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Blizzard Cheyenne-- regret?

jerseyski

Certified Ski Diva
Hello :-) new to the forum! I am 5'7" and about 170 lbs. I'm an east coast skier at an advanced level.

I guess I need a bit of advice or shared knowledge. I've always seasonally rented skis and finally decided to buy a set. After a ton of research I settled on the Blizzard Cheyenne in a 163. Well I took them out yesterday and I feel like I literally went DOWN a level in skill :-(. I was comfortable on the blues but on the blacks I felt like I lost control a few times and the ski over-powered me. I've never had this issue, always could zip down the blacks and some double blacks.

Did I buy the wrong ski? Do I need to grow into it/get used to it? I wanted a ski to up my ski level or take me to the next level and the Cheyenne had me wanting to avoid the blacks like the plague. Maybe my seasonal rentals were all beginner/intermediate skis? I don't know if I should just exchange them for a lower skill level ski?

Thanks :-)
 

BethL

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Could these skis be too short? I have not tried the Cheyennes but I would love to sometime this season. I'm 5' 8" 125 lbs and ski the Blizzard Black Pearls in 166. Have you tried the Cheyennes in 170?
 

jerseyski

Certified Ski Diva
Could these skis be too short? I have not tried the Cheyennes but I would love to sometime this season. I'm 5' 8" 125 lbs and ski the Blizzard Black Pearls in 166. Have you tried the Cheyennes in 170?

I chose the 163 because I had been skiing on 160's previously. I don't really know what the problem was :-(. I felt they were a little hard to turn; they just felt different, almost foreign. I had a few awful runs with them where I felt a little out of control and that has never happened. Like they were a bit difficult to maneuver, to make hard quick turns down steeps. Maybe I'M doing something wrong and it's not the ski? I hate exchanging them if I could learn to work with them.
 

snow addict

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
They have 17 m radius so quick turns on them may take some practice and even then won't be as quick as turns on a ski with more generous sidecut.
 

snow addict

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I chose the 163 because I had been skiing on 160's previously. I don't really know what the problem was :-(. I felt they were a little hard to turn; they just felt different, almost foreign. I had a few awful runs with them where I felt a little out of control and that has never happened. Like they were a bit difficult to maneuver, to make hard quick turns down steeps. Maybe I'M doing something wrong and it's not the ski? I hate exchanging them if I could learn to work with them.
How do you normally turn the ski "quickly"?
 

jerseyski

Certified Ski Diva
How do you normally turn the ski "quickly"?

I don't know I guess I never thought about it, maybe I'm not explaining that great. I had a problem on the steeps because I felt I couldn't turn the ski quickly enough to slow down my speed and then would therefore be going too fast, leading to the out of control feeling.
 

contesstant

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Sounds like you need to get used to them, but also that length might be too short. They are rockered quite a bit. What skis have you had for seasonal rentals in the past?
 

mustski

Angel Diva
It's also possible they need a tune. Even brand new skis sometimes (rarely) need that. Did you buy them from a shop or online?
Snow addict makes a good point. If you are used to a ski that makes short, small turns, it will take a bit of getting used to with a ski that likes wider turns. Try making big C turns and see if that helps.
 

jerseyski

Certified Ski Diva
I've never paid attention too much to what skis they gave me lol. The last ones were Rossignal Bandit skis in a 160. I looked them up and they are just some old beginner skis. They definitely do well at the wider c turns, maybe it's just me who is so used to skiing a certain way that I can't work these. I grew up skiing the old school style and am actually still getting used to all of the ankle use. Maybe I should keep them and take a lesson or two? They ski shop said I could exchange them if I didnt like them. I was also looking at the belle to belle or the atomic cloud (they have 7, 9, and 11 there in my size)
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
The Cheyenne is a free ride ski. It will softer than the Rossi you had. With the rocker, this ski is really different than your Bandit. The Bandit was a conventional cambered ski. Now you don't tell us where you are skiing either. But this ski is going to want snow, not ice or maybe even hardpack. I had the Black Pearl out on Saturday in hardpack and it was hard to keep an edge on the blue runs.

Also I BP I had out was the 166. I'm only 5'4 and 150lb. So that length may not be for you.
 

mustski

Angel Diva
I may be mistaken @Jilly but I thought the Cheyenne was a frontside, carver. It has tip and camber rocker and really should be good on hard -even icy surfaces. I'm still leaning towards a bad tune or edges.
 

jerseyski

Certified Ski Diva
I took them out in Pennsylvania for the first time and it was primarily hard pack with random icy sheets. They were great in snow and went right through crud, but the ice was too much for me to control. Also, once I had one bad run with them my confidence shot right down, I wonder if that affected my skill level as well. Maybe I just ski better on more traditional skis??
 

jerseyski

Certified Ski Diva
Through my research, I thought they were front side carvers as well and the guy in the ski shop said they were great for carving, hard pack, and ice. But of you know any skis that are better for that please let me know. I might go back to the shop today and see what else I can get.
 

Jersey Fresh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Through my research, I thought they were front side carvers as well and the guy in the ski shop said they were great for carving, hard pack, and ice. But of you know any skis that are better for that please let me know. I might go back to the shop today and see what else I can get.

Did you demo them before you bought? I loved the Cheyennes but felt the same way you did when i tried the BP. They Cheyennes are a frontside ski and i thought they were awesome on hard pack/ice. It might just be a bad ski for you. I couldnt explain why i hated the BP so much.
 

MaineSkiLady

Angel Diva
Could well be a tune issue. On the other hand, the all-mountain Blizzard rocker (@30%) has thrown a lot of people off in hard snow situations. Agree with @Jersey Fresh above, in re: Black Pearls on very hard snow and/or re-frozen crud (much of which dominates my conditions experience). 70% of 166 is 116. That's a snowblade. I have never, not even on day 1 of skiing>ever, been on a 116. The technique required to pressure these tips in the absence of decent, soft snow, is not particularly easy. And I've been doing this awhile. Not a good ski for me, alas.
 

jerseyski

Certified Ski Diva
I bought them first, but the ski shop told me that I can make a few runs with them and if it wasn't the ski for me, to come back and exchange them. @Jersey Fresh maybe it's ME and not the ski haha, I was tempted to just drive somewhere and try to ski them again today but I chickened out. I wonder if if I would be better off doing an exchange.
 

jerseyski

Certified Ski Diva
@MaineSkiLady do you have any suggestions as far as a better ski for those conditions? Yes! And that's what I felt, a problem in trying to pressure the skis to grab the edge in the ice and hard pack, I felt like I was slipping down the hill
 

Jersey Fresh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I bought them first, but the ski shop told me that I can make a few runs with them and if it wasn't the ski for me, to come back and exchange them. @Jersey Fresh maybe it's ME and not the ski haha, I was tempted to just drive somewhere and try to ski them again today but I chickened out. I wonder if if I would be better off doing an exchange.

It really could just be a bad pairing. Like someone said on here before, if we all skied the same and liked the same type of ski, theyd only have to make one pair :smile: I couldnt wrap my head around why others loved the Black Pearl but i felt like a pizza turning beginner on them. But now Im at peace with the idea that one size does not fit all :smile:

I dont have a suggestion for what to try (though I do love my Volkl Tierras) because I ended up with an all mountain wide that I fell in love with despite it not being an ideal choice for east cost/mid atlantic skiing (that being said, I rode all sorts of stuff last weeek and Im still in love)>
 

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