lpskier

A new ski partner this summer has an interesting story. He competed in the Vancouver Olympics in Bobsled where he placed tenth in the two man event. From the Olympics, he went almost directly to Afghanistan with the 86th Mountain Infantry Brigade as a heavy weapons gunner. The experience had an effect on him. Before he went to war, he was a wakeboarder. He came home a slalom skier. God bless this young man and all our veterans.

I once asked Kris LaPoint how high a binding should be. His response was to the effect "The lower, the better." The Stealth is taller, does not have a hinged upper cuff, and has laces. It may come with a power strap or a top buckle. It is very cool looking with a mixture of carbon and leatherette. It employs the Fogman plate and release system. The binding provides a lot of power behind the boat. The Prophecy and perhaps the Carbon V should come with inserts for the Stealth system, so if you were leary about Fogmans because of the mounting issue, that issue is gone if you ride Connelly. However, if you didn't like Fogmans because you thought they were hard to get on or off, you probably won't like the Stealth either.

I once asked Kris LaPoint how high a binding should be. His response was to the effect "The lower, the better." The Stealth is taller, does not have a hinged upper cuff, and has laces. It may come with a power strap or a top buckle. It is very cool looking with a mixture of carbon and leatherette. It employs the Fogman plate and release system. The binding provides a lot of power behind the boat. The Prophecy and perhaps the Carbon V should come with inserts for the Stealth system, so if you were leary about Fogmans because of the mounting issue, that issue is gone if you ride Connelly. However, if you didn't like Fogmans because you thought they were hard to get on or off, you probably won't like the Stealth either.

From your ski partner:"Hey, my wife is pregnant!" Even worse: "With twins!"

Ah... That being the case, I am back to being a live and let live guy. I guess the speed control systems would have to be reprogrammed to run 56.5kph in tournament mode, but I suppose that would be pretty easy to do.

I am a live and let live guy, but here is my concern. 90 pulls is a full day of skiing for a one lake tournament. 30 skiers, three rounds each. Lets say we are going to have four MM skiers at a tournament who are going to ski three rounds of MM55 and three of MM56.5. Is it going to be a 102 pull tournament, adding at least an hour to an already long day for skiers, drivers, officials, etc? Or are we going to limit the entries to 26 skiers, 22 who get to ski three times and 4 who get to ski six? Are the MM skiers going to pay one entry fee or two? If we are keeping entries to 30, how are we going to ensure that everyone skis at least three rounds before running out of light? If I skied twice and lost my last round because it was dark, I'd be pretty pissed if some other guy skied six times. If I drove all the way from New York to Trophy and that happened, I would really pissed. In reality, this won't effect me much because I ski most of my tournaments in the East and we have few MM guys. But I do go south, so I could be effected, therefore I feel free to voice my opinion. And in my opinion, if this will run the risk of negatively impacting any other skiers by time constraints, unreasonable lengthening of tournaments, limiting entries, or "we don't really have time for a full third round so you have to start the third round at the last full line length you ran in the second round", I am against it. If you want to do it at multi-lake sites where there will be no impact, and you don't mind paying two entries, and you can get enough drivers, boats, judges, scorers and safety personnel, have at it. Or have I completely misunderstood the proposal, and you are suggesting that you would ski 2 rounds of one speed and a third of another? If THIS is the proposal, I have no opinion one way or the other. John Wilkins

You would have run that last year. Those shorts look a lot tighter this year.

Double duty as a deer stand in the fall is a plus.

Double duty as a deer stand in the fall is a plus.

Salem: Massachusetts? New Hampshire? Virginia? North Carolina? Missouri? Utah? Oregon? You see where I am going with this.... Come on Brad, you have been a member for almost two hours now, you should be better at this. Don't be put off by my sarcasm. It is just my way of enjoying a great web site. Everybody brings something to the table here, and my job is the humor. Welcome.

Salem: Massachusetts? New Hampshire? Virginia? North Carolina? Missouri? Utah? Oregon? You see where I am going with this.... Come on Brad, you have been a member for almost two hours now, you should be better at this. Don't be put off by my sarcasm. It is just my way of enjoying a great web site. Everybody brings something to the table here, and my job is the humor. Welcome.

With a few notable exceptions, 2011 was a bust for me.

With a few notable exceptions, 2011 was a bust for me.

Horton: Regarding ski length, I am on a 68 Prophecy now and intend to upgrade my ride when Connelly builds a 68 of the new Prophecy. I am 6'2' (used to be taller) and ski at 192. What is your height and weight? I am curious about whether I want to try a 67. Thanks.

Time off and what LeonL said. A typical slump, especially where you are having trouble running an opener, is usually about a narrow gate, starting too hard on your turn in, releasing the handle too soon, pulling too long or skiing right at one ball, or a combination thereof. I'd think about a minimum of a week off, maybe two, then video yourself when you get back on the water feeling relaxed, fresh and eager. Your slump will probably be gone.

Hear, hear to Dave's Pond. Also Hidden Pass in Penfield, NY.

In New York, you can take a several hour class, pass a test and get a license to operate a boat. At age 10. Of the many boating accidents I am familiar with, I can think of two that involved kids under 20, but many that involved people over 40. I think that by and large, younger boaters are more attentive. I got my license when I was 10, as did my children. Two words of advice gleaned from 45 years of boating experience: Give plenty of room to people driving Bayliners and to people driving with boat fenders dangling from their gunwales.

A new discovery for me is Little Mountain Ski Club in Maiden, NC. Beautiful site and skis great (just ask Jeff Rodgers). Another Ed Neill lake.

I showed this video to my wife, and she immediately picked up on something all you guys have totally missed. Her life jacket is adorable!

I like a good spanking when I am naughty. OOPS! Wrong site!

I had my hardest fall/biggest injury of the season yesterday. I slipped on a wet, slippery rock, banged my quad and fell in the lake as we were pulling out the course for the season! I can hardly walk today. Guess I'll have to watch football.

Anyone else having problems with their Pandora connection? Mine sounds like I have a skip in the record. I though I had just used up my minutes, but it is October and no change.

Pulled the course today. 39 degrees. Water still 64. Muzzle loading season opens in two weeks. Between now and then I have to put away all the summer crap and get out all the winter crap. Crap!

I just spit out my dinner on that one! Although I had a student one time that we called "Butt Babe" for the same reason. Lucky says some funny things, but he is a very sincere guy. He can say what he wants to me, I'll ski with him any time.

I was at the tournament and have a good five ball photo. Now if I could just figure out how to post it.... If any of you are Facebook friends of mine, I posted it Saturday on my Wall. By the way, Jeff ran a sweet 4@41 first round, but scrapped the 4.25 in the second, almost getting pulled out of his socks at three, arms going way out and getting pulled as far forward as he could go without falling. I asked him about it and he said he got his thumb stuck in his life jacket buckle coming out of two ball. A record AND a good story.