Matt Rini

Three tips on how to run your hardest pass

We all have that one pass that Seems to take longer to crack then the previous passes. That one pass that you’ve been pounding away at for a couple of years that you seem to run when the moon and the stars align but you can’t quite master it. Keep reading and follow the steps below to push through the finish line.

Accept the speed: speed is definitely your friend in the slalom course. Most skiers who get to their hardest pass try to make it feel the same speed as a pass that they can run. This usually is done by keeping the lean the same or even backing off a bit out of fear of slack and too much speed. Accept and embrace that you will and need to go faster through the wakes. 2

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Know your intensity: your opening pass should be easy for you to run very early. Rate your intensity of your opening pass on a scale of 1 to 10. If your opening pass is a 3 out of 10 each time you shorten the rope or increase the boat speed you must increase that intensity number by one. if your hardest pass works out to be a six out of 10 then run the pass before your hardest pass with the intensity that you intend to ski your hardest pass. This will get your body and skiing senses ready for the extra speed that you’re going to feel on your hardest pass.

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Know where to make it feel different: most skiers I see who are trying to learn shorter rope make different movements at the ball as the rope gets shorter and try to make it feel the same behind the boat. The turns should feel relatively the same as you advance through your passes but the swing and intensity behind the boat is where you want to focus your energy. If you were swinging on a swing and maintaining the same distance off the ground and I was to shorten the length of the chains you wouldn’t feel a big difference at the top of the swing you would feel more of the difference as you go faster at the bottom. This principle applies to slalom skiing do your best to make the turns feel the same and make the lean and power behind the boat increase. 3