Nando

I recall in March of '79 sitting next to Bob (part of a big group of skiers) in the video lounge of the Aspen State Teachers College (great name for a bar, eh?), where they showed sports videos and they showed the shot of his fall where he bruised his heart, then again in slow mo, and again. Great reaction from the crowd and no one in the crowd who wasn't part of our group had a clue he was sitting right there. He just leaned over and said, "Anyone who would do that must be nuts."

Before my time skiing, and before the course dimensions went metric, back when skiers started at longline- 75'- the course was one rope length wide (75') and the distance between buoys was two rope lengths (150'). Some time around 1970 or so, the dimensions went to metric equivalents at the current dimensions. Not to hijack the thread, but it's seemed to me that shortening the distance between buoys slightly, say 2-5 meters, might make things more interesting- less emphasis on height and reach and more on quickness and pull. I don't know, it's just food for thought...

One way to get a cable course tighter is to remove the gate balls, or even #1 and #6 buoy sets while tensioning. When you reattach the balls, it will be extremely tight- especially if you're in deep water.

In Shoreview, on Island Lake, formerly the primary tournament site in MN- now that it again has water in it, maybe some of the action will return. Also have an old Nautique on Turtle Lake, also in Shoreview, but ski primarily on a semi-private site in Hugo, MN behind MB's SN 200, also at Sunset Lake in Hugo, plus a couple of other places where I can mooch a ride.

3M guy is a pretty good recreational skier- rarely skis the course, but gets his -15 and a few at -22. Doesn't ski much because he's one of the top triathletes in his age group. Maybe the best athlete I've ever met. He was asking why I hadn't gone to a hard-shell binding, because he saw the advantages. He also asked about how the release was determined and thought most methods were a little too much trial and error- let's face it, even though most guys skiing with Dual Lock have it pretty much figured out, it's not quite as precise as a DIN setting. My best option may be a ski with inserts- I've got to try some skis before I figure our what direction I'm going. I have hardly skied for three years due to injuries to my ski partners and low water levels on my lake and the lakes I usually ski on. We're past those things, but getting the edge back is a process...

Not to hijack the thread, but Wally advertises his own brand of soft buoys- way cheaper than Goode's, but kind of unknown. Anyone using them?

I'm thinking of upgrading my ski (it's time) and have been leery of attaching my binding with velcro or Dual Lock, especially since a friend who is a 3M adhesives chemist questioned using Dual Lock to hold bindings on (and he worked on the product- he stated his question as, "You know that you remove the stuff with a heat gun, right? And you're putting it on a black ski and taking it out in the sun? Think about it.") Anyway, if going to a ski without inserts (Nano Mid, of course- what else doesn't have inserts?), would Reflex Bond be a good way to attach the bindings? At first glance, these look great, but the adhesive bond there seems kind of questionable, too. Anyone have any experience with them?

Hit a beaver or muskrat at a tournament in Duluth, MN many years ago at about 8 AM and lost a day- no recollection of the day at all until I found myself in a Burger King 150 miles south at about 10 PM- may explain a few things about me... Hit a submerged fishing boat on a jump pass once- no damage. Hit a submerged railroad tie while driving a jump event in a promo that had under one hour on it- bent the shaft, prop and rudder beyond repair- it was floating about 3" below the surface and I just nailed it. Took a junebug in the eye once while pulling out for the gates- tore my contact and scratched my cornea- doc said the contact saved me from a much worse scratch. Glad there are no gators on the frozen tundra.

Got to ski with some Chicago brothers and appreciated their "Make it happen, Cap'n." I usually just go with a nice "Hup", picked up from one of the all-time great guys, the venerable TC. When I ski with my brother, we get by with just looking at each other. Nando

So, having been a lurker for since the original ballers were just starting, what would I contribute but a photo from 40 years ago, but Lake Saucier was where I skied my first tournament. Dave Saucier had purchased most of the land around it and it was a pretty much perfect tournament lake. It was also known as "Lake X" because the actual name of the platted lake was as racially offensive as any lake in the country. Google Nowthen, MN and you'll find it with what I assume is Google's attempt at making it less offensive, but, well, nice try, guys. It's been renamed "Burns Lake" and as far as I know, hasn't been skied on for a while. BTW, I have joint custody of the jump that Dave built for the 1974 (yes, 1974) Saucier International Cup pro tournament. Nando /vanilla2/uploads/FileUpload/14/774.jpg