Ski Season

[Claeren]

I am looking at new skis and thought some people here may have some insight.

I am advanced-intermediate skier (6'4, 210lbs) who manages to ski quite a bit of resort powder and is looking for a playful ski for in the trees and such more than a hard charging all mountain ski.

I finally managed to test one of the newer fatter skis (Rossi S7s) and they were awesome!! A bit easy to fall into the back seat on them (soft tail flex plus rear rocker) but other than that they were so easy to turn, flew over every terrain, and were generally the type of fun easy ski I am looking for.

So I am left with a few problems, one is that S7's at 188cm are hard to come by now, and two - can I find a more practical ski at 100mm underfoot OR a similar ski to the S7 without the backseat problem.

Ideally I now want Armada JJ's at 185cm but they are apparently sold out around the world. Like the S7s but a bit less flex in the tail and more highly regarded in the ski community it seems.

So here is my short list:

Armada JJs (115 underfoot) (cant find them)
Rossi S7s (115 underfoot) (might find them)
Atomic Bent Chetler (123 underfoot) (cant find them, too much ski?)
Atomic Access (100 underfoot) ($499 is great price)
Armada TST (2012)(100 underfoot) ($800)

OR do I go another direction completely?

I can wait for next years Armada JJ I guess, but if i get one of the smaller options am I really going to use both skis?

I found the 115mm surprisingly nimble and to anyone out there not sure if they can handle it, go for it!! You are probably a better skier than I am and they are a lot of fun.

Skis like the Volkl Gotma also look fun but are heavier, stiffer and dont seem as playful to me?



Any thoughts?

Other general ski discussion? There has been a lot of great snow this year!





Claeren.

[DownhillGoat]

Have you looked at any of the similar K2s? (Coomba, Rockers, etc).

Personally I like the Rossis. I've got a pair of the Bandits from last year (94mmm) and they're suprisingly good even in the trees.

[carom]

I have a pair of Liberty Hazmats from 4 years ago, and I don't think they make them the Hazmat model anymore.

The Liberty Helix looks pretty sweet.

A couple reasons why I would check out Liberty skis:

1. They are a small independent company (which can have a positive and negative side)
2. The ski I have is made out of bamboo and they try to paint themselves as being an environmentally progressive company
3. Most importantly, they are really stiff. As a former racer I appreciate a ski that will make me work hard and be extremely responsive. I can get pretty lazy (ie. sitting on the crapper form) when I ski. Because of this having a nice stiff tail to lean back on and shoot me from side to side when I am busting through tracked powder and crud is the most important factor in a ski for me.

[chalms04]

Funny there should be a new thread about skiing, when I came home to find a random pair of skis, poles, and a softball bat in my yard. (I guess I could have posted in the baton thread too)

The sad thing is they are upgrades compared to my current gear.

[MacDaddy77]

Originally Posted by Claeren

I am looking at new skis and thought some people here may have some insight.

I am advanced-intermediate skier (6'4, 210lbs) who manages to ski quite a bit of resort powder and is looking for a playful ski for in the trees and such more than a hard charging all mountain ski.

I finally managed to test one of the newer fatter skis (Rossi S7s) and they were awesome!! A bit easy to fall into the back seat on them (soft tail flex plus rear rocker) but other than that they were so easy to turn, flew over every terrain, and were generally the type of fun easy ski I am looking for.

So I am left with a few problems, one is that S7's at 188cm are hard to come by now, and two - can I find a more practical ski at 100mm underfoot OR a similar ski to the S7 without the backseat problem.

Ideally I now want Armada JJ's at 185cm but they are apparently sold out around the world. Like the S7s but a bit less flex in the tail and more highly regarded in the ski community it seems.

So here is my short list:

Armada JJs (115 underfoot) (cant find them)
Rossi S7s (115 underfoot) (might find them)
Atomic Bent Chetler (123 underfoot) (cant find them, too much ski?)
Atomic Access (100 underfoot) ($499 is great price)
Armada TST (2012)(100 underfoot) ($800)

OR do I go another direction completely?

I can wait for next years Armada JJ I guess, but if i get one of the smaller options am I really going to use both skis?

I found the 115mm surprisingly nimble and to anyone out there not sure if they can handle it, go for it!! You are probably a better skier than I am and they are a lot of fun.

Skis like the Volkl Gotma also look fun but are heavier, stiffer and dont seem as playful to me?



Any thoughts?

