sunvalleylaw

Hmm. I will ask Jeff. He may have some ideas. He has a degree in adaptive and may have worked with that issue.

Where is her injury? I may be able to ask my neighbor, Muffy Davis, who waterskis for a little guidance, and her husband/driver/coach/tech support Jeff to see what works for her. Muffy's injury is in the thoracic area, so she cannot control her stomach muscles or core really at all independently. I am thinking it is weight shift primarily for her. But will see what I can find out and find out if they are willing to chat with you or your daughter.

@jimbrake , I agree, and disagree. First, the snow comparison misses my point. I want to approach this from Waterskiing first, not as a comparison. I can identify some similarities, and some differences, with one big difference is the primary forward force on snow is gravity, and the primary forward force on water is line tension/the boat, and water and ski interaction (ski pressure identified by @adamhcaldwell in his latest vid) controlled by COM relative to BOS affects that a lot. I like what @Bruce_Butterfield has to say too. But, that is where my knowledge breaks down. Or I may have even some of that wrong. So, I am asking the experts here. As far as the value of the information, I disagree that it holds no value on the water or is not possible in looking at waterskiing. Yes, there is no possible way I can think about a bunch of fundamentals out skiing. I would be frozen and have no flow or ability to move. Paralysis of analysis. And I don't do that on snow either. As @Luzz said on @MarcusBrown 's pod cast, the thinking should be on the dock, or off water. And for me, off snow. But understanding the fundamentals and background of movement, and these forces, helps me understand cues we use to improve. Once on the water, perhaps one light point to focus my brain and rid myself of distractions on the way out to the "zero ball" as Adam says, then let go of all that. I like to understand this so I can visualize better and imagine better, often as do as I go to sleep at night and clear my head of the day's thoughts. Closest to (unfrozen) water I am going to get right now. :) We have similar backgrounds in skiing. A joke for you I am sure you have heard. How do you pick out the ski instructor in the bar? Answer: He'll tell you. ;) Not directed at you. I mentioned it in the beginning. I don't want to bring a bunch of PSIA snow stuff into the forum. The only reason any of that was relevant to me in my question was that was where I got the idea of the fundamental aspects of skiing vs. coaching cues. Anyway, will be re-reading the GUT stuff perhaps starting tonight. Cheers!

Hmm. They are made out of chemical stuff, and I am not sure I would want those wet chemicals on my skin. Also, the cheap ones are air activated, so not sure what the introduction of water would do to that. How do hand warmers work

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Was doing some certification training today, for snow instruction. There, we have what are known as the five fundamentals. The (not all that) short version is 1) relationship of Center Of Mass to Base Of Support to direct pressure along the skis, 2) tipping skis through of combination of inclination and angulation, 3) Control pressure from ski to ski and direct pressure toward the outside ski, 4) Control the skis rotation (turning, pivoting, steering) with leg rotation, separate from the upper body, 5) Regulate the magnitude of pressure created through ski/snow interaction. These are characteristics that are considered to be part of great skiing, and are not the same as coaching cues to help a skier get there. My question is this, is there any similar list for slalom skiing? This is not intended to be a comparison of snow skiing to waterskiing, but rather a search for some list of fundamental aspects of good slalom waterskiing to help my understanding of what is going on out on the water. It seems to me something like Proud chest, or extend the arms, or upright head, or weight on the front foot are more in the nature of coaching cues, and I would love to understand the fundamental aspects of skiing those cues are trying to promote. Help a guy out?

I was having some cold feet issues, particularly in my right foot, recently in my custom fit boots. It is a tight performance fit with a lot of punching and grinding. Went back in and found some "6th toe" area issues that needed re-addressing, and a couple hot spots on my ankles that were also affecting blood flow. Got them fixed overnight and it is a world of difference. If you have fit issues, get yourself into a good boot tech and get them addressed. PS, I still love my Sidas heaters. :smiley: Also, now that we have natural snow, the leaking I mentioned has decreased. That man made snow is really fine and gets in to any nook or crevice. Especially when demoing steered intermediate turns. Will have to remember that for next Christmas and get the boot covers out.

Having had the good fortune to ski with @twhisper , I agree with @Horton

@RAWSki , too bad Idaho has no good north/south road. The place in Kellog looks good, but 8.5 hour drive. Salt lake is closer in terms of time. but more salt down there on the roads. When the time is right whatever drive will not be so bad. Am checking out the local one noted above too.

