Some of you might wonder: What is “CABLESKI”? Well, if you live in Germany or another European country, you might have had a chance already to see a cableski site, but in fact, in other countries of the world the chances are much smaller - although there are actually cableski sites all around the world today and on all continents (ok, except Antarctica, but nobody does waterski there anyway...).
What is the main difference between the “classical” waterskiing and Cableski? Well, first of all: you don’t need a boat! Don’t worry, that does not mean that you need to look for a downhill lake now... ;-). Please click on the picture below, I believe this is the best possibility for a first impression.
Instead of a boat, the Cableski installation has 4 or 5 pylons with a wheel on the end, all connected with a double steel cable of 10 mm diameter. These two cables are connected every 70 to 100 meter with so called “hooks”, this is also the place where skiers are “hooked in” for skiing. The total length of this installation is 700 to 1200 meter long - enough to install a slalom course, a jump ramp, or sliders and ramps for wakeboarding. If you want to see some action, you can also check the video!
One pylon, usually the main pylon at the start, carries an electrical engine, which moves the cable around the installation. This engine is able to maintain all necessary speeds, from 25 up to 58 km/h!
Invented by the German engineer Bruno Rixen in the 60’s, the first cableski site, build in Benidorm / Spain, is still running today! To learn more about the history of Cableski, please look on the Rixen hompage. Or read the History of Cableskiing, compiled by Ladislav Nemes, a former member of the EAME Cableski Council. Other manufacturers can also be found on the links page.
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