2015 Demo Days at Massanutten, VA - for petite advanced skiers

[marzNC]

Here are a few notes about the skis I checked out at the Freestyle Demo Weekend at Massanutten last weekend. As noted in the demo days thread, conditions were stellar for the Mid-Atlantic. Temps under 25 on Sat and up to 40 on Sunday meant a chance to try stuff in slightly different conditions. Lots of snowmaking the entire week before when temps stayed well under 25 even during the day meant Massanutten was 100% open, with no snowmaking when the slopes were open.

These are my personal reactions, so keep that in mind. I've demo'd enough to know what I like and what I don't but the lingo used to describe skis still confuses me at times. I’m an older advanced skier, 5’0”, 120 pounds, fine at speed but prefer the fun of making turns. Have improved a fair amount in the last few years so going off-piste more often. Locally I ski in the Mid-Atlantic, but I also take a couple trips out to the Rockies. I’m vaguely looking for a replacement for Rossi Attraxion 8 (127-75-108, R13) at 154cm. What I ski most often is the Blizzard Black Pearl (125-88-110, R17 at 159cm). Also have some old Volkl carvers at 149cm that are 70 underfoot that are supposed to be my daughter's skis.

Here’s what Freestyle was planning to bring for women. Didn't check to see if they were all there. I think the longest was 163cm. The shortest was the Temptation 80 at 144cm. Lots of options in the 150s. Don brought several under 150cm because he knows that might be of interest to me. Saw some other older women taking out the shorter skis too.

Blizzard Cheyenne - tried
Blizzard Black Pearl - own
Dynastar Neva 78
Dynastar Cham 97 - tried at Alta in 2014
Head Absolut Joy - tried
Head Total Joy - tried
K2 Potion 76
K2 Potion 74
Nordica Belle to Belle
Rossignol Temptation 80 - tried
Rossignol Temptation 84 - tried
Rossignol Savory 7
Salomon Quartz
Volkl Aurena - tried
Volkl Viola

Massanutten is a small ski area. For a demo, I usually did a run down each of the two black runs near the demo tent. Takes 3-4 min each. I took a few of the winners over to the short “bump” run, with was more small, steep, snow whales . . . known as humps . . . more than bumps.

The clear winners were the Rossi Temptations, with the Head Joy line being quite fun as well.

 

[marzNC]

The surprise was that I didn’t like the Blizzard Cheyenne, 78 underfoot. Tried two lengths, 151 and 156. The longer one was better but still found it hard to hold an edge. I went for the Cheyenne (151) first thing Sat morning when conditions were really quite nice. Tried the 156 in the afternoon. Could be they are just a little stiff for me.

The second surprise was that I liked the Volkl Aurena at 147cm, 75 underfoot. Apparently related to the RTM line for men. I usually try a Volkl to confirm previous experience where I didn't like them. Maybe it's different because I went relatively short, or maybe because the Aurena is geared towards intermediate skiers so it’s not that stiff. Or maybe I’ve gotten used to the Volkl Attiva AC1 skis I bought for my daughter that I’ve been skiing in the northeast and MidA the last couple seasons. I know my ability to put skis on edge is better than before.

On to what I did like . . . the Temptations and the Head Joys.

The Head Total Joy was easy for flying down the hill. At 85cm underfoot, I could see using them in a few inches of powder without any problem at all. I’d say they like to go faster than Black Pearls.

The Head Absolut Joy was pretty fun. I was on the 153cm, 128-78-108, R 11.8. Took a little bit of work for me to get them completely on edge, but mostly a matter of concentrating a bit more. Certainly a light ski. Perhaps the 148cm would be more the ideal length. One difference between the Absolute Joy and the Temptation 80 is that the side wall construction on the Absolut Joy is “solid” while the Temptation is less solid. I asked for and got the technical explanation but tend not to retain those sorts of details. An older woman (over 70) who is making the switch from straight skis liked the Head Absolute Joy.

The first Temptation 80 I took out was the 144cm (125-80-114). Boy, was that easy to turn even though the radius is supposed to be 17. Later on I tried the 152cm, which seem just as easy to turn and felt a bit more stable at higher speed.

On Sunday afternoon, I gave the Temptation 84 a try at 154cm (133-84-120, R16). I was using it during a clinic so it wasn’t exactly a normal demo. Certainly felt great in any case. Certainly would be happy to rent some if I were traveling without skis and didn’t need powder skis.

While the Temptations are certainly not designed like the Attraxion line, they would serve a similar purpose for me as an all-mountain option. Fun locally and reasonable for a lot of conditions on a trip out west. I could imagine using either the 80 or 84 in several inches of Utah powder without any problem because of the wide shovel and my relatively light weight. Would love to try the Temptation 88. Don Cochrane of Freestyle said he wasn’t carrying the 88 any more because the women coming to his shop didn’t buy it the last couple years. Although the men were buying the Experience 88.

 

[marzNC]

On Sunday morning, I did a head-to-head test between the Temptation 80 and the Absolut Joy on MAKAttack. For me, the Temptation 80 was a hair easier to turn. If I were going to get the Absolute Joy for northeast skiing, it would probably be at 148cm.

View of the lower half of Upper MAKAttack. Mostly a collection of snow guns generated snow whales since the small bumps didn't start growing until it was warm enough in the afternoon. Only opened for the first time this season the day before.

 

[LauraVa]

I tried the Total Joys, Cheyennes, and Temptation 84's, all in the low 160's. I'm 5'4" and approaching 150lbs. My favorite was the Total Joy. In spite of being very light weight, it felt wonderfully stable and somewhat damp, while still being fairly lively and easy to turn. I like the Cheyenne as well, again it was fairly light and maneuverable, while maintaining some stability. The Temptations, on the other hand, felt a bit light and squirrely for my taste. That surprised me as I really loved the Temptation 88's from last year.

 

[contesstant]

Next hard pack day, I'm taking the Total Joys out!

After today, I'm jonesing for a dedicated powder ski.

 

[gardenmary]

@contesstant are you able to get the Heads at Hill, Snowbasin, Diamond Peak, or ??? I would LOVE to demo Heads.

 

[contesstant]

They have them at Snowbasin, at least the Absolut Joy and the Total Joy.

 

[gardenmary]

Must demo the Absoluts, unless they have the Supers. I've wanted to ski Heads ever since I started following Lindsey Vonn.