The End of the Line for 2007

Well, that does it. I had to scrape the frost off of my windshield before I left to go skiing on Saturday morning, and that to me is a sign that it's time to wrap it up for the year. Although this is a 100% slalom skiing website, I thought it would be fun to show everyone our REAL last run of the season- a tandem barefoot run with Hollywood around the lake. I can think of no better way to end what was a phenomenal ski season.

I think our first season with Fifteenoff.com went swimmingly as well. We tested several skis in the reviews section, we put together a few videos, gathered a great group of individuals together in our forums and so much more. I've received emails from skiers around the world in support of the site and the sport all summer- and this is just the beginning. I've got some big plans for this site next year. I hope to re-design the administrative portions of the site so it's easier for me to post updates, upload videos and upload pictures/galleries next year. Ironically when I wrote all of the code for this site the part I skimped on the most was the administrative section of the site, making updates more of a tedious task than they should have been.

I also hope to post updates more often next year. I really skied a tremendous amount this year but with a new baby this summer and several big projects going on at work I found it hard to find time for video editing and new posts. I plan to have next year be much more of a week-by-week progress report than this year was.

I'd like to thank Seth and Tadd at H2Osmosis.com for all of their advice and the generous use of their ski demo program this year for our reviews. I'd like to thank Terry_In_NC for his input on the site and our 30 and 32 mph Marcus Brown videos. I'd also like to throw out a general thanks for everyone who has joined the forums, commented on my posts, or sent me an email this summer. I'd also like to give ScarletArrow some credit for writing a more detailed ski log than I did this summer! Looks like he's made some great progress this year.

Skiing-wise I've made huge improvements this year. I did not increase my boat speed or bouy count but I've learned to keep my eyes and head up in my turns and keep my upper body still/facing down course in my turns. I've also learned to push my hips forward coming into the turns so that my hips aren't back at the finish. I'd say that these were the tips that helped me the MOST this year. What still needs improvement next year is my wake-cross position, and I'm already well on my way to getting that figured out. I can't wait for next year- by all indications it should be the most ski-laden season yet!

I'll leave you with Seth's comments on a more recent video I sent him a while back. In the mean time, stay tuned to Fifteenoff.com as I'll update you with any new thoughts, tips, tricks, products, or news I come across this winter:

"I was very impressed with what I saw on your videos of your new and improved slalom. Since the last time I watched video of you, you have improved with leaps and bounds in my opinion. There are a lot of great things happeneing:

1) You are in a good strong position through the wakes
2) You seem to be initiating your edge change at the right time which leads to better rhythm.
3) At your 30mph and even some of the 32’s you seem to be staying open and not over-rotating your body…very good stuff.

There is one major thing that I believe you could improve which would really help your skiing in general. That one thing is the location of your hips (especially coming into 1-3-5). Your hips are dragging behind you a bit coming into the turns. This means that when you initiate your turn, you create tip pressure on the ski using your shoulders. This would explain why the ski occasionally bites too hard and then doesn’t accelerate in the direction you want to go. IF you stand up just a bit and bring the hips under your shoulders (and over your feet) such that your body is now stacked or aligned, you will be able to use your hips to initiate cross-course movements. When you use your hips to make your initial cross-course movements, you get not only tip pressure, but your hips create acceleration in the direction you move. A good example of how this works would be to look at the whipping drill on my website. You may have looked at it in the past, but look again and focus on how my hips are aligned (fore and aft) with the rest of my body and how they keep the ski moving. - Seth"

Comments:

GT, 11/5/2007: I saw Marcus Brown at INT Championships and thanked him for the video of Terry going 30. Marcus was really cool.