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Alta Demo Reqs

MaryVA

Certified Ski Diva
Hi All,

I'm going to be at Alta next week and I'm considering demoing powder skis at least some of the days, as it looks like they'll be getting even more snow this week and next and conditions should be pretty fluffy. I would love some advice on which ones to seek out. I don't intend to buy new skis (sadly I don't see enough powder to justify owning a designated pair of powder skis), I just think I might have more fun on fatter and more heavily rockered skis than on the Nela 88s I'll be bringing with me. For reference, I'm 38 yo, 5'5", and an aggressive advanced skier (though i'm much more experienced on hard snow than in the soft stuff). I've never stepped foot on a ski wider than 88 mm. Looks like available options will include:

- Blizzard Sheeva 10 and 11
- Fischer Ranger 98 and 108
- Vokl Secret 96 and 102
- Blizzard Black Pearl 97
- Armada Reliance 102

Thanks for the input!
 

TiffAlt

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I know @marzNC has skied Alta and is also an advanced skier, so maybe she has better knowledge of the terrain and can apply that to the recs!

Hope you have a ton of fun!!
 
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marzNC

Angel Diva
I'm going to be at Alta next week and I'm considering demoing powder skis
Hey there! Certainly a good time to head to Alta. I'll be there in early April as well.

Are you aware that there is more than one ski shop at Alta? Alta Ski Shop is owned by Alta Lifts and has a shop at Albion and Wildcat. Rentals were only at the Albion base last season. Powder House has more than one shop too. The most convenient if not staying at one of the lodges that has a Powder House shop is at the Wildcat base. There is a ski shop in the Peruvian too. As I remember they carry Kästle.

The different shops carry different brands. For instance, if I want to rent DPS skis then Alta Ski Shop is the place to go. As I remember, Powder House carries Blizzard. When I was renting powder skis, I usually went to Alta Ski Shop because it was a bit cheaper. They have a multi-day discount so even if I only needed powder skis for a couple days I'd rent for 3 days and turn it into a "personal demo day" after the fresh snow was mostly skied out.

For what it's worth, my Alta instructor doesn't want any student on skis wider than 100mm for a powder lesson. That included my friend from DC who is a man over 6 feet.

I have the Stöckli Stormrider 85s @159 as my all-mountain skis. Had a chance to buy the DPS Zelda, 106 underfoot, @158, from a Diva a few years ago. Since I'd demo'd them from Alta Ski Shop, I knew I liked them in powder and could still turn them on groomers so I went for it. Helps a lot that those skis live with my ski buddy who drives from NM to meet me for trips out west. Lugging two pairs of skis when flying isn't worth the effort on a regular basis.

Any of the skis you listed that are closer to 100 underfoot will probably be more fun than your Nela 88s. You can stick to the same length or go a little longer. My experience demo'ing probably wouldn't be that helpful since I'm petite and not a hard charger. I enjoy advanced terrain but not chutes or going fast on steeps. Have more fun making turns in powder left in the trees or the open sections of the Wildcat or Catherine's areas.
 

MaryVA

Certified Ski Diva
Hey there! Certainly a good time to head to Alta. I'll be there in early April as well.

Are you aware that there is more than one ski shop at Alta? Alta Ski Shop is owned by Alta Lifts and has a shop at Albion and Wildcat. Rentals were only at the Albion base last season. Powder House has more than one shop too. The most convenient if not staying at one of the lodges that has a Powder House shop is at the Wildcat base. There is a ski shop in the Peruvian too. As I remember they carry Kästle.

The different shops carry different brands. For instance, if I want to rent DPS skis then Alta Ski Shop is the place to go. As I remember, Powder House carries Blizzard. When I was renting powder skis, I usually went to Alta Ski Shop because it was a bit cheaper. They have a multi-day discount so even if I only needed powder skis for a couple days I'd rent for 3 days and turn it into a "personal demo day" after the fresh snow was mostly skied out.

For what it's worth, my Alta instructor doesn't want any student on skis wider than 100mm for a powder lesson. That included my friend from DC who is a man over 6 feet.

I have the Stöckli Stormrider 85s @159 as my all-mountain skis. Had a chance to buy the DPS Zelda, 106 underfoot, @158, from a Diva a few years ago. Since I'd demo'd them from Alta Ski Shop, I knew I liked them in powder and could still turn them on groomers so I went for it. Helps a lot that those skis live with my ski buddy who drives from NM to meet me for trips out west. Lugging two pairs of skis when flying isn't worth the effort on a regular basis.

