lakeaustinskier

Give the skier 100% of your mental attention by actively engaging your mind during the pass (no daydreaming, turn off the cell phone etc.) Get senior drivers in the boat with you to give you feedback on your driving. Funny how if you can't be coached in driving you can't be coached in the course.

I need some advice. I've been demoing skis and I'm probably going to keep my S2 from H2Osmosis. The question is whether to buy a 67.5 or a 66.5. Normally I'd take the 67.5 however my ski partner tells me I might try the 66.5 since I'm still in the demo phase. According to HO the 67.5 is 180 plus while the 66.5 falls 150-190. I'm 6' 2" 190 and ski 32 off 50/50 and still beating on 35. I'm coming off a 67 silvertop Strada. Thoughts?

Agreed - contact H2Osmosis for their demo program. Great service and advice. You can try out several skis for the cost of shipping with the undertanding that you'll buy a ski after you've tried all the options. I just tried a Fusion (not for me) and am currently checking out a S2 (still in the honeymoon but really like it).

Don't expect to ski your practice PB. My nerves kill me in tournaments and I've recently started participating simply to conquer my nerves. Maybe you'll not do as well as you'd hoped, however, lots of people will support your efforts. Tournaments can burn up an entire day sometimes. To pass the time throw yourself into helping at the tournament. Ask the Chief Judge for an application and start working on your Assistant Judge rating. They'll probably place you on the starting dock then move you to other areas. Good luck!

Scouts consumes my time. The upshot is that as a parent you can take some super cool trips. This summer canoeing in Arkansas and Catalina Island.

I’m friends with Austin Nichols parents and his mom told me that Austin Nichols was on the US Jr. Waterski team and won overall at the Pan Am games. Austin went to the Masters twice, and was ranked 5th in the World Jr. level. As a side note his mom, Kay Nichols is a 17 time National Trick Champion, Women 5 national trick record holder and currently ranked 1st in the world in women 6 tricks. Austin was "John" in the shortlived HBO show "John from Cinncinnati" and I believe he's now in a show called "One Tree Hill".

My kids buy me a new ML handle and rope every year for Christmas (it beats neckties). I tell them what "model" etc. then they get to pick the rope colors. Sometimes the colors look good and sometimes they don't.................

I know people sometimes hate on O'Neil because they have the perception that they don't "support" our sport as much as other brands, but O'Neil sure does support their products. Just last week my ski partner had a drysuit that was leaking around the zipper and O'Neil just sent him a new suit without a hassle. I've also had stuff repaired by them free of charge without a hassle.

I've had front and rear FM E-Series for almost three seasons and have not had any issues. They've always released when they should. I wanted a binding that had the stiffness and comfort of a hardshell yet some of the flexibility of rubber. Stradas and similar hybrid bindings are not an option for me since those bindings have a lower height and I like something higher on my ankle/leg. My only comment might be that like any binding you should always check all the fasteners etc. before each set.

For some reason lifting hot women with the Turkish Get Up is very popular on YouTube . If we ignore the snug ski shorts on that dude for those of you that have never done this exercise the sheer feat of him lifting the girl is very impressive. People sometimes cheat and bend their arms and he did not.

For the first time in my life I'm battling tendinitis and have not been able to really do much upper body-wise in the off season. So I've been doing a lot of Turkish Get-Ups (Google it). The soreness that I experience afterwards seems fairly similar to slalom.

I bought the video and I thought it was okay especially with the old video footage.

Here in Austin we're all curious about how the new F1 track will turn out. From the beginning the entire thing has been mired in controversy. We'll see if they can pull it off in November............... The track is about 5 miles from Aquaplex.

How about the name of a Urologist in Austin - Richard Chopp? http://www.urologyteam.com/?q=dr-richard-chopp

Extending the berm and only leaving a small gap between the two lakes was already part of the plan (we'll also get rid of some of the dirt that way). We're also trying to figure out the best way to leave a small gap between the two lakes to allow boats to pass between the two lakes, yet still be able to close off the gap and pump from one lake to another. Short of dumping dirt to temporarily fill the gap is there another option?

Sorry - hit send too fast. Aquaplex is fed by run-off from a 2,000 acre watershed (no well etc.). Right now the Austin Area is about 23 inches below normal in rainfall for the last 12 month period. We've had the area reviewed by a hydrologist and he tells us that Aquaplex is located in a fantastic area for a ski lake (lots of clay) but bad news is there's absolutely no significant groundwater within 10 miles. We've considered bulding a third lake for a reservoir however that option would probably kick in lots of permits/regulations and government hassle. Dredging is crazy expensive and since there's about 6 inches of water in the lakes right now why not drain? For those of you that have skied at Aquaplex we've hosted many large tournaments over the years (several Big Dawgs, U. S. Open etc.). The Collegiate Nationals were held at Aquaplex last year. Bottom line is we want to be very careful and not change the "great skiing" that Aquaplex is known for. Obviously I have too much money since I'm paying dues NOT to ski at Aquaplex but I'm still paying cash to lease at another ski lake located about an hour from my house.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback and keep the comments coming! I've sent some reply e-mails out and hopefully I'll get some good feedback to kickstart this project.

I need some feedback and help. Due to continuing drought in our area we are considering digging out and deepening our lake (Aquaplex in Austin). Most of the ski lakes in the area have been unskiable since July (including Aquaplex). To preserve the slope ratio we’re thinking that the digging should be from the centerline out beyond the buoys maybe 15 feet max. I need some feedback from people that have deepened their lakes, (names, numbers etc.). I’m discovering that digging out and deepening an existing lake is a different animal than digging a new lake or just removing sediment. Thanks for any help or comments!

If you are interested in moving to the Austin area call me and I'll give you some feedback. For better or worse I have all the options covered. I live on Lake Austin, own a lot (no house) at Aquaplex and due to the drought currently ski at San Marcos Ski Ranch.........my number is 512-263-5165. Ted Thomson.

Eagle does make a nice vest, however, they seem to be having some kind of manufacturing problem right now. I ordered 3 vests for my kids the first week of June and just got them the middle of August.

As a fun side note my ski partner Gary Forni wrote the "Addict" article and most of page 59 came straight from Trent's instruction. I took the picture of Trent with Gary in the water.

I attended a Andy Mapple clinic and the #1 piece of advice he gave me was "don't be afraid to be aggressive and lean hard". He was talking about aggressively leaning right after the ski finishes the turn.....

My family has been to Bennett's 3-4 times and my kids love the place (my kids are 7, 8, and 11). Very family friendly and kid-centric. Jump is very strong, trick is very good and beginner ski/slalom is good. Probably not the place for higher end slalom. I've also been to H2Oz and had a great time. Great slalom instruction plus I could sell the trip to my wife (a non-skier) since we stayed in Charleston and toured the city. Charleston is very pretty and has tons of history.

Where is Shane in this conversation?

Ski? Strada Bindings? - FM E-Series – could never get used to “low” bindings like Radar Vest? – O’Neill Revenge Gloves? HO 41 Tail – as tight as I can stand them (and I agree best glove ever) Rope? MasterLine Pro Mainline Handle? 1.03 Masterline 13 inch custom Bag? Eagle Calipers? Harbor Freight specials –(need to upgrade), screwdriver and angle gauge from H2Os Trunks? Anything but Neoprene nut-huggers Boat? 2007 196 LTD Speed Control? ZO (B3 lately)