Pond skimming

[skiNEwhere]

Who's done it? On normal skis, not water skis that is.

From watching video, it appears the typical strategy is to lean back a little bit

 

[St. Jerry]

The only time I've seen someone make it across was when they leaned forward. Way forward.

 

[skiNEwhere]

 

[dlague]

Lean Back is key! Almost as if sitting in a chair! A lot depends on the length of the pond! Some are 30-40 ft and many cross OK the longer 50-70 ft ponds not so much! Then leaning back too much can be problematic. Speed helps too!

 

[fahz]

I did it this year for the first time. Compared to some of the bigger places that have long ponds this one was shorter. Speed, hitting it straight, and a slight lean back was some of the advice I heard over and over. I borrowed rentals so the skis were not that fat mostly because I didn't want my boots soaked if I went in. It was fun, exhilarating and relief making it!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=807436232603565&l=4860357713343533903

 

[from_the_NEK]

Leaning back is bad, leaning forward is worse :lol:
I've pond skimmed a lot. The key is to stay centered and make your skis skim across the top of the water with as little tail drag as possible. What you want to do is to mimic the properties of the skim boards you see the kids riding at the water's edge at the beach in the summer.

Here is me in round 5 of 6 in 2007. I was robbed by the judges here even though my boots were out of the water at the end of the pond. I still won a prize for best costume that year (I had removed most of my costume at this point to reduce wind drag).
Notice how flat my skis are when entering the pond. I just didn't have quite enough ski and speed to get a clean exit. Big reverse camber skis typically don't do well because they don't plane out on the water very well. Additionally, twin tips are a disadvantage too since they create a drag wave behind the ski (Unfortunately the only skis I have right now have a twin tip).

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvuiOaUXrUU" target="_blank">

 

[dlague]

Here is a question - which glide over the water best skis or snowboards?

I contend the skis are moe stable and many pond skims I have watched skiers seemed to have more success.


i typed with my i thumbs using AlpineZone

 

[Not Sure]

Does'nt it depend on the exit? How do you handle the exit with excess speed? Lean back?

PBR Avatar edit " Hipsters don't feed the animals"

 

[from_the_NEK]

Here is a question - which glide over the water best skis or snowboards?

I contend the skis are moe stable and many pond skims I have watched skiers seemed to have more success.


i typed with my i thumbs using AlpineZone

If ridden smooth and straight a board has the advantage. A guy on a modified snowboard won Burke's contest several years in a row. He had cut off the rear upturned tail of the snowboard. The board skimmed over the water VERY smoothly. It was always close in the last round with the skiers that were left. Burke moves the contestants downhill after each run. Skiers can get speed on the flat run-in by skating. The board rider had to rely on the better flotation of the snowboard. It always amazed me how far he could go across the pond with so little speed.

 

[wa-loaf]

The video has been removed, but the Big Sky contest was pretty insane. Someone did make a gif of the best crashes: http://unofficialnetworks.com/watch-top-3-amazing-wipeouts-big-skys-pond-skim-130387/

It looks like they have a big lip at the end of the pond and it really sent some folks flying.