 Poster: A snowHead
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A friend of mine who used to do quite a bit of waterskiing asked me whether there are any similarities and how easy it would be for him to transfer those skills onto snow. I did not really know how to answer him. My gut feel is that there is not much overlap when I look at body position and the way a waterskier is pulled over the water.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Bit of co-ordinated balance, and that is about it. I used to be a BWSF instructor and am a CSIA instructor. Oh yes and also the word skiing is used in both. 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I would agree that the body position and technique is very different.
The benefit your friend should have though, is confidence in his sense of balance and self belief in believing he can master a new activity.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Aside from the sensation of having planks strapped to your feet, not much. If you adopted the snowskiing position on waterskis you'd faceplant straight away, and the weight-rearward position for waterskis obviously wouldn't get you far on snow. There will be a lot of un-learning ingrained habits, I imagine.
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| Dypcdiver wrote: |
| Bit of co-ordinated balance, and that is about it. |
+1
Snowboarding and wakeboarding are more similar than watersking and snow skiing in my opinion.
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We had a ski host in La Plagne who was a waterskier and hadn't done much skiing. He wasn't a great skier to start with, but when I returned at the end of the season he'd improved dramatically. I think if you have good balance and are sporty enough to be a waterskier, I expect you'd pick up skiing quickly enough.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
The benefit your friend should have though, is confidence in his sense of balance and self belief in believing he can master a new activity.
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I met someone whose self-belief was a major handicap. He claimed to be an expert water skier and when we met them on the coach transfer to resort (Kapaonik) he was confident he would pick up skiing quickly whereas his wife was full of trepidation. However his self-belief was such that he didn't feel it necessary to take any notice of what his ski instructor told him. His wife, a total beginner and non water skier, got on well because she listened and did what she was told. We skied with them on day 5. She was controlling her speed nicely, whereas his method was to shoot straight across the piste at high speed, fall over in the piste-side crud, get up cursing and shoot straight into the crud the other side. He obviously hated his wife being better than he was, declared that skiing was rubbish and he never wanted to go again. Total plonker.
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pam w, We've all seen them, as you say they can't bear the fact that the 'little woman' might be better than him. Makes you wonder what his water skiing was really like Eh? 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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you will understand the edges and how they work so that will help a bit, but otherwise i doubt it will help much.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Might be helpful on a 'sharp' drag lift - a bit like the hit in waterskiing!
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I think that apart from understanding how a ski turns/ general balance then the fact you are used to being coached and doing drills where you concentrate what you do with your body and the impact that it has the output also helps.... this is of course presuming they waterski to a reasonable standard (and probably only works for slalom) and have a decent coach they listen too!!
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You know it makes sense.
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| Swissie wrote: |
| pam w, We've all seen them, as you say they can't bear the fact that the 'little woman' might be better than him. Makes you wonder what his water skiing was really like Eh? |
I've noticed in ski school that there's a certain type - usually older men - that don't take instruction well at all. Fragile egos used to dominating every situation, I guess.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Core strength and good balance. Also will be easy to ge how to work the edges. I think this is quite a lot. Different body position is very easy to adjust so it's a minor factor. He'll still need to learn but he should learn fast as he would already have some understanding where his body has to be to make two planks turn. Snow is just a different surface and there is a gravity pull that also plays a role.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
gravity pull that also plays a role.
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how does that work in waterskiing then?
IMHO - it's different, one you are working against a consistent pull across a mostly consistent surface, the other is all about balance whilst being 'pushed' across variable surfaces. Being fit and having balance will help at both but the type of balance is different. It's sort of like saying becasue you can ski, you can snowboard - which ain't so - and for what it's worth I think those two pursuits have more in common than they do with waterskiing. It's like saying that if you can skateboard, you can surf - and that's just wrong too.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I've done a lot of both, I learned snow skiing first, as did mrs T, we both picked water skiing up straight away, but the forward stance of snow skiing meant that I did some spectacular "out the front door" wipeouts on water.
In both you are balanced over the ski, you just need to be further back to be balanced on a water ski.
You need good leg strength on snow and water.
I would say that the skills used for water skiing are very transferable to snow skiing but getting and accepting some guidance on how to translate the skills will be needed.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I found the biggest similarity to be between using button lifts and water skiing! The whole where you keep your weight.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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As someone who took up snow skiing in the mid 1960s to keep fit for waterskiing (while I waterskiied right through the winter in the south of England, there's no way I would do that in Scotland !), I would say it depends on attitude and willingness to learn a new way of sliding balance. The balance and core strength are key - the different point of balance is something that muscle memory sorts out. Waterskiing on 2 skis, jumping and trick skiing all require weight on the outside ski and edging to turn - just like skiing. Slalom skiing I would say is more akin to snowboarding - despite slalom being my best discipline in waterskiing I've never been tempted by boarding. The skills are certainly transferrable - Luke O'Reilly and Ian Blackwood who were members of the British Ski team in those days also trained in waterskiing at Ruislip.
