lpskier

Hey Lakeo, which Adirondack lake?

AB: I know Alan but not well. I never skied his site although it is only about an hour and a half from Lake Placid. He was really active when I wasn't. I know Warren. He and my dad were really good friends.

I am not a fan of the T&B. I skied a T&B yesterday. I skied maybe 24/34 in the first round, waited for several hours to ski my second round while most skiers skied 2d and 3d rounds (the long wait being my biggest gripe). I found the long wait disconcerting. I did not T&B, choosing to wait for the wind to settle down (not a bad wind, but wind none the less), waited about six skiers and skied my third round (my 38 off shorts were still wet, so I had to wear a different pair, with poor results predictably following). I left the ski site at dark and drove seven hours home. This is NOT a negative comment about the tournament. The site was fantastic, the people extremely friendly, the event very well run and hot coffee and bar-b-q was included in the entry fee! Event-wise, it was as nice a tournament as I attended all year, and I would definitely go back in a heartbeat. It is just how the chips fell using the T&B format. I skied three other T&B events this season with the same type of experience, either for me or my ski partners. Some folks were done early and left, other folks had to stick it out to the bitter end, sort of alone, because they didn't want to rush through the day. Some folks were all done early, but had to wait because their ride didn't T&B. All that being said, I would not take the T&B format into account one way or the other when choosing whether to go to a particular tournament.

My name is John Wilkins. I am a 54 year old attorney from Lake Placid, NY. I learned to ski as a child, got hooked and started skiing tournaments (slalom, trick and jump) as a young teen, continuing though my mid 20's. Then I went to law school, moved to New York City and took up golf. In 1988, I moved back to lake Placid, quit golf (a stupid, stupid game), and started skiing again. I un-retired from competition in about 2002 or so. My current PB is 3@38 (then the NYS M5 record) and have a 98.5 average. I used to have an EP rating (and for some reason I am much prouder of that than being a "Level 8" skier). My ski partners are Terence Fogarty (M3, MM), Matt Matthews (M2) and Jon "Koosh" Kusiak (M2). I ski cold public water on a 68" Prophecy with Fogman Diablos behind a red 2007 Nautique with Stargazer. I listen to music my ski partners mostly don't like. My ski is three years old, and although I haven't touched the fin in two summers, I have moved the bindings.I take a bath with binding lube on the swim platform every morning after I ski. I wear a Speedo under my board shorts. I am always late. I own a business and have a partner ( a scratch golfer who played in the U.S. Senior Amatur last year). I have two employees to whom I provide family health insurance. I am taxed to death. I do not like our President, the Speaker of the House or the knucklehead from Nevada that runs things over in the Senate. I like to read, hunt, fish, play tennis and telemark ski. I am an amatur photographer. I root for TW on thwaterskiforum. I do not watch TV. Except 24, and that is over, so I again do not watch TV. Well, I watch Auburn football, too. But that is it. Otherwise, I do not watch TV. I have been married for 21 years this Thursday, consecutively, and to the same person, Aimee. Her mom was a skier and I was in like flint the first time I met the family as it turned out Jim McCormick was a mutual friend. Aimee skis but is not "a skier". We have a photo of my wife, her mom and our daughter skiing triple. My daughter Grace attends Auburn University as a sophomore, where she majors in business (I suspect mostly of the monkey variety). After 12 years of doingnothing but showing horses, she has decided she loves water skiing. Sheis a first year member of the Auburn Water Ski Team, where she slaloms,tricks and jumps under the watchful eye of Jeff Wiswall, who with his wife Vickie are good friends of our family. If anyone needs a really nice horse, I seem to have an extra one in inventory. My son John is a senior in high school (National Sports Academy, nuf said?) and aspires to snowboard in the X Games. He is very good at snowboarding. He has a cool video on http://hardwayapparel.com/ (second video on the page, titled "Windell's session 1", watch out for the F Bomb at the end)(his photo is also the background wall paper for the site). I am away on vacation right now and I am praying he doesn't have a party at home while I am gone and get kicked out of school. Again. I know Brent from a Lucky Lowe clinic last June at the Pangaea Puddle, said hello to Jody at Whitestone on Saturday and saw OB get his pb at Ski Watch yesterday (Nice skiing OB!). I am skiing with Lucky again tomorrow. I'll ski with my good friends Lou Alcamo and Eddie Roberts this week and ski a record tournament at Phil Hughes' lake in Clermont, FL on Saturday, concluding my season. I will start training for next year on Monday.

