and very welcoming. Definitely the most beautiful setting I’ve ever skied in. Lots to see and do when you aren’t skiing too. Lake Palas is more like the tournament lakes I’m used to at home. Skied awesome and they have a nice set up there on shore. Gordon and Gabriella do a wonderful job with this trip - the skiing, the siteseeing, the hotels, the food. All top notch. This tour around Italy sounds great. That is a lot of moving from site to site but probably we’ll worth it.

So @S1Pitts what Ski are you on and what numbers did you settle on? I just started trying mine. Love the onside and trying to find a number for my offside.

@Bruce_Butterfield - you're using + with what setting? How do you feel it's letting you ski better? I'm in the same 10 year battle.

LFF on 67 D3 EVO. 6.94, 2.45, 0.74, 7 degrees standard wing. Ditto what @BuoyChaser said - one ball tip stays down great and I got out of that side fast. My offside 246 was similar, but less consistent. Just a little tougher to control on that side with more ski in the water. Will probably back out some tip. Love the onside. Made it feel foolproof. Which is nice.

Installed my new CG on my D3 EVO last night. Had to grind down the back tab and a tiny bit of the front tip (the portion that is up inside the ski) to get it to fit into the D3 fin block. Got it in, set it to same settings I have been running on my stock D3 fin, and will test tonight. I've been battling my start at 35 all year. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's the opposite of great. I expect I'll run 38 tonight.

Bump - Did you guys see that Mondo cleared 6.05 meters? Video I saw, he cleared it solidly, too. He'll go 20+ in a comp soon (if he hasn't already). He also continues to vault for Sweden. The announcer said something about "the young swede". I laughed - the kid's from Louisiana.

I was #231. Non-Denali. Got mine yesterday.

@MS - totally agree with you and also @RazorRoss3. Make sure the little things are "right", but don't let them get in your head either. I've never been able to adjust to standard front hardshell because I can feel the drag on the buckles on my onside turn. I'm still in rubber because of it. I'm super sensitive to binding fit and alignment, too, but once it's dialed I forget about it. I untwist the rope. I adjust my trunks. I fiddle with my fin. I sand the bottom of my ski. I tighten my screws. I never think about any of it once I hope off the swim platform (which should be another thread - why do so many people have so much difficulty getting off the platform into the water? I see the flop, the jump and flop, the awkward sit-down with your ski on/nick the gelcoat of the transom, the slide off one side and nick the gelcoat, the sit down on the transom corner, the handstand push-off. Come on, people. It's not that hard.) But then again, you could ask "Jim, why the f do you have so much trouble with 35? Hmmm?"

OK! Rollerblading and junk food it is! Thanks @firebird!

Gordon Rathbun's new blue glove is awesome. I went from 41Tail reds to 41Tail yellows (no bueno) to Miami Ski Nautiques (like these a lot) to Gordon's blue glove. Gordon's grip is as good or slightly better than the MSNs (which for me got better w age), but slightly thicker and more protection. My hands are in best shape ever this season and I normally rip calluses off routinely in warm water. Not happening this year.

@Bruce_Butterfield - Hey Bruce. Nice shot of your son. Is he getting to ski all three events at Jr. Worlds?

@eleeski - actually it's just a Squaw game. They don't hide the gnome for the altoid hummer just anywhere.