Taos has been dumped on for the past few days, in fact on my drive up from the Albuquerque Airport, I had to drive through a snow storm. For a Southern boy who grew up waterskiing with little to no experience on the snow, I can’t say that I have anything to compare the amazing powder to, but the locals say this is the best snow Taos has had in YEARS!

I took the first trip up the mountain and was amazed at the amount of snow, but wow, I was humbled by how bad my skiing felt right away. The last time I skied was in Taos at about this time last year. Now I know how my waterski students feel when they take the first ride of the season with the me staring at them from the coach’s seat. Nothing feels right and it even feels like you will never find that feeling. Toward the end of the day, we even hiked up to the ridge for one run down the more intense stuff and needless to say it was a bit of a chacllenge for yours truly on my first day back on the snow (and probably only my 18th or 19th day ever.

On the second day I went out early with Carly Clifton, one of H2Osmosis’ Pro Team Members, and got a chance to settle in (on some new skis from Terry Sports that were a good bit wider and really designed for these powder days). We had some great runs, and lucky for me Carly had more confidence in my abilities than I did. She lead me down several double black diamond runs that challenged my skills as well as my ability to stay alive without hitting any tress. It gave me a good reason to step it up and really start feeling pretty good on my skis.

Later that day when the rest of the gang showed up, we headed up to the ridge once again (just a little hike beyond the lifts, with a good bit more vertical giving me a chance to not only test my skills a little further, but to also challenge my ability). We did three hikes and I got a chance to see Jason Hutchins (another H2Osmosis Pro Team Member and the main instructor for the Ski Crossover week) do some amazing stuff off cliffs, through the tress, etc. Our favorite Columbine Inn proprietors (Paul and Susie Geilenfeldt) as well as a Columbine Inn frequenter and Taos Ski Valley mainstay JB also wow-ed us with some amazing tracks in the snow. I made my way down the steeps once again and had a much better experience. The new skis as well as a little more time on the snow really seemed to pay off.

I took a day off on the third day before the Ski Crossover Crew was ready to hit the snow. We bounded out the door bright and early on the fourth day as SKi Crossover was in full swing and we also had a hike to Kachina Peak (the third highest peak in New Mexico) on the agenda for those who were willing.

The hike to Kachina Peak was definitely the highlight of my short skiing career. The base of the mountain sits at approximately 9200 feet and Kachine Peak tops out at 12,481 feet. There are some pictures and cool video below so you can understand not only the hike and the great runs down, but also the spectacular views of New Mexico, the other high peaks in NM, and even the Rio Grande.

The hike challenged my fortitude and really gave me a new respect for people who do this everyday. The trip down from Kachina Peak proved to me that no matter what the surface, skis are definitely man’s best friend-what an amazing experience! Thanks to Paul and Susie Geilenfeldt, Jason Hutchins, Carly Clifton, Pj McMillan, Terry Sports, the Taos Ski Valley, and all of the great Ski Crossover guests for an unbelievable week...see you next year!

Also, check out the video on the Video Clips page.

Seth

We spent many more days training at Chacabuco with some amazing skiers and even had the opportunity to spend some time in the kitchen at Borago (which I mentioned in my last update as the most amazing dining experience I have ever had-www.borago.cl).

I got a chance to work with Delfina Cuglievan (sorry if it is slightly mispelled) continue my work with all of the Chiccarro’s (Carlos, Samuel, Meteo, Alvaro (the crazy cousin of the family)and Diego), Rocio Almuna, Rodrigo Andai (the man who put the whole trip together), Chalo, Michelle, Cunco, and Chimpi, Andrez Valdivieso (sp?), Ruben Rosenberg-the latest guy to decide to ride the new WArp 7 slalom ski, Sergio Weinstein (is that correct Sergio?), Rodolfo Guzman, Danielle Vernon (who made it down from Seattle)and a few others here and there. Great skiers with lots of drive to become even better than they already are!

We spent the last few days of our trip in the South at Lago Colico (it was about a 8 hour drive from Santiago). Although the winds were pretty high and we didn’t get much opportunity to ski, the lake was beautiful, our gracious hosts (once again the Chiccarros) took great care of us, and we did some traveling to see both Villa Rica and Pucon as well as the Villa Rica Volcano and the Terms Geometricas (Hot Springs). There are pictures of all of these things...so have a look.

Thanks again to all of the great people in Chile for such a great experience and we can’t wait until the next time.

Also, my apologies, but due to a hard drive crash, I lost all of the video I shot while in Chile. IF I can salvage any of it, I will put some up in bits and pieces, but as of right now, I have nothing. Lucky I had the photos backed up on a hard drive.

