Summer's Edge
Evolution
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One of skiing’s challenges is finding your balance and rediscovering the feeling of lateral movement at the beginning of each season. Using your skis’ edges to carve a turn takes confidence and muscle memory-two things that hibernate during the summer. But waterskiing-snow skiing’s warm-weather sibling-can help stave off the cobwebs. “With both water and snow skiing, it’s all about keeping your body going down the fall line,” says pro slalom skier Jamie Beauchesne.
He should know: Not only does he average 120 of alpine skiing each winter, he’s the No. 1 ranked slalom waterskier in the country, and he recently tied the world slalom record. The secret of his success, he claims, is combining modern alpine ski tactics with waterskiing. “New-school slalom waterskiing technique parallels the technique of alpine ski racing,” says Beauchesne. “In this photo, I’m at the point in the turn that most simulates snow skiing. I’ve got equal pressure over both feet, and I have a quiet upper body. My eyes are looking down the slalom course, not across it. My hips and knees are angulating. I patiently finish the turn by tipping the ski on edge and allowing it to carve underneath me.”
Instead of having an off season this summer, take a lesson from one of water skiing’s new-school pioneers: Keep skis on your feet all year long.