jimbrake

outerknown

Also a D3 Leverage is actually surprisingly stiff with the plastic inserts between the boot rubber and the wraps. I used to take those out, but left them in on my most recent one and the binding fits awesome and has good lateral stiffness.

Art was a big figure in NorCal waterskiing for a long time. Such a nice man. He will definitely be missed.

@matthewbrown - I’m self-inviting.

@adamhcaldwell - yeah but. Yeah, but water ski slalom is inherently asymmetric. Nate doesn't look like that on the other side. Are you saying from CL to release of the handle that you're (you, specifically, are) trying to move early downcourse and to the inside to prep for the upcoming turn? Aren't you trying to stay connected and ride the swing out and up? I understand being/getting tall to stay up over your feet and with your ski, but what you are describing almost sounds like coming off the line and getting loose all (early down the hill movement) in the name of early turn prep. Now I'm lost. I thought we were all trying to keep the line tight and swing high up on the boat.

@adamhcaldwell - you’re seeing early down the hill movement to stay with or get ahead of the skis combined w some steering (more of a slalom thing) during an unweighted phase that is dictated by course set and pitch of the hill. We could debate and find similarities to water ski slalom, but my thought is that alpine methods are too diverse and variable based on way more factors to try to make a straight comparison to water ski slalom. Would love to have those discussions in person! Would be fun.

@slow - only after Ligety’s back started to go. But yeah - Hirscher was great. Actually Stenmark was the man first.

@adamhcaldwell - I'm going against what I just posted, but have to chime. I've watched endless Ligety video as well as other top World Cup GS skiers and I don't see what you're seeing. Upper body rotation into the turn? Maybe on a turn or two specific to the course set and hill specifics, but as a rule the early part of the turn above or into the fall line is more like holding off rotation. Look at his position at 2:18 (crap I don't know how to do a screen grab). That is classic modern GS. His chest is pointed across his skis to the outside of the turn and he will hold that until the skis start to come back under him. That is a powerful, high-edge angle, upright torso, edge-holding position. It's also brutal on the lower back, hence Ted's retirement this year (in addition to other family forces).

@drago - I agree. In ski racing there are so many athlete, speed, terrain, and course set variations that you can never take one pic and say "See? See how the best do it?" You can watch endless video from different angles and see common threads in technique. If you do that in ski racing, you'll see a lot of relatively level shoulders, but the forces a ski racer is dealing with are entirely different than those acting on a water ski slalom skier. I like level shoulders, though.

@bigtex2011 and @lhoover - I sent you boys some PMs.

Thanks, all! I'll reach out privately.

Hey ya'll. I'm going to be in Nacogdoches, TX from 5/4 through 5/11 and wondering if I might be able to buy a set within 150 miles of Nac. Shreveport lakes are closest, but I could potentially run up towards Dallas or back towards Houston, if that were my only option. Would prefer not to have to drive across either of those metro areas in their entireties. Surprising there are no ski sites anywhere in East Texas (that I'm aware of). If there are and a ride is possible, please let me know! Thank you in advance for any offers. I could certainly return the favor in Sacramento, CA. Jim

@chaloux as a dad I can tell you that really hurts.

God damn. So sorry for you and your family @RazorRoss3. I didn't know your dad except through BOS and I miss him. Strong as hell and by strong, I don't mean the obvious that he was - I mean strong in spirit. Actually, that was pretty obvious, too. Wish I could give you a hug. Jim

@Fastguy888 - I was just looking at Puddingstone Res on Google Earth because I'm working on a nearby site in Pomona. Amazing and great that there is a lake in the middle of the LA Metro area that you can ski on. Very cool.

Pressuring the new outside ski above and in the fall line. Getting the inside knee out of the way. Vision (just like in slalom waterskiing).

@The_MS my man, you can't spell for shit.