Well, I am not sure what to say. Glad some really like it. Glad some see the more general points for all of us, and are willing to consider the more women's specific points. As far as her trying to "sound smart", I don't know. Graduating summa cum laude from Middlebury (see bio quoted above) shows me she has that sewn up. I can say that I used some of her concepts in overcoming fear of moving into space during a private lesson with a relatively young woman who had been spooked on her snow skis after falling at SV, and it really helped her. After also finding her base of support and feeling the support of the surface, the skis and her feet in her boots, so that she could then move forward, seeing that space and taking it. Worked great for her and she had tears of joy and hugs to share with me. It was one of the most rewarding lessons I had had in a long time. Thanks, Annie. I had never considered things in that way before. Certainly not trying to start some sort of argument. Please take what you like (or are willing to consider) and leave the rest. Peace.

@oldjeep , was going to fish mine back out. My feet stay warm with my boot heaters while really skiing, but if I am buckled more loosely for lower level lessons and coaching, and when I am sliding my turns quite a bit during said teaching/coaching, my boots can leak. The man made on the groomers especially seems to want to find its way inside. I have a pair of those boot covers. Going to grab them back out and use them again. I think it will help with the leaking snow when sliding around. My current gorilla tape is ripped and needs to be replaced. But I will still keep my heaters, which also help a lot.

To move forward. Move forward with gravity on snow skis, over my slalom ski on the water rather than fight the boat, with my bike in balance on the pedals. Move with the forces of my business, family and world, much like a person moves with a wave while surfing or with gravity while snow skiing, rather than fight it. Find a position of balance and acceptance and move with it (all of it) rather than fight against it. Move forward.

Starting to save and shop for a new tow rig. I got a truck camper, so I don't have to sleep on the ground any more. So the 2001 1500 Suburban we currently use to tow our 1998 Response (single axle trailer) is on the way out. I am thinking I want to stay about 2010 to 2013-ish, for price. I want to keep the price somewhere close to 20k. Or at least low 20's. Even with that, will probably finance about half. I want 250/2500 level for carrying the weight of the truck camper, and pulling the boat, over a high pass we cross to get to the lakes, and to properly support the tongue weight and camper. Open to all three brands. Open to either fuel. Of course it will likely be a vehicle from one of the big 3. and I do want a crew cab or at least a good sized extended cap suitable for teens, and an 8 ft. bed. It will be a big truck, but I live in Idaho, so that is ok. Oh, and I will try for leather, but it at least has to have a power driver's seat with good adjustability and lumbar support even if cloth. Please give me your thoughts as to brand, years to look for, which motor/fuel, etc. Thanks!

Efficiency is more important than both. But being light and lean I think is an advantage to being efficient.

Merry Christmas! No waterski related gifts this year, other than a T-shirt from the Leading Edge Waterski Club I bought myself. Did get some stuff for the camper for use while camping in order to ski though. Merry Christmas, all!

I saw that earlier on FB. Really enjoyed it! Looked like an excellent adventure.

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I like the Sidas heaters. sidas heaters You do not feel them underfoot, and they do not take up any significant room in the boots. Batteries are less bulky than the Hotronics. They more than all day for me, though I did have to send the first set of batteries back. They were good about it, and this set lasts longer than all day. I set them on low, as hotter gets uncomfortable for me. I use them in the Head Raptor boot, with an intuition liner, just for your reference. The boots are fitted very snugly, and the heaters fit fine in there. I am a lifelong skier and a ski pro. As for new liners, new foot beds, etc. in older shells, I am a believer in keeping a shell, once you get it really properly fitted for you with any needed punching and grinding done, and replacing the liner if needed at least once. Unless the shells are damaged in some way. I am getting ready to replace my intuitions and footbeds on my current set, but waiting until after Christmas so the boot shop I use is less busy, and so I am not breaking in new liners when I am teaching over Christmas. Check out the Sidas heaters and footbeds as an option. A little more, but I think worth it. I am not sponsored nor receive anything from that company, and the boot shop I represent both Sidas, Hotronics, and the sock products. I do not like the socks as I like very thin socks in my boots, and the heater socks are not thin enough for my taste.

