Intermediate skier looking for my first pair of skis after many years of renting and asking for advice on making a purchase. Spend 90% of my time on groomers (greens and easy blues) not fast or aggressive but hoping to continue improving. Shall be spending several weeks in western Canada in the 2026 season and was thinking of an appropriate All Mountain ski with a front-side bias that will provide confidence in most conditions but with room to help develop skills further. Have looked at the usuals (Blizzard Black Pearl/Nordica Santa Ana etc) but am concerned they may be too much ski for me. Suggestions appreciated. Strong and athletic 56 year old woman, 164cm, 64 kg woman.
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Advice on skis
- Thread starter KarlaG
- Start date
Chuyi
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Demo. When you get to western CA spend the 1st week demo. Only you will be able to tell what skis work for you in the conditions you are skiing. You will need to demo different width & length.
From what you are describing & if you are skiing west, black pearls may be the ones to demo first. BP are wide but not too wide for softer snow. They are easier to turn.
Santa Ana are much stiffer & require that you drive the ski (I didn't like them when I was an intermediate skier).
Rossis are soft skis like black pearls.
Élan ripstick may be in between BP & Santa ana.
Remember to have fun
From what you are describing & if you are skiing west, black pearls may be the ones to demo first. BP are wide but not too wide for softer snow. They are easier to turn.
Santa Ana are much stiffer & require that you drive the ski (I didn't like them when I was an intermediate skier).
Rossis are soft skis like black pearls.
Élan ripstick may be in between BP & Santa ana.
Remember to have fun
trinkd
Diva in Training
I know next to NOTHING about different skis, but I'll encourage you to (obviously) follow your gut, even if it means rejecting a popular ski. I'm also a cautious green/blue, trying to get more aggressive, only back at skiing for my second year after a LOOOONG haitus with just a handful of trips sprinked about. I've done seasonal rentals for 2 years, but just bought my first pair of skis: HEAD Absolut Joy, which I had rented an older model of for most of the last two seasons. At first I was rented Blizzard 88's, which are SUPER popular and I'm sure a totally excellent ski, but for how I felt at that time they were too much to handle. I told the manager at the shop how it felt, and he came back with the AJ as a "ski that turns itself." I bought mine at an end of year sale, so if they get me through even 2 seasons before I (hopefully) "outgrow" them and want to add a second pair, I'm financially even. I've skied on them two whole days in the spring crust/slush and could not be happier.
So, yes: demo, demo, demo and if it doesn't FEEL right, it's not right.
So, yes: demo, demo, demo and if it doesn't FEEL right, it's not right.
Good to know. I did demo some this year and of course there wasn't the perfect ski as the conditions changed, but that is how it goes, hence me wanting to find a good all rounder. I rented Absolut Joy when I skied in New Zealand two years ago and really liked them for the conditions, which was hard packed and icy at times. Have you used them in softer snow, bit of pow/west coast conditions?
mustski
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
IMHO, the most important thing is to choose a ski with a large sweet spot. Skis that are too advanced -and have a smallish sweet spot - will punish mistakes. Demo if you can and look in the low to mid 80s range in a ski. Where do you normally ski? That is more important than where you plan to take a trip next season. Plan for the conditions you normally ski not the conditions you dream of skiing!
Well because I am in Australia, I dont really have a normal. I am more likely to travel to west coast of canada or europe than I am to ski here or in NZ
trinkd
Diva in Training
They are carving skis and definitely do great on firm, even somewhat icy slopes. Edges easy to find, they do carve like they want to turn themselves. More than one comment here from east coast skiers that they do well there. However, I have used them for 2 winters in the Wasatch (almost all the SLC resorts) and Rockies (I-70 corridor places up to Big Sky) and they have been great *for me*. I'd be the first to admit I don't know HOW to ski powder well, but I was on them for singularly the most magical two runs of my last two years: snowing and cold at Copper Mountain in February, late afternoon on West Ten Mile, a really easy green that's on the very edge of the resort, separated from everything else, a lovely groomer that meanders through the trees. I was the only one on the run, the untouched fresh snow was a few inches deep, over my boots but not deeper. The skis had tips wide enough to keep me from burrowing in, and... I *floated* down the entire run. Twice (before the lifts closed). Arms spread wide open, grinning behind my mask like an idiot. Magical.
oh, sorry, where was I? :P
They also have done great on a blizzard day at Deer Valley, again on green and blue groomers in a few inches of actively falling powder, but again I'm not an aggressive skier. Dang, though, it was fun.
As for West coast conditions, do you mean heavy, wet snow? (lol, I grew up skiing in CA, I say that with love.) Spring conditions here in SLC have been viscous the last couple of weeks but with a shift of weight rearward and an effort to NOT edge too hard I've been impressed that I can makie them float on top and skim over mashed potatoes pretty well - haven't caught a tail yet. Pretty good for a 79 waisted ski, I think!
That's me - I just purchased my new ones so really really WANT to continue to love them.
They seem to do a pretty good job of different conditions, even with a less than experienced operator.I know, we had another great experience of quiet runs/mountains in SunPeaks BC and its very magical, beautifully groomed, sometime some pow on top but nothing deep, love it! I am not at all aggressive either. Thanks for your thoughts, really appreciate it.They are carving skis and definitely do great on firm, even somewhat icy slopes. Edges easy to find, they do carve like they want to turn themselves. More than one comment here from east coast skiers that they do well there. However, I have used them for 2 winters in the Wasatch (almost all the SLC resorts) and Rockies (I-70 corridor places up to Big Sky) and they have been great *for me*. I'd be the first to admit I don't know HOW to ski powder well, but I was on them for singularly the most magical two runs of my last two years: snowing and cold at Copper Mountain in February, late afternoon on West Ten Mile, a really easy green that's on the very edge of the resort, separated from everything else, a lovely groomer that meanders through the trees. I was the only one on the run, the untouched fresh snow was a few inches deep, over my boots but not deeper. The skis had tips wide enough to keep me from burrowing in, and... I *floated* down the entire run. Twice (before the lifts closed). Arms spread wide open, grinning behind my mask like an idiot. Magical.
oh, sorry, where was I? :P
They also have done great on a blizzard day at Deer Valley, again on green and blue groomers in a few inches of actively falling powder, but again I'm not an aggressive skier. Dang, though, it was fun.
As for West coast conditions, do you mean heavy, wet snow? (lol, I grew up skiing in CA, I say that with love.) Spring conditions here in SLC have been viscous the last couple of weeks but with a shift of weight rearward and an effort to NOT edge too hard I've been impressed that I can makie them float on top and skim over mashed potatoes pretty well - haven't caught a tail yet. Pretty good for a 79 waisted ski, I think!
That's me - I just purchased my new ones so really really WANT to continue to love them.
marzNC
Angel Diva
I had AJs for several years as an adventurous intermediate skiing mostly blue groomers at big mountains who was taking enough lessons to move towards being a solid advanced skier. I use them mostly on groomers in the southeast. From what I know of snowmaking and the mountains of Australia, not too different. The ski hills in southeastern USA are smaller than the resorts in Australia.
I took the AJs for a late season trip to Oregon. They did well. In fact, better than the 88 wide skis I had been using as all-mountain skis in the Rockies for a few years. Mostly because I'd treated the AJ bases with DPS Phantom Glide.
As skis for improving technique, the AJs were good for me. I was a petite skier over 50 at that point.