Any of the skis you listed that are closer to 100 underfoot will probably be more fun than your Nela 88s. You can stick to the same length or go a little longer. My experience demo'ing probably wouldn't be that helpful since I'm petite and not a hard charger. I enjoy advanced terrain but not chutes or going fast on steeps. Have more fun making turns in powder left in the trees or the open sections of the Wildcat or Catherine's areas.
Thanks for the tips! I was going to go with Powder House since they have a location at Alta Lodge where I will be staying, but you are right that Alta Ski Shop is much cheaper, so I will need to consider that. And I was definitely tempted to go a good deal fatter than 100mm but will refrain. As a lifelong East Coaster, I've rarely had the opportunity to ski true powder, so I need to remind myself not to bite off more than I can chew this trip.
 

kmb5662

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Powder House will let you swap out as many times as you want so I recommend trying out as many pairs as you like!

I am partial to the Sheeva 10 (I own the 9 and demoed the 10 as well) as it has great float and easier to turn in deep snow, especially if you aren't an experienced powder skier. It's ok in crud but there are definitely more damp skis out there. I recommend sizing up a size as they ski pretty short.

The Black Pearl 97 is going to be much stiffer and heavier than the Sheeva and has a flatter and stiffer tail, which you may like as an aggressive skier but it doesn't float as well as the Sheeva and not as easy to pivot/maneuver in deep snow and moguls/trees.

I found the Secret 96 to be a touch more maneuverable and lighter than the Black Pearl and found it more enjoyable in moguls but still incredibly damp and will plow through anything. I have never been on the Secret 102 but it is a much more demanding and less forgiving ski than any of the other options listed.

I've never been on any of the Fischer Rangers or Armadas so I can't really comment much on them but if you haven't already, I recommend also checking out Blister as they have really nice in depth reviews on most if not all the skis you listed.

Have fun on your trip!!! Going to be a great time!! :smile:
 

contesstant

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Wait until you are about a day out if possible so you have a better idea of what snow conditions will really be like.
The Reliance ti is a TANK. I skied it last year and again this year and both times, I was worn out as they are just heavy and felt like they were literally distorting my boots. I don't know many people who have been on them and am always curious what other's thoughts are on them.

The Sheevas are probably the most playful of the bunch you mentioned. I'd put the Santa Ana 98 or 93 on your list, too. They fall between the Sheevas and the Volkl's in feel, I think.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Thanks for the tips! I was going to go with Powder House since they have a location at Alta Lodge where I will be staying, but you are right that Alta Ski Shop is much cheaper, so I will need to consider that. And I was definitely tempted to go a good deal fatter than 100mm but will refrain. As a lifelong East Coaster, I've rarely had the opportunity to ski true powder, so I need to remind myself not to bite off more than I can chew this trip.
I stay at Alta Lodge too. :smile:

I and friends have rented demo skis from both the Alta Ski Shop and Powder House. For a short trip or 1-day rental, Powder House is more convenient when staying at Alta Lodge since it's next door. If I was renting for 3 days, I'd stop at the Alta Ski Shop when I was finishing up the afternoon before the first rental. I would pick out my first pair of demo skis and get them set up. Then I'd decide in the morning whether to ski down and leave my own skis in the rack that day, or walk down.

I remember a powder day when the road was closed until 8:30am. The staff at the Wildcat Alta Ski Shop didn't get to work on time so the door was locked at 9:00am. It wasn't a big deal for me since I had my own skis. Was a bigger deal for the man who had left his skis to be tuned overnight. He had a lesson that morning. I found out when I picked up my skis a bit later that they loaned him demo skis from the Albion shop. The techs noted that they inadvertently did him a favor. His skis were under 80mm wide. :smile:

I find the Alta Ski Shop techs more friendly and knowledgeable in general. It used to be that an advantage of Alta Ski Shop was that it was possible with a little planning to swap out skis on mountain. Not sure that's still possible.

Have fun checking out skis!
 

Moonrocket

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
If there’s any concern about availability- see if there is a men’s ski equivalent that’s just a different top sheet or very small difference.

I ski Rustler 10s which are the Sheeva equivalent. I love them!

I have not tried the others on your list.
 

chasinghorizons

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
- Blizzard Sheeva 10 and 11
- Fischer Ranger 98 and 108
- Vokl Secret 96 and 102
- Blizzard Black Pearl 97
- Armada Reliance 102
Black Pearl and Secret are both pretty game-on, directional skis. Not sure about the Ranger 98 or Reliance, but I think they're more directional as well. Depends on your preferences, but personally I like a more surfy feel in soft snow and powder. From that list, I think the Sheevas would be the most fun.

Width depends on how much fresh powder. When I took an advanced powder lesson at Mammoth, my instructor (level 3) wanted me to bring my fattest skis (112 wide - he was worried about my more directional 106 skis, and he was right, I should've brought the fat ones with the looser tail, I would've been a lot happier). But we'd also had over 3ft of fresh snow so might be different for you haha. My instructor said he usually prefers skis under 100 for powder, but the day before he'd actually struggled because of how much snow there was. He'd just gotten 116 powder skis on a deal and he said they were much easier, especially in the trees and for jumps.
 