In addition to the challenges faced by female athletes addressed by this young woman, I was really impressed with her concepts in terms of "Falling Forward" in order to be efficient, and her consideration of what held her back from that. In the last minutes of the talk, she reveals that it boils down to fear of failure, fear to move into "unsafe" space. I attempting to learn how to move my mass toward the new ball to create that speed, but it is a hard thing mentally to do, and thinking about it in a disjointed way holds me back. Thinking about it from a whole body moving into space you want to occupy approach makes sense to me. And fear of failure, injury, etc. are barriers to overcome in getting there. Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool and applies to waterskiing and being efficient and fast on the ski, as well as applying to being efficient on a nordic ski.

My daughter showed me this TED talk tonight from a Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation Team member on their Nordic team. It is largely about women in sport. And is truly inspirational in that regard IMO. But in addition, it is inspirational in the technique discussion regarding "learning how to fall" forward that she addresses in her talk. I find it very worthy of thought and consideration for myself, though I am not female, in terms of an approach to moving/falling forward to become more efficient on my ski, and a mental approach to get there. I hope some of you others might also enjoy it. Published on Dec 13, 2017 Every wonder why you just can't get the right technique down? Former professional athlete Annie Pokorny considers what barriers exist to free movement for female athletes, and how identifying those barriers can change the way we experience the world well beyond sport. Annie Pokorny is a writer, blogger, and former professional athlete living in Ketchum. She spent her life moving between Utah, Colorado, Washington, Vermont, and Idaho in search of cross-country ski glory, eventually making her home in the Wood River Valley. She graduated summa cum laude from Middlebury College, where she fostered her entrepreneurial spirit, love for philosophy, and affection for fermented beverages. In 2015, she became a grantee of the Women's Sports Foundation, whose mission of introducing healthy, active lifestyles to women has become a driving passion in her writing, travel, and speaking. In fact, she has just launched women's style and adventure web mag designed to do just that! Her big dreams include running a successful internet business and being able to comfortably afford organic strawberries. If you want to avoid an hours-long conversation, probably don't ask her about her truck. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

I take off all size or label type stickers. I left on the plastic protector under the binding they put on for while you try the ski.

@LoopSki I enjoyed mountain biking at Downieville, then waterskiing outside of Sac (Liquidzone), early this last october. I liked the area from what I saw. Kinda liked the little look at Auburn I got. I stayed there overnight one of the nights. I understand there is biking there too. Have that in mind for a possible spring trip, depending on what the fam wants to do. No way I am re-starting my law practice in CA at this point in life. Though the area is tempting. I like that you can get into some riding right from town in Auburn. I could always go back to Western WA, plenty of good ski lakes there, and I am licensed in WA. Plus all the other open water. But, then I would be dealing with the traffic and crowds I moved away from. And you drive to do any activity, unless you live on the water. (well, ok, maybe not running or road cycling). Pretty tough to snow ski and water ski on the same day there, just because of drive time between the two sports. To be clear, not considering moving back at this point. I love where we live too much. I like mixing things up, comparing and contrasting movements, etc. I have a hard time doing just one thing. Snow ski season, I generally skate ski also, and classic (as that frees up my back better than skating) and try to get some form of pedaling done starting in Feb, even if just spin class. I love, love, love my snow skiing. It is why I live where I do. I am just rueing the short waterski season, even though we have some pretty nice lakes during season. Mebbe I just need to plan a few trips in the future. @bigskieridaho , hear ya. As I said, really glad for our man-made we have here. Helps us out in the new normal weather patterns. Hoping Bogus gets going for ya. Cat skiing out of soldier (Bruce's old resort) is fun if they get snow (which they usually do). I got really spoiled last year during our epic year here at SV. So much mountain and terrain open with different exposures, lines, and challenges, when we get a lot of snow.

@scotchipman , we are glad up here that the Holdings invested in basically the best snowmaking system in existence. Our groomers are pretty decent. But yeah, otherwise, very little snow. It is also good that most of the runs are north facing and have held on to the natural snow they received.

Snow ski season has begun, and the mountain is open with good conditions on some of the groomers, and a few spots to get off the groomed. My edges are sharp, and I am enjoying snow skiing. But wishing I could hit the water as well, on a semi-regular basis, during the winter. I love both sports so much. There are probably a couple weeks in April, where a guy could waterski around here on the same day as snow skiing. It would be cold though. Any of you others missing it? Do any of you ever manage to ski on the snow and the water on the same day? @scotchipman , mebbe some of you Utah guys?

Agree on the Kidders. Would throw the Connelly Shortline in there.