SKIER — KNOW THYSELF. KNOW HOW YOU SKI, HOW WELL YOU SKI, WHERE YOU SKI AND WHAT TERRAIN YOU SKI. THEN CHOOSE THE SKI THAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU.
AH, BUT HOW?? CHOOSING THE RIGHT SKI IS LIKE COMPUTER DATING?: THERE’S A LOT OUT THERE THAT WON’T WORK FOR YOU, BUT ENTER THE RIGHT COORDINATES AND VOILA — YOU FIND A GREAT MATCH. READ THESE PAGES TO FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU FIT INTO THE OVERALL MATRIX. ONCE YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AS A SKIER, YOU CAN BEST CHOOSE THE SKI THAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU.
Pure carving is a relatively nouveau concept in skiing, deli-vered by the development of skis with deep sidecuts. The skis in this category focus on carving, with sidecuts that typi-cally taper from a fat tip of more than 115 mm to a svelte waist of 70 mm. Just roll `em on edge, and look behind you at the deep, well-defined trenches they cut in the snow.
Skier: Part-time slalom racers and advanced skiers who like short, quickly linked turns.
Terrain: Steep, narrow and sometimes hard, as you might find in the East. Tight spots, like glades, are no problem.
Turn: The turning radius of these skis ranges between 10 m and 14 m, typical of the tight radiuses of slalom courses.
Skier: Racers and racer wannabes who love big turns at big speeds, bombing top to bottom on open slopes.
Terrain: Groomed or hardpacked runs with enough space for big turns. Hardpacked snow and racecourse ice are in the mix.
Turn: The turning radius of these skis ranges between 14 m and 20 m. That’s a turn shape typical of recreational giant slalom racing.
Skier: Advanced skiers getting the hang of pure carving and spending most of their time on groomers but with an eye out for exploring all over the mountain.
Terrain: A healthy dose of groomers, but other terrain is doable as long as the snow isn’t too deep.
Turn: The turning radius of these skis averages around 14 m, the median ground between giant slalom and slalom turns.
Skier: Skiers moving up the food chain, comfortable on blue slopes but looking to take their skiing to the next level.
Terrain: Mostly intermediate groomers, but not shy about testing the waters occasionally on tougher stuff.
Turn: An average turning radius of around 14 m means midsized turns, but may be shaky at higher speeds due to a soft, easy-turning flex.
Skier: Experts who can rip all over the mountain, transitioning easily through changes in terrain or snow conditions.
Terrain: Best on blacks and double blacks, on all snow conditions except for snorkel-deep powder.
Turn: Carving works, but so does swiveling. The turning radius can be 12 m to 18 m, depending on the model.
Skier: Advanced skiers with expert potential and an eagerness to explore the whole mountain.
Terrain: The portfolio is growing. Groomers are the main thing, but more challenging terrain is increasingly part of the picture.
Turn: Check the turning radius. There’s plenty of variation in this cate-gory, though giant slalom shapes with gentler flex are most common.
Skier: Confident now in blue runs, skiers looking to expand their reper-toire at a higher level.
Terrain: Blue is best, but black is OK as long as speed is kept down. Good on any snow, but typically softer flexes work better on softer snow.
Turn: Versatility is key here. Carve turns or slide turns, but don’t let the speedometer edge into the red zone.
Skier: Advanced-to-expert who likes the challenge of variable terrain and conditions and who likes carving as well as playing in powder.
Terrain: Mostly black, with occasional off-piste exploration. Snow conditions ranging from rock-hard to knee-deep powder.
Turn: Turning radiuses vary. Enough sidecut to carve on groomed snow but also enough width to float and steer on soft snow.
Skier: Typically an all-day, every-day Westerner who encounters a lot of soft snow, powder and crud.
Terrain: Best when conditions are soft, but still able to handle occasional hard stuff.
Turn: The 80 mm to 90 mm waist allows good flotation in deeper stuff. Getting the skis on edge for carving is challenging but possible.
Skier: Pure powder pigs who never sharpen their edges. If there aren’t at least a few fresh inches, they’re staying home.
Terrain: Steep and deep, especially O/B. But inbounds powder and crud isn’t out of the question.
Turn: With more than 90 mm underfoot, flotation is the thing, sometimes turning around to go switch.
Skier: People who’ve already got an all-mountain ski, but who also want a pair of big boys for those big-mountain, bottomless days.
Terrain: Mostly off-piste, in ski-movie-like terrain, everything from Alaska heli-skiing to the Whistler backcountry.
Turn: It’s all about surfing, riding the powder wave. For big turns in big, open spaces.
Think of skiing as a day at the amusement park. Every run, both in terrain parks and beyond, is an opportunity to go on a wild, trick-filled ride. Skiing forward, skiing switch, catching air, riding rails — the operative concept is all play, all the time. Sure, it’s nice to be able to make a decent carved turn, but the priorities here are clear: Skiing is mostly a chance to reach deep into a bagful of amusing tricks.
Skier: Not necessarily a pure park rat, but pretty close. Always looking for terrain, both in and out of the park, to trick things up.
Terrain: Think 75?% in the park, 25?% out. Wide enough for decent soft-snow performance.
Turn: Reduced sidecuts and fatter waists make carving challenging though not impossible. Switch turns are as important as forward turns.
Skier: Open-mountain tricksters who spend practice time in the park in order to fine-tune their game for big-mountain, soft-snow antics.
Terrain: A fat waist — sometimes over 100 mm — calls out for deep snow. The more terrain features for trying tricks, the better.
Turn: There’s more to the sport than just turning. Hucking, straightlining and surfing powder switch come into play.
Skier: Someone with a big thirst for backcountry adventure. Big mountains, big snow, big kahunas are all part of the big picture.
Terrain: Steep and deep, mostly off-piste. Inbounds is possible, but when the snow gets hard, the going gets harder.
Turn: The word phat was coined for skis like these. Big, fast, phat turns rule, along with plenty of airtime.
