tradygirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The Tester: 155 lb, 5'9". I am a total powder hound, and I find myself almost exclusively off-piste except to return to lifts. Steeps, moderates, trees...you name it.
The Conditions: I'm in Utah and we've had almost everything thrown at us over the last few weeks. A few sub-zero days of 20"+ of untracked, single digit days of chopped powder, one 30-40 degree sunny day ripping groomers. Snow conditions include deep light pow, heavy sun-affected chop, super-wind blown crusts, soft groomers.
The Test Runs: Steep powder-filled chutes, tight steep trees, wide-open moderate bowls, blue-black groomers.
The Ski: 2006 Black Diamond Verdict 170cm (128-98-116 mm) This was the last year this model was made with a foam core.
Mount: Fritschi Freeride
Impressions: First a quick history - I bought these skis to replace my old AT skis at the end of the 06/07 season and I skied last season on them exclusively in the backcountry. Although I did enjoy them, I felt that I needed a little bit stiffer and longer ski for the extremely variable snow conditions found in the backcountry. I was ready to sell the Verdicts after I found the ski I wanted this summer.
One December resort powder day this year, I was skiing on my heavy reverse camber powder skis and I was so tired by the afternoon I swapped out for my Verdicts. Having never skied them with my alpine boots (I had only skied them in my wimpy AT boots previously), I was shocked how differently they performed. All these skis needed was a stronger hand! They suddenly came alive once I was able to drive them harder.
The shorter length was no longer a problem, and the skis floated through deep powder with ease. They stayed extremely strong through the chop once the powder started getting skied out.
Surprisingly fun on groomers for a fat ski, in my opinion. They carve medium to large radius turns with ease.
The 170cm length is super agile in the trees and can turn on a dime when needed.
Lastly, the ski is extremely light and when paired with a light binding like the Fritschi, I shaved pounds off my feet! I've been shocked how much less tired I get on these things. I do a lot of side-stepping and hiking for turns, and I can ski hard from 9:00 to 3:00 with no problem. The performance-to-weight ratio is insane.
In a Nutshell: The 2006 Verdict is an extremely fun, light powder ski that excels in every condition I've thrown at it. This ski is hard to find since they redesigned the model for '07/'08. If you can find a pair, grab them!
The Conditions: I'm in Utah and we've had almost everything thrown at us over the last few weeks. A few sub-zero days of 20"+ of untracked, single digit days of chopped powder, one 30-40 degree sunny day ripping groomers. Snow conditions include deep light pow, heavy sun-affected chop, super-wind blown crusts, soft groomers.
The Test Runs: Steep powder-filled chutes, tight steep trees, wide-open moderate bowls, blue-black groomers.
The Ski: 2006 Black Diamond Verdict 170cm (128-98-116 mm) This was the last year this model was made with a foam core.
Mount: Fritschi Freeride
Impressions: First a quick history - I bought these skis to replace my old AT skis at the end of the 06/07 season and I skied last season on them exclusively in the backcountry. Although I did enjoy them, I felt that I needed a little bit stiffer and longer ski for the extremely variable snow conditions found in the backcountry. I was ready to sell the Verdicts after I found the ski I wanted this summer.
One December resort powder day this year, I was skiing on my heavy reverse camber powder skis and I was so tired by the afternoon I swapped out for my Verdicts. Having never skied them with my alpine boots (I had only skied them in my wimpy AT boots previously), I was shocked how differently they performed. All these skis needed was a stronger hand! They suddenly came alive once I was able to drive them harder.
The shorter length was no longer a problem, and the skis floated through deep powder with ease. They stayed extremely strong through the chop once the powder started getting skied out.
Surprisingly fun on groomers for a fat ski, in my opinion. They carve medium to large radius turns with ease.
The 170cm length is super agile in the trees and can turn on a dime when needed.
Lastly, the ski is extremely light and when paired with a light binding like the Fritschi, I shaved pounds off my feet! I've been shocked how much less tired I get on these things. I do a lot of side-stepping and hiking for turns, and I can ski hard from 9:00 to 3:00 with no problem. The performance-to-weight ratio is insane.
In a Nutshell: The 2006 Verdict is an extremely fun, light powder ski that excels in every condition I've thrown at it. This ski is hard to find since they redesigned the model for '07/'08. If you can find a pair, grab them!