Seth

I am coaching and skiing at two different sites-Lago Chacabuco is the primary lake where I ski and coach, but three days a week I stop by Lago Chicureo and ski with Ruben Rosenberg and Sergio (I am afraid I can’t remember his last name). Both sites are amazing in their own ways (see pictures below). My wife, Mary Ann, and my daughter, Madalyn, have taken a couple of trips to the lake, but they spend most of their time in and around the city (Santiago). We have an apartment in one of the nicer areas of the city (thanks to Carlos Chiccaro and his family) and I have been driving his Tahoe as my main way of transportation.

There are some great skiers down here...some you may know and some who you will one day come to know as they will breakout as some of the World’s top skiers.

Speaking of the World’s top skiers, we were able to go and see the Slalom Finals for the Under 21 Worlds here in Santiago. The Miranda’s hosted the event and of course (with their knowledge of the sport and their experience putting on waterski events) it was a spectacular event. We weren’t able to make it to the jump finals or stick around for the tricks finals either, but the slalom was great. You can get the results at IWSF.com. The Miranda’s also run a ski school at their site in Los Morros and I have heard great things about Toti Miranda as a coach.

I had the opportunity to coach one of Peru’s top female skiers, Delfina Cuglievan. Her style and abilities should keep her pressing toward the top of women’s slalom skiing. She will be returning next week to ski with me at Lago Chacbuco. I am excited to spend some time coaching her and training with her.

Lastly, we were able to reunite with our good friend Rodolfo Guzman who is one of the legends in Chilean waterskiing. Rod was skiing with me in Charleston back when I ran Trophy Lakes (pre-h2osmosis), and even before when Doug and Drew Ross were in charge. He also hosted me years ago in Chile on my first visit to this amazing country. Rod is now a chef (in addition to a great slalom skier) and has his own restaurant in Santiago. Check out his website at www.borago.cl. It was truly one of the most amazing dining experiences we have ever had.

That’s it for now. Check out the pics below to get a good visual, and as always with H2Osmosis Sports, Ride the Water!

There was certainly a different dynamic among the groups each week, but it is always fun to see how a group of adults who share a similar passion for watersports and waterskiing come together over the course of a week.

The first week was filled with people I hadn’t previously known and it was refreshing to meet some new faces in the sport and have the opportunity to share the passion. There was some great skiing as well by guests ranging from Switzerland to West Palm Beach, Florida and all they way up to Canada, eh?

In the second week, I was with some skiers who I knew very well along with one skier I had never met, Dave Hurwitz. It was a good group both on the water and off. There were a lot of great skiers (a few charges at 38 off among the guests) that week and one skier in particular went from being a girl who could run the course from time to time to a girl who could run multiple passes in the course with no problems. Nice work Rachelle!

The third week brought a group of skiers and watersports enthusiasts who decided to take a little pre-Holiday vacation. A couple of skiers challenged the course for the first time and we even had guests go out and swim with the dolphins. We also got a chance over the last two weeks to see our good buddy Slobodan (Boba) Petosevic completely transform his skiing such that he now really gets the idea of rhythm on a slalom ski.

Thanks, Gordon and Gabriella, for all the great times we all have at your place. Can’t wait until next year.

Check out some random pics below...in no particular order:

Stay at the Atton El Bosque or Atton Las Condes! We have secured some great rates at a 4-5 star hotel in Santiago and will provide transportation to and from the lake and the hotel for your Chilean Waterski Experience in January. Check out the link below to see the hotel options. You won’t believe the rates we’ve got for you for a hotel like this! If you decide you want to make the trip, let us know and we will book the rooms for you.

Check it out at www.atton.cl

Transportation to and from the lake and airport! We’ll pick you up and deliver you to your hotel and make sure you get to and from the lake everyday. We’ve got it covered.

ALMOST BOOKED UP IN MEXICO! It looks we are almost completely booked for the three weeks I will be at Gordon Rathbun’s Ski Paradise in Acapulco (which includes the H2Oz week where Tadd and I will be coaching together from December 15th-22nd). There is a chance that there may be one or tow spots left. IF you’re interested, please e-mail Dee Rathbun at Ski Paradise at dirathbun@aol.com and get yourself booked. We would love to see you there! Wow, what a great experience!

FALL IN AZ! Once again I found myself skiing at one of my favorite sites with one of my favorite groups of skiers in Gilbert, Arizona at SanTan Lakeside Estates. You may have read my brief writeup on my clinic there earlier in the year. Although we had a ton of wind on the first day of the clinic (see pictures below), it glasse dof nicely for the other days and we had a great time with tons of good skiing. Alison Poulsen of Sun Valley, Idaho and Mark Hegewald of Washington State both made the trip to AZ to ski in the clinic as well-chasing the addistion as some would call it. Check out a few pics from the clinic:

There are some great options for you whether you want to go waterski in the heat (Acapulco and Ski Paradise, Waterskiing in Chile, maybe even a waterski trip to Costa Rica, or take a snow ski trip to Taos, New Mexico with myself and the H2Osmosis Gang. Click here to read more, and stay tuned for more info on my latest clinics and other events. Let me know if I can help you in any way.

