Advice on fat, slackcountry skis

[tradygirl]

So I have a quiver question:

I am in the process of selling my tele gear (I decided I don't need to be learning something new when I barely have enough time to ski as it is), and I'm going to have some $$ to spend on new stuff. I've already decided that I want to get some new bindings for my backcountry skis, but I was also thinking of getting some new skis that could pull double-duty for me and my husband on powder days in-bounds and slackcountry, or deep backcountry days.

We're looking for a relatively stiff, big ski (100+ underfoot, 180-185cm) that can handle deep days and crud-busting, but won't completely overpower me. They will be mounted with Freerides. My husband is really looking at the Black Diamond Zealot, which seems like a pretty good solution. But, I wanted to throw the question out there to you ladies before I made a decision in case anyone had any good advice.

Our current quiver, FYI:
Me-
178 Rossi B3's (all-purpose resort ski)
170 BD Verdicts (all-purpose BC ski - currently mounted with Freerides, will have Dynafits soon)

Him-
180 Volkl Explosivs (resort ski)
183 Atomic Januks (all-purpose BC ski)
183(?) Bro stiffs

We ski backcountry probably about 70% of the time, so I'm not too concerned about groomer performance.

 

[jaydog]

What does "slackcountry" refer to?

 

[tradygirl]

What does "slackcountry" refer to?

It's another term for "sidecountry" or "lift-assisted backcountry" :D. It's when you tour from a resort, i.e. ride the lift to the top and exit the ski area through backcountry access gates. Could be simple boot-packing or a long skin, but it refers to leaving the controlled ski area. My hubby and I like to do half-days - ski lifts for the morning and then slip out the gates in the afternoon for some backcountry.

 

[altagirl]

Gotamas maybe?

What do you like or not like about your B3's in terms of flex and sidecut? Obviously you want something bigger but I'm just wondering what you like in terms of flex, etc.

Is reverse sidecut/camber out of the question? Obviously not first choice for regular touring, but I know a bunch of people use them for sidecountry applications.

 

[tradygirl]

I'd like to try a little bit stiffer ski - the Rossi's seem to throw me around a bit at high speeds in chopped up snow. I also agree with a lot of the girls on this board that they're a little unresponsive, but I don't necessarily dislike that. J's Janak's feel like battleships and I'd like something more stable like that (they have very little sidecut). I need to take his Explosivs out for a day to try out a really stiff ski.

I'm not necessarily opposed to a reverse camber ski. These skis would be for specific days (meaning DEEP, mostly in-bounds), so touring efficiency isn't that big of a deal. Any idea how those bad boys skin??

I know Xover really likes touring with his Gotamas, so that may be an option to check out. I've never skied on Volkls, so I'd like to demo first. How do they compare to Rossi's in terms of stiffness and stability?

I forgot the other important detail...
Our good friend PFH could probably cut us a really nice deal on BD skis. Just sayin'.

 

[dloveski]

I just got a pair of Head Sweet Fat Thangs with Fritsche bindings (titanium heel release for trekking). The Sweets are shaped like my Pocket Rockets, but a bit stiffer with edges for mixed conditions. They are softer/lighter than my Sugar Mamas.

But light enough and soft enough to be fun in pow. My daughter uses her setup (Sweets and heel release bindings) for b/c trips and for resorts both.

 

[altagirl]

I'd like to try a little bit stiffer ski - the Rossi's seem to throw me around a bit at high speeds in chopped up snow. I also agree with a lot of the girls on this board that they're a little unresponsive, but I don't necessarily dislike that. J's Janak's feel like battleships and I'd like something more stable like that (they have very little sidecut). I need to take his Explosivs out for a day to try out a really stiff ski.

I'm not necessarily opposed to a reverse camber ski. These skis would be for specific days (meaning DEEP, mostly in-bounds), so touring efficiency isn't that big of a deal. Any idea how those bad boys skin??

I know Xover really likes touring with his Gotamas, so that may be an option to check out. I've never skied on Volkls, so I'd like to demo first. How do they compare to Rossi's in terms of stiffness and stability?

I forgot the other important detail...
Our good friend PFH could probably cut us a really nice deal on BD skis. Just sayin'.

Hey, a deal is a deal! And I'm always happy to support BD as well - they're a good company. I just haven't tried any of their skis recently, so it's hard for me to compare them to everything else.

I'd say the Gotamas are stiffer than the B3's, but not super stiff. I feel like they smear turns and bust crud better than B3s for sure. Not to mention the float. I have the black ones that are a couple years old though, so I'm not sure how much that's all changed. I know they've trended towards more stiffness and sidecut over the years.

And I've never tried skinning on reverse camber skis, but I know powho has Lotus 138's as his touring setup, and he seems happy with it. I've seen/heard of other people doing it too, just can't remember any off the top of my head...

 

[lil mountain girl]

i'd say try the gotamas or mantras . . .

i ended up getting mantras for short (less than 4 or 5 day) backcountry tours, slackcountry skiing, and some resort skiing.

the features i like about them are that they're super stable, and fairly stiff, fat soft shovels float well, and really manuverable -- even when i'm "survival skiing" and my legs don't tire!

the drawbacks to the volkls are that they're fairly heavy compaired to rossis or BDs.

my touring partener is currently on the BD zealots, and though he likes the lightness of the ski, it does tend to throw him around.

in my search for the perfect ski i found that the more stable and stiff the ski gets, the heavier it tends to get.

it's a bit of a trade-off . . .

other skis you may want to look into:

*movement black rose -- although this ski doesn't look like much, it's fairly aggressive (not so forgiving!) and requires some break in time, but is a VERY nice ski . . . and pretty light for touring!

*movement goliath or baby goliath -- i've heard really good things about this ski; also movement tends to add stiffness using superhard wood, so the skis are relatively light for their stiffness/stability

*dynastar exlcusive legend pro or powder -- great skis; really manuverable, stable, turns short, med, or long, is fun going fast or slow or anywhere in between! the exclusive powder is a little softer and a more forgiving than the pro.

i hope this helps!!!

good luck!

 

[IdahoSkiGirl]

I'm a little slow responding to this thread (the past few months have been hectic for me; new job, finishing grad school, etc…) but I could not resist posting a comment. You may have already purcahsed skis.

I LOVE the Volkl Auras (female version of the Mantra) in the backcountry. I have the Fritschi Freerides on them and they are great in and out of bounds. Most of my backcountry involves what you called "slackcountry". I will go out of the gates in the morning come back, switch skis, and ski groomers (or find some powder...if any is left) in the afternoon.

From what I have been told the Auras are the stiffest female specific all mountain ski. The have enough side cut that they can "hook and carve" on the groomers. They are not stable at really high speeds but that is not what they are for! I have never tried the Mantras but I know they start at a 170. I ski a 163 in the Auras. I actually like this length. I have been in hip/waist deep powder this year and they still float. My other powder ski is a 170 and one thing I REALLY like about the 163 over the 170 is the ability to make quick short turns...especially when I am tree skiing.

 

[skigrl27]

It's another term for "sidecountry" or "lift-assisted backcountry" :D. It's when you tour from a resort, i.e. ride the lift to the top and exit the ski area through backcountry access gates. Could be simple boot-packing or a long skin, but it refers to leaving the controlled ski area. My hubby and I like to do half-days - ski lifts for the morning and then slip out the gates in the afternoon for some backcountry.

We do that quite a bit too. Start off in bounds - end the day backcountry somewhere.

Gotamas are an option. Lots of backcountry peeps out here love the Black Diamond gear. That's what they're made for.