As an aside, I recall overhearing a conversation in 1971 in a bar in Kirchberg where some southerners were discussing the difference between water and snow skiing, and they came to the conclusion that snow skiing was harder work. I pointed out they were talking rubbish, as at the time I was waterskiing every day at Ruislip. While I could happily bash the piste all day long on snow day after day, 10 or 15 minutes on the water and I needed a long break - probably only spent a maximum of 1 - 1½ hours on the water in a day. Not sure the southerners accepted the point though.
And the reason I know it was 1971 ? While there, someone came into the bar and said "I've just heard the Rolls Royce have gone bust!" None of us could believe this bastion of british industry could possibly be bankrupt - ho hum !
Despite having spent many years water skiing in my youth, it is probably 30+ years since I ventured on to water !
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Touchguru wrote: |
| Snowboarding and wakeboarding are more similar than watersking and snow skiing in my opinion. |
Can't vouch for skiing, but having gone to wakeboarding after snowboarding, I felt it completely natural, using very much the same skill and muscle set
| deerman wrote: |
| I recall overhearing a conversation in 1971 in a bar in Kirchberg where some southerners were discussing the difference between water and snow skiing, and they came to the conclusion that snow skiing was harder work. I pointed out they were talking rubbish, as at the time I was waterskiing every day at Ruislip. While I could happily bash the piste all day long on snow day after day, 10 or 15 minutes on the water and I needed a long break - probably only spent a maximum of 1 - 1½ hours on the water in a day. Not sure the southerners accepted the point though.! |
Agree - 15 minutes behind a boat is far more intense than the same time sliding down hill.
Difference between sprinting and jogging or walking.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I'm a reasonable skier and tried waterskiing on a stag do. Very hung over, I found it way easier than anyone else and was doing some basic tricks by the second time round the lake. Obviously there was plenty more to learn but i had the basics straight away. Otherwise, I've not the best balance so I'm guessing all the years of skiing helped massively. Presume this means transferring skills the opposite way would also give someone a big help. I always have had a tendency to ski in the back seat though.
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I teach (waterskiing/ wakeboarding) often to groups who have never water-skied before, things like what...snow mentioned above, stag does and the like are not uncommon. There is absolutely no doubt, that in the initial stages of learning, those that can [snow]ski or snowboard grasp the basics earlier, 'get up' with fewer attempts than these who have never before strapped a plank(s) to their feet. But that's where it ends as far as advantage.
What it means to us, as instructors who generally want return business, is that those who accomplish the basics on their first 'session' (or tow), will be much likelier to return.
After getting 'round the lake' a couple of times without 'falling off', progress is very similar.
There is some common ground, yes lateral balance, but you're being towed (by 500+HP) , so longitudinal balance is completely different. Yes you do use edges, but how many novice snow-skiers do? and you don't really waterskiing until you get on the slalom course.
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| ajrduff wrote: |
| If you adopted the snowskiing position on waterskis you'd faceplant straight away. |
Yeah, tell me about it!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| ajrduff wrote: |
| If you adopted the snowskiing position on waterskis you'd faceplant straight away. |
Yeah, tell me about it!
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------^^^------ me too... Then the Turkish instructor lost the ability to speak English and we repeated the same episode three times, three face plants lots of laughing and pointing on the beach, until we all gave up....
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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This thread almost makes me wish it was summer - haven't skied for years but used to ski up to 10 sets a week pre kids as lake was on way home from work. Bet I would struggle to even run the course now!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I remember many years ago in Costa Rica I had a very brief experience with waterskiing. In the process I got so much water up my ar..e that I had to sprint and barely made it to the loo.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Unlike most posts I think it's totally transferable. It is polar opposite, eg you pressure inside ski not outside to turn, lean back not forward, but if you do one the othe IME comes naturally and I can't quite explain why.
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Poster: A snowHead
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patricksh, Interested to know why you say that..^^
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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allanm, my own experience. First time I stood up on waterskis in Jamaica it all came natural. Americans who did a lot of waterski couldn't believe I had never done it before. And what was weidr was how I felt myself automatically pressure INSIDE ski when turning. Only explanantion I can thikn of is muscles being already primed to respond to force buildup by pressure
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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patricksh ^^ Yup, as I said above it does help in the very early stages, the big similarity being dynamic balance and a knowledge of 'edging'.
Most novice water skiers start to turn naturally on two skies pretty quickly, although 'rotation turning' which most snow skiers use simply doesn't work, that's why you quickly find you have to do 'something else' to turn.
As to the OP, the question of transferring skill from waterskiing to snowskiing, yes there is balance, but that is about it unless you start out carving or on powder. Rotational turning is not something a waterskier will be familiar with.
There is a massive difference too in when learning waterskiing in that if the going gets tough and you don't like it, you let go of the handle. No such easy exit exists in snow skiing.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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RattytheSnowRat, It doesn't. There are fundamental differences between alpine and water skiing. You are being pulled by different forces but in both cases if your balance is off you are out of control and down. Whether you need to keep you weight forward or back from your CM first of all you need to know where your CM is.
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