Other general ski discussion? There has been a lot of great snow this year!





Claeren.

I'm currently riding Line 100's they are frickin AWESOME!!!!! Another ski that I really liked was the Nordica Enforcer (Kicking Horse demos/rents these if you want to take them for a test run.

I have a pair of Rossignol Z9 that I now use as rock skis, they are only 72mm under foot so the line 100's are what I ski when we get snow. I bought them this year hoping el Nina would do her thing (which she's doing)

[Torture]

I've got a pair of Head Monster 82's, love em...beauty all mountain carver.

Looking at getting a pair of Obseth'ds to give myself a sick powder ski too.

I've heard nothing but good things about both the Armada JJ and the S7, can't go wrong with either ski.

[Claeren]

Lots of good stuff so far.

My best friend and ski partner has Liberty Helix and he really likes them. They are 108mm underfoot (I think?) and they are just fat enough at his size that he can use them as powder skis but responsive enough they can be used all mountain the rest of the time.

I am a bit bigger though so to use it as even a so-so powder ski I think i need to be at at least 115mm as a starting point. So do I just go smaller and then buy a fatter ski next season? Gah, I feel like I am locked into my decision for years to come! lol


I can say that I do prefer the idea of supporting smaller companies (like Armada or Liberty or Prior, etc) than the big guys (like K2, Line, etc. Atomic and Soloman are now owned by the same conglomerate which kind of sucks, and Rossi is basically a castoff looking for an owner right now.... )


I just wish I could find the Armada JJs and then my decision would be made for me!! lol

[Torture]

Thought I'd give this thread a bump mainly because we need more talk about ski season on CP. Did anybody hear about the ski patrollers calling in sick at Sunshine? Apparently a bunch of management got fired over Christmas for no reason so the ski patrollers called in sick as protest. As a result there were only 3 chairs running - Strawberry, Wawa, Standish.


Based on what you're looking for Clareen -the S7 or Armada seems like the best fit. S7 seems to have a million rave reviews when you search the internet (considering a pair myself...torn between the Obsethed and S7, anybody have thoughts on the ObSETHed?).

And just to make your decision more difficult, have you checked out the Line Mothership (111mm I think) or Prophet 100s?
My brother has a pair of Lines and the one thing that he really raves about them is their playfulness.

[Drury18]

Originally Posted by Torture

Thought I'd give this thread a bump mainly because we need more talk about ski season on CP. Did anybody hear about the ski patrollers calling in sick at Sunshine? Apparently a bunch of management got fired over Christmas for no reason so the ski patrollers called in sick as protest. As a result there were only 3 chairs running - Strawberry, Wawa, Standish.

The rumor going through the industry (have a couple of friends at a competitor) is that the patrollers stopped the son of the owner and a group of his friends who were skiing out of bounds and took away the passes as they broke hill rules. Those 4 lost their jobs soon after. Basically fired for enforcing the rules on family of Senior Management. Two more patrollers who were vocal about it were released "with cause" yesterday. The situation probably won't be getting any better soon and they might be at limited chairs until they can get the internal issues that are now growing fixed.

Canada Olympic Park has done similar things. It's practically a dictatorship there where if you even speak to a Senior Manager in a tone they do not like, you find yourself being escorted out at the end of the day citing "Just Cause".

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Drury18

The rumor going through the industry (have a couple of friends at a competitor) is that the patrollers stopped the son of the owner and a group of his friends who were skiing out of bounds and took away the passes as they broke hill rules. Those 4 lost their jobs soon after. Basically fired for enforcing the rules on family of Senior Management. Two more patrollers who were vocal about it were released "with cause" yesterday. The situation probably won't be getting any better soon and they might be at limited chairs until they can get the internal issues that are now growing fixed.

Yeah, I heard the same thing.

Would be pretty disappointing to go to Sunshine and find they had nothing open...extra incentive to do the extra drive to Louise most days.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by Drury18

The rumor going through the industry (have a couple of friends at a competitor) is that the patrollers stopped the son of the owner and a group of his friends who were skiing out of bounds and took away the passes as they broke hill rules. Those 4 lost their jobs soon after. Basically fired for enforcing the rules on family of Senior Management. Two more patrollers who were vocal about it were released "with cause" yesterday. The situation probably won't be getting any better soon and they might be at limited chairs until they can get the internal issues that are now growing fixed.