@Mortyski - haha, I'm old, too. You could easily bend a tip on the ROC 550s if you freeskied them in the bumps. I raced slalom and GS on a single pair of 207 ST Comps to save money. I've got a pair of Rossi's current Masters GS in a 185 and they are sweet. It's pretty crazy how comfortable fast you can be these days on a 165 slalom or a 185 GS. BTW the only reason I brought up old race skis is that I figured @Drago would know what I was talking about. Re: the OP - I've skied with the Denali CG and the original Whisper Fin and liked them both, but my coach this year poo poo'd fin technology and got me to go back to a standard fin. I think I actually like the standard fin a little better. Feels like a bit more power and grip and acceleration with stock settings on a standard fin. That said, I will try the others again and see what I feel. There's just a honeymoon few sets on whatever is new, then the feeling fades.

@Mortyski because @Drago still races GS on 210 cm Rossi ROC 550s from 1975. (jk @Drago)

@cruznski - skiing without ibuprofen? That’s crazy talk.

@MDB1056 - I agree, we probably understand things better (I know I do), but physically learning and executing? Tell an older adult to "push your hips up", "connect to the handle", "stay connected through the edge change", and they will usually adjust (or try to) by an insufficient increment. Tell a kid and they just do it. Damn kids. Try to be like a kid in your old age learning - that's what I was getting at in my last post.

This thread - when old dudes continue to do something that is physically difficult and demanding. I love it. I was once told about some aging big wave surfers (talk about physically difficult and demanding) taking steroids just to stay in the game. Not worth it in the long run, but I admit at the time I thought "hmmmm". In alpine skiing I like to think I still "charge". In reality, compared to the young bucks with strong rubber bodies, I do not, but I try. It's fun and gratifying to push kind of as hard as you can, but if you step back and look at yourself in the big picture, you're an old dude on an inevitable decline that ends with...stopping (fill in your own ending). I know I'm kidding myself when I work real hard to get better as if I'm a kid on an upward learning curve, but that is just part of slowing the decline and I prefer that to giving the F up. All we can do is endeavor to make the decline a looonnngggg, slllloooowww approach and have as much fun along the way as we can. Injuries are a temporary falling off of the approach, but you can get back on.

I feel ya @prk. I've been there. I started water skiing at 4, started skiing in a slalom course at 17, started jumping at 18. I'm 62. Only thing I ever stopped was jumping (at 35 yo) because I had had enough serious injuries, but I loved it and still regret it. Have been injured A LOT from water skiing and snow skiing (more on water) and undergone a lot of repair and rehab since 1980. I think I love slalom (and alpine skiing and surfing) more than ever. Never felt much of a decline in physical capability until 50 and since then it's been a very slow decline but I battle it constantly. Honestly, one of the best and easiest things I've done to improve how I feel these past few years is to drink more water. Early last season I was really hurting from a combination of water skiing, heavy yard project work, swimming, lifting - just feeling like crap and weak. I went to a naturophathic doc that my wife sees and told her what was going on. She counseled me to drink 90 ounces+ a day (among other things). This really, really helped more than I could've imagined and I've been consistent with it since. Skied more sets this year than ever (essentially daily) and here it is Halloween and I'm not the least bit beat up/worn out. Hydration, good diet, stretching (yoga), breathing/meditation, and whatever form of cardio and muscle resistance you prefer kind of have to be the norm for daily life as we age if you want to keep at something like this sport. I think you are dealing with the toughest part of injury - the mental battle. It's always bleak at the start, but then you get the light at the end of the tunnel, and eventually work your way back to your sport. Sorry for you, man. Hang in there, get strong again, and get coaching to avoid whatever you were doing that likely caused the injuries. Don't stop.

@Mateo_Vargas - you live in an area of California with one of the most diverse populations in a diverse state. Do you see any evidence of that at the park? I'm not referring specifically to the bathrooms, so don't go there.

I refunded the buyer. I think many probably use the forwarding service for a legit purchase and shipment, but I think some are using it to run a refund scam and you don't get your item back. I couldn't confirm legitimacy of the transaction and just felt too skeptical, so I backed out. I may have been wrong, may have been right.