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Ricardo Cabeza
climber
All Over.
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Oct 15, 2010 - 02:48pm PT
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I'm a bad surfer, but it seems like the comparison between sports should be surfing/ big mountain skiing.
The speed, the adapting to your conditions, it's uncanny.
Ever hit 80mph through a chute into crud?
Your synapses fire on all eight, you hit a little bump and at the speed you're going, you fly for sixty feet at least. But you keep it in check.
Climbing is all fitness, commitment, and balls.
Big mountain skiing is all speed, knowledge, and balls.
Surfing is fitness, knowledge, and balls.
Surfing and big mountain skiing better capture the commitment and fast twitch muscle response that we're talking about.
Climbing doesn't compare to surfing on an athletic level.
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Slater
Trad climber
Central Coast
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 15, 2010 - 02:59pm PT
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Randall! Shoooot now I"m never gonna get any work done!
;) thank you!
Just psyched for the guy, for the sport, and it makes the tour interesting to watch.
I imagine when he's gone it won't be as interesting... like when Tiger dropped off the PGA or Lance Armstrong was done cycling after his string of wins.
This feat is likely to go unrepeated for a looooooooong time.
climb on... and surf when it's good!
TS
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Oct 15, 2010 - 03:43pm PT
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I would add to the subject of comparing surfing to other sports the following. I have done both tons of surfing and tons of climbing. Combined, 91 years.
Surfing is really unique in that not only are you yourself speeding (like crazy often) but so is the wave and to some extent the whole area you are in---- currents, wind, backwash, cross-swells, chop, not to mention other surfers. The whole thing---- you and nature--- are moving a whole lot and not “together”. You can’t like stop any place at all as you often can in big skiing; you are locked in and you will be punished horribly or killed, at least in big waves, should you decide to take a rest or check out what is developing below as you can in chutes and some of the convolutions of mountains. Both sports practiced in to their extremes of course are just flat-out amazing and hard to do well in. Surfing is particularly complex in that so many separate "frames" of movement are taking place that you must address.
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crøtch
climber
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Oct 15, 2010 - 03:59pm PT
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Indeed, Peter. In bigger surf you can easily get "locked in" to a wave and have to see it through to the end. Like bouldering an irreversible sequence in the no-fall zone. I think that surfing and climbing are most similar with regard to the state of mind that can be attained when you are in the thick of it.
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Ricardo Cabeza
climber
All Over.
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Oct 15, 2010 - 04:14pm PT
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Peter, I was alluding to what you wrote about.
When you ski a steep mountain, you chase the dragon.
when you surf a heavy wave, the dragon chases you.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Oct 16, 2010 - 12:04am PT
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another example of why Kelly is such an interesting surfing artist:
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Slater
Trad climber
Central Coast
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 6, 2010 - 06:06pm PT
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Well he did it... he just won his 10th world title.
Amazing.
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Gunkie
Trad climber
East Coast US
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Well he did it... he just won his 10th world title.
Amazing.
Did you watch the heats? He put DeSouza down in the first two minutes by going 9.0, 9.87 in the quarters. That was sweet. Then he gets a 8.10 as a throw away score.
BTW, Wilderness [Puerto Rico] is a great surf spot. All kinds of peaks up and down about a 1/2 mile of reef and it works great from 2' to 20'. Not that I've been out there at 20'. It really spreads the crowd out nicely. When it gets bigger from 8' and up, and the Rip Curl Pro wasn't big, that place gets very difficult to get out of the water. You have heaving slabs dumping on dry reef encrusted with barnacles and lots of urchins. You have to ride the top of a heave directly onto the really shallow reef where there are a lot less of the pointy and sharp things. Then run! I gotta get back there ;)
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Esparza
Trad climber
Westminster, CA
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Slater is true to form. A living legend that will be looked upon with further amazement as the future progresses. I remember back in 1990ish when I would watch him on the old school surf channel H30 here is So Cal. I was 16/17 back then and my buddies and I would be like, "Who is this guy?" We would watch VHS tapes and get all pumped up and head out for night sessions at the HB Pier.... Fun times!
Here is a great slide show from the Puerto Rico Rip Curl Pro. Check out his shack on the video (slide 2). Also, Taj Burrows sick wave video (slide 14).
http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/kelly-slater-wins-10th-world-title-takes-down-durbidge-to-win-rip-curl-pro-search_49682/
I am psyched to go get wet now!
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Broken
climber
Texas
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Nov 13, 2010 - 01:00pm PT
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Though he dominated another sport not open to the masses, Steve Redgrave should at least be mentioned for his combination of top level performance and longevity.