Canada Olympic Park has done similar things. It's practically a dictatorship there where if you even speak to a Senior Manager in a tone they do not like, you find yourself being escorted out at the end of the day citing "Just Cause".

Oh the irony of it all considering that Grandpa Ralph Sr. succumbed to a backcountry avalanche.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_D._Scurfield

Backcountry safety my @$$!

[Torture]

Skiing doesn't seem to be a popular topic on CP....so I'll bump this with another update on the Sunshine situation.

As a result of unfavourable road, weather, and avalanche conditions at many resorts, Lake Louise is offering free skiing to all season pass holders of all Alberta resorts from Monday January 24th to Friday January 28th, 2011. Charlie Locke, Proprietor of Lake Louise said “many season pass holders have been thwarted from skiing as much as they would like this season due to limited terrain openings, bad roads and cold weather".
Lake Louise, The Rockies’ biggest resort is wide open due to excellent work from our extremely experienced and highly valued snow safety team. Lake Louise is now easier, safer, and quicker to get to as a result of the twinning of the TransCanada Highway. When guests arrive, they will find plenty of parking within easy walking distance of the spacious base area lodge and they can travel from parking lot to peak in less than 10 minutes on either of our high speed base area lifts.

http://skilouise.com/news-and-info/m...ta_resorts.php

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Torture

Skiing doesn't seem to be a popular topic on CP....

Apparently not
A recent ski conditions thread would be great, just not sure if anyone would update it.

Was anyone out at Kicking Horse this weekend? How's the snow?

[Bunk]

I hit up lake louise today. Predictably, it was packed. Their snow report was total BS (as per usual with most ski hills) - it said 72 CM in the past week - not even close to the truth. Anyway, the backside off of summit was actually amazing. It had been closed for most of the week I believe, so lots of fresh tracks to be had. Fairly heavy snow, but fun nonetheless. Paradise, Louise's most reliable run was also excellent. Rest of the mountain still lacks base. Larch was still bad.

[Flames0910]

Originally Posted by Bunk

I hit up lake louise today. Predictably, it was packed. Their snow report was total BS (as per usual with most ski hills) - it said 72 CM in the past week - not even close to the truth. Anyway, the backside off of summit was actually amazing. It had been closed for most of the week I believe, so lots of fresh tracks to be had. Fairly heavy snow, but fun nonetheless. Paradise, Louise's most reliable run was also excellent. Rest of the mountain still lacks base. Larch was still bad.

Also hit louise this weekend. Busy as hell but it was a nice day, patches off pow off the summit platter, always good snow around there...ssshh.

Also i looked more into the armada jj, holy eff didn't connect the dots that those were the skis you were looking for, no chance you'll find those until next season.

Posting from ipad apologies for typos, and this is torture not flames0910.

[Tron_fdc]

Support your local ski manufacturer!

http://www.decossecustoms.com/

Works out of Cranbrook. Full customization (graphics, base, etc), and does one heck of a job. My buddy just picked up the Powder Hoars.

[troutman]

The snow was awesome at Sunshine on the 23rd - about the best I've seen there. The mountain was not that busy either - we parked in the first lot at 9:00 am.

[Vansmack]

I have k2 obsetheds from last year. 105 in the waist (i think) but they might be a little soft for someone your size. I'm 6' 170 lbs and they are great for me. A good friend of mine has 4frnt EHP and they are a little wider and a lot stiffer. Both are awesome skis though.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Vansmack

I have k2 obsetheds from last year. 105 in the waist (i think) but they might be a little soft for someone your size. I'm 6' 170 lbs and they are great for me. A good friend of mine has 4frnt EHP and they are a little wider and a lot stiffer. Both are awesome skis though.

They blew the waist up to 117mm underfoot this year. A little less all mountain, a little bit more powder oriented.

And soft skis are easier to drive vs stiff skis. My Monsters are a very stiff ski (especially compared to an obSETHed which is on the opposite end of the spectrum) so I'm not sure what you mean by that comment.
I'm going with 179s, longest ski I'll have ever owned but by all accounts the rocker makes it ski a lot shorter and a 169 would be way to short for me. Buying them today, only problem left to solve is bindings.

The snow was awesome at Sunshine on the 23rd - about the best I've seen there. The mountain was not that busy either - we parked in the first lot at 9:00 am.

That's cause everybody else was boycotting and went to Louise. :P Crazy busy, at least on Saturday.

[burn_this_city]

Sunshine has always been run bush league, not a surprise if those rumours are true.