Stuff seems to break...

right before big tournaments. Two years ago, I tore my trick boot overlay right before nationals. Just this saturday, the weekend before regionals, I ripped an edge on my right jump ski. It was only a few inches of the rubber edging, but it came off at the back inside corner, a spot that is probably in contact with the ramp surface at impact (If I look there while jumping, I will likely be the stuff that breaks!).
JB Weld has never let me down so far. Hopefully JB, my newly-purchased clamp, and the wooden stake filed to match the curve of the ski will combine to produce exceptional holding power.





WATERSKI, ETC. PSA:
Attention married men who ski! Using a kitchen tool to file a curve in the wooden stake you use to disperse the clamping force down the length of your jump ski is a good way to make your wife angry. Sorry Libby!


Now, excuse me while I kneel before the magic corn and beg for superior adhesion.

Remember the buzzkiller...

phone message about PITS being full? Not so fast. the next night, I got a phone call from one of their club members. He told me that one of their members was not going to ski, so there was an open spot for me.


In Iowa, they say that when the corn shows its kernerls, your wish is granted.

So, I hit the road,


and drove to a sweet site.



I left with PBs in jump and overall


Mad props (the boathouse ain't the only ski blog bustin' hip lingo!)to everyone @ PITS, they put on a good tournament back in early July.

Troy didn't ski on saturday, so I must have taken his spot. Thanks Troy, you get a picture.


And of course, thanks to the magic ear of corn.

Here is the torch...

for the Iowa games. Thanks to the 20mph tail wind, we couldn't light it.



Ahh, the state champoinship tournament. A place where slalom specailists will strap on a pair of trick skis and look silly, all in the name of the coveted team title. Dream Lake estates has held a tight grip on it for as long as I have been skiing in Iowa (circa '02). Maybe this was the year that the trophy heads back to it's rightful place, eagle lake in Evansdale.

It would have to return home despite me. I missed 28 off and had an average trick round. My one scoring jump was a now-meager 112


That landing hurt

Not much pop off the top.

I hate tailwinds. If it were not for team points, I would have scratched jump.



Pat and Clint (no business trip that weekend!) had a better handle on the conditions.
Here's Clint.

A good jump, considering he has been in a bit of a jump slump lately. If conditions are even tolerable at regionals, he could easily PB.

Nice jumping, Pat! 102' on a single on the first jump a year after a NASTY concussion.

Friends don't let friends jump with Hydrogyn helmets.

We lost to Dream Lake by a mere 100 NOPS points. Damn!

Barraged with practice questions...

about priorities, i have not blogged for three weeks. this is why:



But I'm done with that now. I passed! Now I need a job!

Until then, I will continue to flood cyberspace with idle postings. Stay tuned...

I enjoyed the weekend...

of the fourth of july. It had all the essentials:







And then I got this note:



Bummer, especially after one of the best jumps of my life at the lake yesterday.

No shot at the jump EP this weekend for me.