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marzNC

Angel Diva
I'm going to be at Alta next week and I'm considering demoing powder skis at least some of the days,

I was going to go with Powder House since they have a location at Alta Lodge where I will be staying, but you are right that Alta Ski Shop is much cheaper,
The other reason I used to make the effort to rent powder skis from the Alta Ski Shop instead of Powder House was that they have carried DPS skis from the first year that DPS was at the Alta Demo Day in early April. DPS skis are made in SLC, meaning literally hand made in a building in the city. I was lucky enough to go on a tour, mostly because I was an early adopter of Phantom Glide.

Fair to say that DPS skis are designed to be fun in soft snow and deep powder.

Also easier to switch out skis from Alta Ski Shop. The time there was 25 inches overnight, with snow still coming down in the morning, I got wider skis at lunch time. One of the few times when I've been on skis over 110 underfoot.
 

BkGrrl

Diva in Training
I own the Reliance Ti (102 underfoot). I absolutely LOVE them. I would highly recommend them. Perfect for your first time trying a wider ski. Good on groomers and in the powder!
 

KayOss

Certified Ski Diva
For what it's worth, my Alta instructor doesn't want any student on skis wider than 100mm for a powder lesson. That included my friend from DC who is a man over 6 feet.
Can you elaborate on why he/she wanted less than 100mm? I was in LCC/BCC twice recently and the majority of skis being used were at least 100mm; someone actually told me my 84's were going to be a handful (not true but I think a wider platform would have been more pleasurable).
Conditions were powder - soft snow - soft crud and actually a little sunshine on Little Cloud!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Can you elaborate on why he/she wanted less than 100mm? I was in LCC/BCC twice recently and the majority of skis being used were at least 100mm; someone actually told me my 84's were going to be a handful (not true but I think a wider platform would have been more pleasurable).
Conditions were powder - soft snow - soft crud and actually a little sunshine on Little Cloud!
Not less than 100mm, no more than 100mm. Remember, I was talking about skis a lesson to learn techniques that work well in powder. While having wider skis makes it easier to ski deep powder, good technique means that skiing deep fluffy powder can work fine on narrower skis.

For learning and improving technique, in general narrower skis are preferred by instructors.

I've skied my all-mountain 85 underfoot skis in knee deep dry powder and had a very good time. Very different than when I first started skiing deeper snow at Alta over ten years ago though. When the snow is heavier than is usually the case at Alta, having skis that are high 90s, or around 105mm are much more fun than mid-80s.

I had the chance to buy used powder skis a few years ago. They are 106 underfoot. But I chose skis that are designed to be reasonably easy to turn on groomed runs. At least it works pretty well now that I have improved my carving in recent years by working on that technique with my all-mountain skis and mid-70s skis at small hills in the east.

I've rented powder skis from Alta Ski Shop from 95-115 underfoot at various lengths. For me, it's pretty rare that more than 105mm is worth it. Note that I'm petite and an older advanced skier who has only been linking more than a few turns at a time in deep powder in the last 4-5 years. Took several years after I started taking more than one ski trip out west per season to gain enough days in those sort of conditions to have enough mileage to get more comfortable.
 

chasinghorizons

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Not less than 100mm, no more than 100mm. Remember, I was talking about skis a lesson to learn techniques that work well in powder. While having wider skis makes it easier to ski deep powder, good technique means that skiing deep fluffy powder can work fine on narrower skis.

For learning and improving technique, in general narrower skis are preferred by instructors.
I've always found it a little strange that instructors tend to want to put beginners on skinnier skis for learning powder. It feels like learning on hard mode lol. Windsurfing and surfing are the opposite, where beginners get put on big boards initially and slowly build up the technique that let's them use skinnier boards. You would think that skiing powder, which behaves more like water than hard snow (thank you Shane McConkey, you genius you), would require similar teaching strategies. But I guess it all depends on how much fresh there is.
 

contesstant

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I've always found it a little strange that instructors tend to want to put beginners on skinnier skis for learning powder. It feels like learning on hard mode lol. Windsurfing and surfing are the opposite, where beginners get put on big boards initially and slowly build up the technique that let's them use skinnier boards. You would think that skiing powder, which behaves more like water than hard snow (thank you Shane McConkey, you genius you), would require similar teaching strategies. But I guess it all depends on how much fresh there is.
There is a tipping point where too wide greatly compromises technique. Plus, I don't know an instructor who would take a beginner into powder. If my husband had a beginner or even low intermediate show up on something wider than 88, he'd probably have a lot of questions and might get them to the demo shop to take out something narrower.

@MaryVA, are you here and what have you decided? With the amount of snow this week, you can definitely err on the side of wider! Although even my 106s struggled in some spots on Tuesday. (Oh, wait, that was me who struggled :becky: ) My 93s were a hoot in 10" on top of a groomer yesterday, though. I hope you haven't been interlodged this whole time!
 

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