It is funny to see the vehemence with which people defend "their" sports.
The problem here is largely definitional. What do you mean by "athlete"?
Tell me that, and I'll give my opinion of who fits the parameters...
By default, I tend to agree with Donini. A field where the competition is deep and multi-cultural is most likely to yield the best athlete strictly from a probability standpoint.
Are women and men separate (I've seen no women mentioned on this thread)?
How do we compare Gretzky with Jim Thorpe? Babe Didrickson Zaharias with Michael Jordan? Jackie Joyner Kersee with Eddy Merckx? Bubka with Karelin?
Dave Winfield: Baseball hall-of-famer and only guy drafted in three sports (football, baseball, basketball)
Hard to top Jim Brown - historically great football player, perhaps the best running back of all time. All-american lacrosse in college. Great high school/collegiate basketball player. top 5 nationally in the decathalon. Could have been pro baseball player and/or pro boxer.
Of course, American football isn't exactly an international sport. And, I suppose, America is one of the few countries with so many thriving sports leagues.
You almost have to make soccer its own category...
Would you consider an endurance / power endurance athlete to be the greatest if he/she had abominable hand eye coordination?
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Slater
Trad climber
Central Coast
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Topic Author's Reply - May 24, 2011 - 12:16am PT
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Brazil... on the "dream tour"
seriously?
did you see that slop?
I just hope SF really goes big or that'll be a cold foggy waste of time.
Isn't NY on the tour this year as well?
Takin' some risks this year...
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Slater
Trad climber
Central Coast
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Topic Author's Reply - May 24, 2011 - 01:33am PT
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Silver... you're a lucky guy! Make the most! go hit Family Housings, Majors, Kini Kinis and Polahali for me! That whole island is insane! You're in paradise!
AI = respect, he could shred.
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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May 24, 2011 - 03:29am PT
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Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh...
the islands.
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o-man
Trad climber
Paia,Maui,HI
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May 24, 2011 - 06:26am PT
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Silver, Uncle Pat Caldwell says,
OAHU-
700 PM HST MON MAY 23 2011
HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR SOUTH FACING SHORES
Surf along south facing shores will be 5 to 8 feet Tuesday.
Uncle Glen James says this for us on Maui and Kauai has the same #s as well
Maalaea Bay: 2+ Hawaiian
Lahaina: 2-3+ Hawaiian
Note: Wave face readings are approximately twice the surf forecast numbers indicated in the tables above.
South shores - A south-southwest swell will continue, reaching high surf advisory levels into Wednesday…slowly lowering through Thursday and Friday. A new somewhat smaller south swell will arrive by this coming weekend.
It looks like good south shore surfing for a while if those strong trades don't wrap around mess it up.
Sounds like I should put surfboards in the truck tomorrow and go over to the south side!
Were you on island for the north swell last Friday?
I wave sailed logo to mast high all afternoon. What a late season treat!
RIP A.I.
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steve shea
climber
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May 24, 2011 - 11:56am PT
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About ten years ago a "survival of the fittest" was held in europe. This was not some made for tv reality bs. The field consisted of two man teams representing a variety of sports, all at a world class level. Soccer, Hockey, Track and Field, Nordic Ski Racing, Surfing... I think Hamilton may have been on the surf team, Cycling etc. They were all tested in speed, endurance, quickness and coordination events. All of these designed to be way outside each athlete's comfort zone. The winners were alpine ski racers by a wide margin. Alberto Tomba who was already a year or two off the World Cup and his teammate was Hermann Maier, the guy who was upsidedown at about 80 mph on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
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Slater
Trad climber
Central Coast
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Topic Author's Reply - May 24, 2011 - 12:34pm PT
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Silver... oooh Pine Trees... almost forgot about that place! I had a great day there with my buddy Marc Kunze. It can be 2' and you can still get dredging head dips! We surfed for like 3hours, got out and ran down the street and ate, then got back out there for another 2.5 hours. Rad fun, wicked current sometimes. Super pretty...
I hear ya... when i get back from the Islands I drive slower and less bothers me...
Enjoy every second.
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Jul 20, 2011 - 04:51pm PT
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Don't forget the "Duke"
Or the Fact that 'Eddie would go'
There have been so many amazing water men over the years.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter Haan:
1. Love the pic of Teahupoo. It shows just how hard that wave sucks. It is drawing water off the reef ahead of it, it jacks so hard.
I have a friend that calls mega, hard hitting, breaks like that:
"below sea level breaks"
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