Getting up on a slalom

Alright guys Sunday i took a brutal beating trying to get up on a slalom ski. Really need some advice on body posture and take off speeds . I am 5'10 around 210 lbs. Man my whole body aches after failed attempts. And also some wakeboarding .lol I know you can get up on 2 and drop one but trying to learn on 1. Thanks. Any tips appreciated.

Many will find it easier to get up on a Combo slalom than a competition slalom. The comp is usually shorter and narrower. The baseball grip is right palm up/ left down if left foot foward and left up right down if RFF. Learning off a boom has proven a great way to learn and then the progression to long line is easy.

I agree with Riley; learn to slalom by dropping. Get proficient at skiing on one before trying to get up on one.
A good way to figure out which foot forward, if you are not a skate or snowboarder, is to stand with your feet together and have someone push you from behind. Whatever foot you step first with, is your front foot. I know some will say that the foot you kick a ball with, your stronger leg, should be in the back. I agree, if you plan to run the course shortline.
In regards to the grip; baseball grip for slalom. But I feel whatever is comfortable is the way to hold, unless again, shortline course running is in your future. I'm right foot forward (aka goofy foot), and I hold the rope like a right-handed hitter.
Just my thoughts, hope it helps.
BTW, I learned to get up two feet in. I converted to one foot in, even though I had a double boot. It is much easier to get my 215lbs out of the water, especially behind a slower pull.

Riley wrote: There's 2 parts to skiing on one ski: getting up and skiing. You should learn how to ski first. You should try dropping one and learn to ski on 1 ski, then once you can do that and ski with your foot in the rear boot, start working on your deep water start. Real difficult to start from scratch with the deep water start first.

I went the drop a ski route with my daughter and it worked fine. I did teach her to get up on one with the boom. Dropping didn't quite work with my son. He got up first try on the boom skied around 1/2 our pond. The next day I had him try long line two foot start and he was up in 3 attempts and once up skied the whole pond.

I have also used the boom method for waterskiing, wakeboarding, and single trick ski with great results.

My point is the old school dropping does work, but the boom seemed to work well. So if one method isn't getting you results try the other.

harddock wrote: My point is the old school dropping does work, but the boom seemed to work well. So if one method isn't getting you results try the other.

Drop a ski on the boom! Patience and slow progression seem to yield excellent results.

I agree with everyone here. Ski slalom first, then try deep water slalom starts. It's just too much to learn at once. If you want to learn quickly, start on the boom then go to the short line then go to the long line.

When I teach people to deep water I always use the analogy of trying to get up on the engine cover from the floor in the back of the boat - since it simulates getting up on top of the water from the position of floating in the water up to your shoulders.

If you sit on the floor in the back of the boat and someone reached across from the front of the engine to pull you up onto the engine cover, what would you do?

You'd put your strong leg out in front of you (up on top of the cover if you can with a flat foot). You'd reach forward, bending at your waist, with straight arms to help the person pulling you (which puts your weight out over your front foot). As you get pulled forward and up over your front foot, you'd start to 'stand' by straightening at your waist (keeping your weight over the front foot) while being careful to not fall on your face. Lastly, you'd let the person pull you up (i.e. you wouldn't pull them back to you, you'd be patient and let them pull you up).

This is just like deep water starting. If you're left-foot forward, keep the rope on the right (and visa versa); with your strong foot out in front of you, keep your arms straight and lean forward by bending at your waist (so your chest touches your bent knee) as the boat pulls you. With a flat foot (toes down) start to stand as you get pulled forward and up over your front foot by straightening up at your waist. Be patient and let the boat pull you, don't try to pull the boat.

Remember, your goal is to get your yourself up on top of the water from a position of floating in the water up to your shoulders - not an easy task if you think about it.

If you prefer the two foot method, try the exercise in the back of the boat with one foot on top of the engine cover and the other near the top on the back side. This will give you the feel for what it's like in the water.

-Keith

That's great he can skip right to the slalom deepwater start.

If I'm driving, you're doing all the steps because I'm not turning the boat around 9 times. Lucky Lowe style!

After a couple of seasons trying, I am to the point of getting up on one, most of the time. I agree with everything above, one thing that helped me was to have the driver tighten up the line at idle, then drag me through the water a little bit. I think that little bit of forward momentum helps before he hits the throttle.

Seems all new comers learning think of two things. Always want to pull on the rope while skiing and lean to far forward. I tell them boat got lots of power lean back on the ski, and never pull on the rope. I don’t know why some do so. But with new comers, especially coming out of the deep water that is when I pull out the ol double handle rope out. Throw both lines over the ski, know they can concentrate on skiing and getting up, and then work from there.

I tell people to concentrate on keeping their weight centered over their front knee, seems to help them understand the balance point. When they feel the hard pull of the boat, straighten out your knee so you stand up, your torso clears the water, and you get on top quickly.

I totally agree on using a wide new style combo ski, it's amazing how much easier they make it to get up.

I've had to revert to dropping a ski at times, I've had a few injuries that didn't let me put the strain on my legs of getting up on 1 ski. Boy it's easy to get up on 2 skis! There's no reason to let a new slalom skier struggle to get up on 1, dropping is a much better way to learn.

hope you have a strong hamstring , one foot out puts alot of strain on your leg thats in the ski , I have strong legs , 500 lb squats for reps and it still tore my hamstring

Wow, that's a rare Century outboard in phenomenal shape! 25HP...?

Quite similar to the Penn Yan Swift which were built on the lake I grew up on (Keuka Lake NY)

I've also got a 75 Mark II & come from a long line of Century owners........good to see another Century on the site!!

FUN-9C1 wrote: john_33612 wrote: hope you have a strong hamstring , one foot out puts alot of strain on your leg thats in the ski , I have strong legs , 500 lb squats for reps and it still tore my hamstring It probably is alot easier to learn the one leg method when you're a kid. Has anyone learned to do that as a full grown 200 lb male? I learned that method when I was 11 or so and have been doing that ever since and don't even think about it. But if I'd never done it and tried it now at 42 I can imagine I might hurt something!

It boggles my mind that anyone would consider the one-foot start more difficult, either skill-wise or injury-wise. If you think its harder, then youre doing something wrong!   

I've had the double wrap since 96, but I found 1 foot was so much less effort, the ski naturally adjusts attitude providing immediate lift.
Plus the flying dock starts were fun, miss that.

chicks do it best