Tips for getting up on one ski...

[Bookshelf]

Kind of embarassed posting this, I know there are a lot of experienced skiiers on here... Anyways, I attempted to get up on a slalom ski last time I was out on the water, and failed miserably, kept burying the tip... I was already worn out from wakeboarding and other stuff, sure that had something to do with it, but regardless, looking for pointers. I was behind a 24' Supra launch V drive. Thanks

[Jorski]

One foot in the binders or two?

[Bookshelf]

One foot in the binders or two?

The ski I tried had boots in both locations, so two.

[88 PS190]

Knees bent, and together, arms straight, shoulders up, head up.

Say hit it, driver shouldn't pound the throttle down but should pull then accelerate. When the rope comes tight your goal in the water is to keep your hips pushing towards the surface using your butt muscles, and keep your shoulders from getting pulled to the front with those same muscles.

If you get collapsed so your hands are by your feet then it all becomes back strain. If you keep your hips driving towards your feet with your butt then you will come up.

When done in this manner I can see the boat the entire time and get no water in the face, nose etc. Which is the worst part of learning.

Other things I'd recommend both hands palm down, and don't pull with your arms.

Tip out of the water is largely controlled by which foot you push the ski with. If you lock your back leg out the tip will go way out of the water. If you push all front leg the tip will drop down into the water.

I prefer not having anyone do one foot in the ski. Its an extra variable, go ahead and learn this if you want to stand on one foot in shallow water and jump onto the ski, or jump off the dock onto the ski. But for learning to deep water I don't recommend it.

[russlars]

If you are burying the tip of the ski you are most likely not putting enough weight on your back foot. Keep the pressure back there until you are on top of the water and have the driver ease you up a little slower. Also, if you don't have a deep-V handle get one. You will be amazed at how much it helps to give you a nice straight pull up.

[flipper]

88PS190 said it all. One thing I remember when I was learning was patience. You are not going to pop out of the water quick like doubles or a wake board. Take your time and let the boat pull you up. Don't try to stand up too soon

[Jesus_Freak]

I will add:

1. It is important to keep the rope on the same side of the ski as your rear foot. You will probably turn the tip that direction when getting up, and the rope is there to counter this force. In lieu of this, use a V-handle.

2. It helps me to "drag" a little in gear (maybe 3 to 5 seconds) until I am ready to be extracted.

[Ryan]

The one trick that works for everyone I've taught to slalom is to essentiall hug your knees but keep the shoulders up and strong until you feel stable enough to start standing up. It forces most the other minute details to happen at once, prevents the over-corrective reactions, and gets your weight on the biggest, widest part of the ski without being pulled out the front I have to respectfully disagree with putting a lot of pressure on the back foot, it creates a bigger fight for a beginner and can sink the tip. I believe as your keep your knees nearly the same level it brings the ski into a position where it will climb and plane out sooner.

[Slinkyredfoot]

One thing we always suggest when teaching to slalom is using this big old long board slalom from a combo set we have had for years. The ski just seems to be more buoyant and the length just seems to help people pop out of the water easier with a lot less drag. After they have gotton up a few times and know how, then they can try a shorter more advanced ski. Seems to work real well here.

[mattsn]

Much easier to start with your back leg out of the boot. Use it as a rudder and you will quickly be on top. Once the ski is on plane, easy to slid foot into rear boot.

Okay, this is ol' school with open boot!! but you will get it.

[MattsCraft]

I will add:

1. It is important to keep the rope on the same side of the ski as your rear foot. You will probably turn the tip that direction when getting up, and the rope is there to counter this force. In lieu of this, use a V-handle.

2. It helps me to "drag" a little in gear (maybe 3 to 5 seconds) until I am ready to be extracted.

These two things were key for me, I could never drag one leg.

I would add, for me anyway:

1. Keep handle and arms in tight
2. Steady increase throttle after drag for a count "one thousand one, one thousand two, nail it"
3. Tilt your head back, water will hit you in the chest, not face
4. Push hard with your back foot, this will force the ski up and out of the water, kinda like a submarine coming to surface

[FrankSchwab]

I've had success teaching people to start with both feet in, and to make sure to put their back ankle into the crack of their butt. With one simple, funny image, the ski ends up in the right position, and the skier has their knees fully bent, helping transfer weight to their front foot on pull-out.

The other two coaching items are to lean back (as Ryan describes eloquently), and not to stand up too early. I tell (and show people) that you don't have to stand up at all - you can bop across the lake in your starting crouch. That reduces the tendency of beginners to start standing up on pull-out, long before they can be stable. I tell'em not to stand up until they're out of the water and the ski is flat.

BTW, we always start beginners with the v-yoke rope. My goal is to get them up on the first pull (though I'm not very good at that), and reducing the number of things they have to worry about helps.

/frank

[WTRSK1R]

All of the previous comments are on track. The one thing I would add is if you are burying the tip, you are likely trying to keep the water out of your face by tucking your head. It may not be on purpose, but if you tuck your head down, the tip goes down too. Someone mentioned looking up and having the water hit you in the chest. This will help keeping the tip up.

Good Luck.

[JohnE]

Much easier to start with your back leg out of the boot. Use it as a rudder and you will quickly be on top. Once the ski is on plane, easy to slid foot into rear boot.

Okay, this is ol' school with open boot!! but you will get it.

I agree that it is much easier this way.

But I found I had a lot of habits to overcome when I switched to double boots.

[macattack]

Here's a pretty good article w/pics...hope it helps, mac

http://www.waterskimag.com/article/Instruction/Rise-from-the-Deep

[88 PS190]

I agree that it is much easier this way.

But I found I had a lot of habits to overcome when I switched to double boots.

I've always found this method interesting since I tried for a few weeks to do this unsuccessfully, after learning how to slalom. I still don't know how it works, so I still don't try to teach it.

[jwmiller]

I was working on the same issue this summer. I was trying to use the HO Charger ski and kept struggling. I finally moved the bindings and fin forward and removed the wing. That made all the difference. Before that the ski just had too much maneuverability for me.

I was relieved to actually get up on one as I had purchased the ski with the understanding it was for beginners. I am defiantly a beginner and if that wasn't enough I was going to have to get out the panel of plywood.

[bkblaida]

One last thought.......while attending ski school, there was one person learning to get up on one ski. After several failed attempts the coach changed boats to one with a tower and fastened the rope like you would for wake boarding, told the person to look up at where the rope attached to the top of the tower and they popped out of the water. We have since used our fly-high pole for teaching all first timers. Really helps lift you out of the water verses pulling you to the surface.

[shepherd]

I always tuck my head down. Guess I've been doing it wrong... :(