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09-18-2008, 06:11 PM #1Senior Member
- Join Date
- Jun 2007
- Location
- St. Albert, Alberta, Canada
- Posts
- 164
Skiing going the way of the Dodo bird?
Can't get enough of it personally. Late life bloomer; year 4 now. But there are too many other distractions for the younger crowd. Last year, my son (now 14) stated in the spring he wanted to focus on water skiing and get good at it. Right. Exit the old run-about, enter the Outback V, and skiing is almost a distant memory for him. Splits his time between skating, boarding and surfing. Skied only twice all season. His friends at the lake have no interest in skiing whatsoever. Though we're on a quiet lake, seeing another skier is a rare novelty. Nobody my age skis, even if they have prior background, because it's wayyyyy too much work. Add to that, the '09 Outack V appears to have been reshaped to create more wake...well there's proof in the pudding the builders are less concerned about a cross-over boat and focused on bigger wake. Other observations?
PS (Lord, please help the builders find a way to make a true cross-over boat. Ski and surf. Before I'm too old)!'07 Outback V
Ski|Board|Surf|Skate
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09-18-2008, 07:46 PM #2MrsZ Guest
Skiing is alive and well in this family! I still love skiing the most although I will always try (and enjoy) other water sports. Skiing is the the main thing. My son, 11 years old, loves skiing, wakeboarding, kneeboarding and surfing. But he likes skiing the best. He MAY be a little influenced by Zegm and me but it is not really intentional. He likes to try the ski course. He wants to beat me one day...maybe not too very far away. Sorry for rambling but we Still LOVE skiing here! You are not alone!
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09-18-2008, 08:10 PM #3
funny in that for the last 1/2 of the summer ive seen more peeps skiing than the last 5yrs or so on our lake, makes me wish i never got rid of my slalom ski.
Hey, Its Moomba time
Its all about the dash - enjoy the dash, as that is your time between the dates
13 Mobius LSV-sold
08 Mobius LSV-sold
03 Mobius LSV-sold
life is about finding the balance between being a responsible adult and staying young at heart
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09-18-2008, 08:21 PM #4
It's harder to ski these days than it was when I was a kid because there are more boats and most of them are pulling tubes. We ski early and late when the water is best and I think I've seen more skiers this year as well. I'm looking forward to the next few weekends as the lake empties out and we can run sets during the afternoon. My 11 year old daughter and her friend are now diehards as well. I'll winterize the boat in mid October and start tuning the snow skis.
Signed,
A Proud FIB WAT AAS (and a ski)
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09-18-2008, 09:05 PM #5
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09-18-2008, 10:42 PM #6
Problem is the younger crowd is a more 'immediate rewards' type. With computers and video games and the internet, things are easy... Wakeboarding is easy to learn , two skis is not that much harder, but slalom takes some persistence. I have a lot of stories over the last 37 years of skiing (actually 41, but I only count slalom years) and introducing people to it.
I never find it boring, and always am working at improving. I think I have actually gotten better over the last 5 years. It helps keep me young. Problem is finding others my age to go with, so I enlist anyone, at least to spot if nothing else. We actually convinced the neighbors landscape crew to ride with us last summer during their break so I could have a spotter.
My son is a serious video gamer and he fell for the big air show of wake boarding. Until he realized that the big air came with a lot of big splashes. That plus the fact that I did not get on board and we were frequently struggling with the logistics of filling and emptying the fat sacks so he could board and I could ski. Just did not work out. He is now a skier - sort of - but his life style currently keeps him away from the lake .If you believe something to be true, it will be - in it's consequences.
2009 MasterCraft ProStar 197 - DD - 5.7L - 325HP - Zero Off
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09-18-2008, 10:49 PM #7
Last week we saw more slalom skiers than anything else! During one run with the girls on their skis, we passed 3 slalom skiers AND a boat pulling double slalom skiers. We saw a Supra with surfers and a MC with a wakeboarder.
My girls want to learn to slalom next year (oh, Mrs. Z - I'm gonna need some help!) and a wakeboard for XMas. It will be interesting to see if either one gets more use than the other. Either way, I hope they forget about the tube!
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09-18-2008, 08:48 PM #8Senior Member
- Join Date
- Jan 2008
- Location
- Pensacola, FL
- Posts
- 1,585
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09-24-2008, 05:36 PM #9
Great topic!
I actually just tried slaloming a few weeks back for the first time. I've ridden all summer (3-7 days a week) on the wakeboard, and for some reason as our season started to wind down I got the itch to give the ski a try. I'm by no means good, I can get up and kind of cut, but its fun.
I've gotten in the habbit now of doing a set on the wakeboard, driving/spotting, doing a set on the ski, driving/spotting, then getting pulled back to the marina on the wakeboard (where I used to just do 3 wakeboard sets.)
Its fun, but I can see where it would get frustrating, its definately a lot harder to get out of the water than the wakeboard, and staying up (at least for me) is still a challenge.
There are a few skiers on our lake, but not nearly as many as wakeboarders.2013 Outback V
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09-24-2008, 11:40 PM #10
Ian, glad to hear you're taking it up. You'll notice that you use lots of different muscles and really get more in tune with the pull and the water as opposed to the wake only. It can be very satisfying. Plus, you can get some great coaching on here (not from me though).
My Mom said I'm not allowed to get wet!
2008 LSV (sold)
2000 Outback LS (sold)
LLTR!!!!!!!!