Madalyn Skiing

I just completed one of my annual Minnesota-Wisconsin Waterski Clinic Tours.

My journey began just outside of Fargo, North Dakota in the town of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. The ski club from Big Floyd Lake put together a couple of days of eager skiers to feed their own-going waterski addiction. We skied one day at Big Floyd and the next on Big Rock Lake (headquartered at the home of Mike Hess). We had a great couple of days with a lot of participation from kids...who says this sport is dying-certainly not the folks in Detroit Lakes.

Being that I had to travel by car from Detroit Lakes to the Madison, Wisconsin area, I had to pass through Minneapolis, Minnesota. I worked out a half day coaching session at Wildflower (Jaques Gibbs’ place). What a great ski spot. We skied from 6:15 until 10:30am and then I was “On the Road Again.”

My first Wisconsin clinic took place in the town of Big Flats (home of the Big Flats White Trash Waterski Team). The lake is owned by the Davenports (who built it) and the Webbers. Chip Davenport arranged for some of the Wisconsin Badger Waterski Team members to attend the clinic and get some coaching. We had a great time both on and off the water. Joe MacFarland took care of some of the evening entertainment with his pyrotechnics mastery. Brian Davenport proved that he is headed towards being a true shortline skier and is improving everyday. I even jumped in the boat and rode in for some trick skiing with Brian. Most of the people in this area of the country have some connection with show skiing and even a showskiing background, so they are very talented waterskiers who were looking for some help with their slalom specifically.

My last stop was at a waterski site just up the road that belongs to Dave and Julie Lombardo, Scott and GiGi Kelly, and Bob and LuAnn Kau...The KLK H2O Group. They bought the lake about three years ago and have really made some great improvements. You can see the aerial of the lake from some of the pictures below (the pics were taken by Julie Lombardo and Bob Kau on one of their hikes up Lone Rock near the lake). Although we dealt with some wind on the first two days, we made it through those days and ultimately we ended with sunshine and calm water. Thanks to Capitol Physical Therapy for bringing out some new skiers to the clinic and thanks to everyone for a great few days. Detroit Lakes

Seth w/ Emily & Luke Payne

Seth w/ Jake Yineman & Nicholas Hess

Seth working w/ Luke

Dockside @ Davenports

Brad Davenport

Brian Davenport

Dockside near the Dells

Luke’s first successful pass

Our smiling boat crew on the last day

Joanna Gettin her Swerve on!

Julie and Bob take a KLK Hike

KLK from Above

With so much to recap, I decided I would just splash some pics down the page for you to see what’s been going on. Please let me know if you need anything watersports related, have interest in setting up a clinic, want to come ski with us, or if you have any advice, complaints, or suggestions for me or H2Osmosis Sports.

Stay tuned for more info and pics from my upcoming clinics in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, and the Wisconsin Dells. Hope your summer is going well!

Seth

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I made contact with this group through Doug Moss, "D3 Doug" as he is often called. Doug is an instrumental player in the the sales and R&D of D3 skis as well as a great all around guy. Doug hooked me up with Tim Corcoran, Kreg Korinek, and Kevin Mohler at the San Tan site. Doug also attended along with his friend Bob from Colorado. We had a great three day clinic and I felt like I continued on the quest to learn daily from the people I coach as well.

The intense three days of skiing even managed to fire up some of the other family members as well. Tim’s son Joe and wife Lisa both participated as well and seemed to get the idea of how to swerve very well. Kreg’s wife Kristin also joined in for a ride and proved that her husband was a great coach himself. Kevin’s son Justin was another future ripper who went out and banked some turns despite having a torn ACL from a football injury. I hope all of these guys tapped into their newfound addiction for waterski or fed their old one.

I also got a chance to ski behind a 1961 Correct Craft thanks to Kreg Korinek and Bryan Staub even snapped some pics. Keep your eyes on WaterSki Mag in the coming months as you may see a shot of the throwback towboat in the near future.

Thanks to all of you at San Tan for a great trip and I hope to come out and ski with you again. I have posted some pictures below.

Solving the world’s problems dockside at SanTan

Kreg-ready for the course—what a backdrop!

Doug Moss-Always hard at work

Anybody want a ride behind "Easy to Love"?

Tim-Working hard on his pullout/stance

Kevin Mohler-Our only D3 holdout

Kreg killing it on his Nomad