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WATERSKI MagazineThe water is choppy on this day, my friend. From the shore you can vividly see a petite woman carefully placing a foot on the shoulders of a brawny man whose skis barely bounce through the small wakes. With no time to exhale, the young lady then places her other foot on another shoulder. There is no sneezing or second guessing on the way to the top of a pyramid.
By now you probably know of Wisconsin Dells and nearby Lake Delton as home to Tommy Bartlett's Water Skiing Thrill Show, the longest-running ski show north of Cypress Gardens. A trip here is planned equally around entertainment and skiing. The Dells, 55 miles north of Madison, is home to the world's steepest water slide, 30 go-cart tracks, 300 miniature golf holes and a Russian Mir. Huh? That's right. Bartlett's acquired an original 20-ton Mir space station module for its Robot World and Exploratory.
Let's assume you want to get off the sidelines and be a participating skier. In August, the weather will entice you onto the water – early.
“At six or seven in the morning, that's when I ski,” says Brian Gilbertson, a daily regular on the lake before opening the doors to Lake Delton Watersports. “There's no wind and no people. And even in the morning, the water's so warm you don't need a wetsuit.”
Barefooting is the most appreciated skill in these parts, although you're bound to see open-water slalom skiers, wakeboarders and kneeboarders throughout the day. It's this kind of variety that mirrors the off-water activities and makes Wisconsin Dells an ideal destination for skiers of all breeds. There are few places where you can find a water-skiing thrill show pumped out thrice a day in a city with 70 family attractions, all surrounding a lake that can still provide the quality water that a skier demands.
