jipster43

Manufacturing drives innovation. If you want to support Chinese innovation over American, buy overseas. I'm a big fan of American jobs. Is that political?

Maybe have Manon Costard do the video portion.

A tournament weekend guarantees that I'll get three days of skiing behind the best boats on the best lakes. I'll also be exposed to far better skiers than myself and almost always come away with a new nugget of knowledge.

This is a perfect example of how handle control can be difficult for the dyslexic among us.

I've been AWOL for a while and missed this thread. I'm sorry to hear about the "minor inconvenience" Jim. Your ability to put a smile on your face in unpleasant situations will make quick work of this nonsense. Thanks for the inspiration!

That Echo Lake course was so awesome. Private lake experience with the wooded alpine lake beauty.

TE is the Reflex hookup. As previously stated it's about an hour outside of Bangkok.

I skied with Geoff at TE this past July. He has T-Gas' old TXi, two courses and a jump. July is typically windy & rainy, but I skied in pristine conditions every day. It's pretty magical to ski a course in glassy conditions in a very foreign country.

I forgot to mention that I'm a huge fan of Pickle Juice - and the shirt!

I don't have my glasses on. Does that say "world's gayest skier"? Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I measure myself to others by height.

That's awesome on so many levels! Not the least of which is Neko Case singing what could be @Than_Bogan 's theme song.

I would love to do something like this when my shoulders are healthy. I'm very interested in developing a strength & conditions program that will allow my shoulders to recover stronger than before and help me limit future injuries - especially to my back. How many skiers do you think you'd need to make this symposium viable?

I purchased a long sleeve shorty blacktec and got to test it's thermal capacity when my dry suit ripped in early spring. Here in Montana that means there's snow on the ground and the water is about 43-50 degrees. I had no problem at all. It was like magic. However, by the end of the very same season, it wasn't keeping me warm in 60 degree water and 60 degree air. There were so many pinholes in the suit that the original design was too compromised to perform properly. I didn't pamper it to the same degree that ToddL suggests, but I was always very conscious of being gentle with it. I have since picked up another drysuit and prefer the extra warmth it provides during early and late season, but I will absolutely be purchasing another blacktec to replace my old one for next season. This time I'll employ some of Todd's hints.

I've had to bite my tongue until the blood ran down my throat a few times, but I've learned to ignore @Horton 's grammar.

That's awesome. I'd like to suggest Merle Haggard, The Meat Puppets, and The Sadies as possible influences to look into.

You guys are going to have a blast! I wish my shoulder didn't have five holes in it.

Good news! My Powervest allows me to ski completely pain free. It's awkward and I will have to get used to the clincher style gloves, but the vest will definitely make my recovery from surgery much easier. Bad news! My surgeon has me scheduled for surgery on Friday. My season is caput after tomorrow, so I won't be able to ski in the Hilltop tournament. My entire Seattle vacation is now in jeopardy, but I am very glad that my shoulder may be back to full strength and pain free by next season. Thanks for putting the tournament on @Horton and I hope to still be able to get out there to spectate, but that all depends on if I get out to Seattle and if my shoulder is fine with driving. It's a double bummer because I'm pretty sure I would have won the cash prize!

I'm signed up and hoping my surgeon doesn't put the kibosh on it. I'll be there either way - possibly as a spectator. Looking forward to finally attending an official Baller event!

My torn rotator cuff resulted in a torn bicep tendon. I'm awaiting my powervest and my surgeon's advice. I'm actually looking forward to surgery to finally put all of this behind me.

Tournaments, and all the people involved with them, have not only been some of my funnest moments in skiing, but they have also improved my skiing immeasurably. The shortliners are always very gracious and forthcoming with the golden nuggets of wisdom. There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of when signing up for a tournament - unless your afraid of fun and improvement.

Thanks @sailworks I have an MRI scheduled for tomorrow evening which ought to give us a better idea of what needs doin'. My rotator cuff has been a problem for the past two years and this is definitely a direct result of that. I was planning on looking into surgical solutions for the cuff after this season wound up, so I'm prepared for the knife, but I'd much prefer to get another couple of months of skiing first.

Let's not start talking politics please.

Thanks Horton! I have an appointment with the doc tomorrow morning. We'll see what he says. It sure would be nice not to have to hang up my ski for the season.

@Horton or anyone else that may have any experience with this injury and the PowerVest. My compromised shoulder/rotator cuff has resulted in a torn bicep tendon (from the shoulder). It's not particularly painful and hasn't bruised, but I do have the "Popeye" bicep muscle that will need to be fixed. I'm wondering if a PowerVest will allow me to squeak through the remainder of the season before I have surgery. It snapped while I was skiing and I skied another pass before I looked down to see that my bicep was a little deformed. The vest is on order regardless. I probably should have purchased it at the beginning of the season.