Skoot1123

@Chris Rossi and @TFIN - once again another great year of Podcasts!! I’d echo what folks are saying above, all of them are great idea content. I would like to hear what you have to say about the Optimal Work Zone (ie: where do you want to build max speed) from two perspectives: Perfect Pass vs Zero Off and lighter vs heavier skiers. Maybe another aspect of light vs heavy would be female vs male skiers. Thanks for asking for our input!

@skierjp - yes. But posing the hypothetical. Maybe a step back to ask some questions. Would the skiers even attempt it? Would the skier “hold back” in this scenario? What do the skier’s think of this rule? Do the skiers think it should count? Why was this rule (“runoff scores don’t “count”) written in the first place? (Is it because they don’t have to go up the standard rope lengths?) Is there any incentive to change it so these scores do count? I don’t know the answers - but am curious to know how the competitor skiers feel.

Some writes on BOS to “ “swing” by a hardware store”. What they really mean is that the Denali S-Wing is NOT available at a hardware store!

@Drago - great point. And what would have happened if Dane went to 3@43? Would that “count”?

Another counterpoint would be this: they had to start at 39’off - not the usual start of 32’off. If it should count towards an official score can (and maybe should?) be debated for the future. As a “spectator” and fan of the sport it was just incredible to watch these four guys give it their all and see who came out on top. Better competition and awesome skiing. That is what this past year has really been all about.

Unbelievably great skiing today - Dane in the runoff was crazy good. So awesome to watch. TWBC crew did an incredible job. Stellar work from Tony Lightfoot and the commentary by others was awesome. Love the insight by @FWinter. It’s going to be a great finals for sure.

@Shadave1 - looks like you have two high quality endorsements right there. I’m on a C75 and absolutely love it. You’ll never regret being on a Denali!

@phski - how are you skiing these days on the Denali?

Just when I think they won’t top the last episode - they do it again. Awesome stuff guys! Keep it up!!

What @Than_Bogan said.

Good thing that lake is deep enough!

I can’t say enough about GiveGo. This is such a great resource. I have had lessons from @ColeGiacopuzzi and Freddy Winter. Their tips are money. Well worth the money. A bonus is that you can save the videos and keep referring to them when you get stuck - better yet refer back to them and see how far you have come and see the improvements.

For your golfers elbow - get a bigger diameter handle. The more you try to squeeze that handle the more you will be stressing those tendons. The bigger diameter definitely helped me with golfers elbow.

Water time always helps! You’ll be back in the swing of things in no time! Even at the tail end of the season it seems like certain things just don’t work as seamlessly as they did at the beginning and middle of the summer. Just know that at least it will progress as you keep working on it.

I am only a couple hours from St Louis @AdamCord - welcome to come on up anytime.

You will have a lot of fun on either ski. I am currently on a C75 Denali. You will be amazed by it.

@Horton - that is exactly my point.

There is a tolerance band for a reason right? Use it, but don’t abuse it!

@sethro - where are you in relation to the weight range on the ski: lower or higher? Double check the measurement from the back of your front binding to the tail of your ski. What is the wing angle on your fin? That also has an impact on where the water breaks on your ski too. If your front boot is stock then I would move the fin forward (increase DFT) and maybe decrease the length and fin depth a little. You might see a dramatic improvement - and I’ll be the first to admit that I still need to work on my form/technique quite a bit!

@LeonL - here is the way I look at it. If you can feel the changes to the ski when you make an adjustment, that is a good thing. You can use the adjustments as tools to help your skiing and as you progress you will inevitably need to make some additional adjustments. When I find myself not skiing the way I want (bad form, lazy turns, overturning, pulling too long) then I have to go to the basics. Drop down to a pass you rarely miss and focus on clean passes (ie: good body position through the wake, eyes down course at the turn, keeping the handle down low). Slowing down your thought process can also “give” you more time. You have more time than you think you do - that is a hard thing for me to put into practice as well. Coaching sessions also help big time!

@Windsurfnut - the biggest change on my fin was moving the DFT from .875 to 1.20. This is a very drastic change but came from a very reliable source for the Denali - @AdamCord. As soon as I got up out of the water and was on plane with my ski I could see the water breaking in front of my front boot. I was on the low end of the weight spectrum so I knew I had to make some change to get my balance back. The settings before that weren’t bad, I was just having issues with rocking back on the ski on the offside. See attached pictures. Before change: After change:

Check out the Denali - C75 and/or the C85. When I tested the 2021 Radar Vapor it was a pure rocket. Can only speak for those two skis as I tested Denali/Radar/and HO last year. You can check my review for those in the threads from last year.

Have we (or I in particular) underestimated or overlooked the importance of balance on your ski? How well are you balanced on your ski? We have all heard the comments - “when standing on your ski going down the lake the water should break in front of your front binding.” This attribute is perhaps overlooked? In the “Fin Whispering” book Jay P. discusses adjusting your front boot location so you can find the perfect balance on your ski. The fin settings/location also contribute to your balance point on the ski. Having the proper balance on your ski allows you to use the fore-body of the ski which aides in turning, ski acceleration, and ski glide on your gate setup. This is a unique and individual setting that can really impact how well your ski works for you. Example: I am on the lighter end of the mass spectrum for my ski (160 lb on a medium C75 Denali - think the weight range is 160 - 190 lbs). Thanks to GiveGo and some coaching by @colegiacopuzzi he noticed the water was not breaking in front of my front boot coming into my offside turns. Ultimately I was having a hard time getting the water to break in front of my front binding, moving my boots around on the ski (I don’t yet have the micro just) made me either too far forward or too far backward. I just wasn’t able to get the water to break in front of my front boot and have the ski perform the way I wanted/expected. I tried to compensate by contorting and forcing some changes to my skiing with limited results. Needless to say I was getting frustrated and falling into a rut. Another way to interpret what the coaches were telling me is this - I was not balanced well on my ski. A major issue I have been having is my offside turns - wheelies, slack, pulling the handle in super high instead of down low, seeking a tight line after the turn and just having slack. Whenever I fell, it was mostly the offside turns and was a result of something being not quite right during the turn (I found myself rocking toward the “back” of the ski rather than being centered). Yesterday I made a few changes to my fin settings and “bingo” - simply standing on the ski going straight down the lake the water was breaking in front of my front binding. What a difference this made!! Greater glide speed on my gate, smoother and greater acceleration into the wakes, and the best yet - this simple change kept the ski underneath me into and through the turn (much better though a little more work might be needed). It allowed me to complete a clean and sharp arcing turn (vs a snap turn), and when the turn was complete - have a tight line to accelerate into the first wake. What a world of difference this made. Perhaps a game changer (at least to me). No longer did I feel rushed on my offside turn or try to contort my body into doing something un-natural or forced. The best description I can think of is “flowy” that @Horton has used to describe a skis character. Moral of the story - make sure you have balance on your ski before using precious time trying to dial your fin and wing in. It will help immensely and immediately. Happy swerving!

Fantastic. Hope it gets officially approved soon!

@BigGerald3 - for surface protection on boats 303 can’t be beat!!