Rotating the binding is a ski tuning technique. Rotating the binding may relieve your hip pain but it will significantly effect how the ski turns, for better or worse. Making a big adjustment in the binding rotation is like making a big fin adjustment. Big adjustments are usually not recommended. Fogman invented and patented the rotational binding. Several ski companies have licensed the technology from Fogman and others infringe.

I believe Lucky won MM Nationals in Bako in 06 several (like maybe five?) months after hip replacement.

One word of advice: Chiropractor.

If you are going to attach a Fogman system to your ski using G-10 plate, I would not use Dual-Loc. Use two sided body molding tape. No screws and no lost plate. For whatever it is worth, I have eight full seasons in Fogman bindings and could not be more satisfied, both from a performance and safety perspective. They are also warm and comfortable.

Thanks for the input.

Brent, you had some opinions on where or how to mount to the ski, as I recall. Once you use the stickie in a mount once, is it done? What have you used as a replacement? Have you tried Dual Loc?

I just got a Go Pro HD Hero for my birthday (Thanks, Mom!). Anyone have one? Any advice, tips, cool things to do? Any problems with any of the mounts? What do you use to avoid losing it while skiing? Any comments (except overly sarcastic ones) are greatly appreciated. The overly sarcastic comments will merely be tolerated. Thanks!

Take the opportunity to work on some other factor that bears on your skiing. For example, it might be a good time to critique your spouse's driving skills and to offer constructive critizisms on how he or she might drive better. If you think you have been getting consistantly wrong sided, causing you to miss your passes, this is a good time to bring it up. Often times, the engine is load, so make sure to speak up so you can be heard. Segue into other areas, such as bathroom hygiene, table manners , the amount of alcohol consumed the prior weekend, your mother in law, etc. The potential topics are endless. Get it off your chest, you'll feel better, and that set won't be wasted!

Wait and see.

The NEW Connelly hardshells.

If you ski at Ski Tek/Chris Rossi's on the east side of Orlando ( http://waterskimag.com/water-ski-schools/2010/03/04/florida-skitec-inc/ ), you can stay in Cocoa Beach, a 35 minute drive away. Lots of stuff to do (walk to the bars) and less expensive than Orlando. I have a house a block from the ocean available any week in November. http://www.vacationrentals.com/vacation-rentals/13803.html The Clermont ski sites are all at least a half hour away from where you would want to stay in Orlando in the International Drive or Lake Buena Vista area. Drew's is a 20 minute drive from Lake Buena Vista/Disney. Rossi has two lakes, so a windy day doesn't spoil your fun.

I was entered, but a couple broken ribs just before Regionals put a hitch in the plans. Now shooting for Trophy Lakes at Labor Day.

Pretty cool how CP is fully loaded when he disappears behind the boat and has unloaded when he reappears.

Okay, I'll bite. Where did this take place? Chad Scott = Ski Ranch?

LeonL: A friend of mine has a nice private lake (former gravel pit). He sells fishing memberships. To him, it is free money.

I have been in Fogmans for nine years. Lots of hard falls and no injuries. Far superior to rubber. Fogman invented and patented rotational bindings. Comfortable. Warm in cold water. Easy to get on and off. No early season foot cramping. Incredible edge control. No binding is perfect, but Fogmans are darned good.

Just out of curiosity and aside from maybe looking cooler, how are these different from, more innovative and better than Fogman?

Cory Pickos in Santa Rosa Beach, FL skis on the weekend. Not sure about Arturo Nelson in Miami. Chet Raley or Wim DeCree are at Chet's site in Boca Raton on the weekends, too. Cobles may be open, but I'm not sure how warm the water in North Carolina will be. I'm pretty sure Ann McGinnis in Fort lauderdale is open weekends.And McCormack's is in the Tampa area. That's all I can think of in the southeast outside of Orlando and Charleston. Good luck

Add a subwoofer.

I have weed control. My kid brings it home and if I find it, I take it away.

In the Fall of 2008, Chris Parrish was skiing in a full swim racing speed suit, the same that Michael Phelps wore to reduce friction in the 2008 Summer Olympics. The suit was designed to slip through the water, which would reduce leg / water friction, but would also have eliminated and board short drag. He didn't wear it last year as far as I know. He wore board shorts. Conclusions?