arbusch
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Location: Brundage Ski Resort in McCall, ID
Conditions: firm in the morning, softening throughout the day, to too soft off groom (boot sinking), to fun corny, slushy groomers by late day
Me as a skier: 118lbs, 5'5'', an aggressive skier who likes to go fast on groomers, prefers to challenge myself on the off groomers, loves tree skiing, open steep bowls, tries to follow my husband (former freestyle mogul racer) in the bumps so I play in the bumps and really loves the challenge of getting down them. I like making a variety of turns and I like a ski that is not too stiff and burly but not too soft and easy to overpower and is fun when speeding on the groomers but also fun to change up the turns on the ungroomed runs. I spend most of my days' backcountry skiing mellow glades, trees, big open bowls, couloirs in all types of conditions. So resort skiing always feels more relaxing and just fun to play. Past skis I have own dynafit mystic in 159 (hated), rossingol maunga in 158 (fun when I got back into skiing then outgrew), atomic century in 165 (loved until I outgrew and they are too soft), atomic millennium in 169 (great powder ski), and black crows daemon birdie in 165 (current all-mountain backcountry ski set up and really enjoy this ski). All past skis were bought without trying them out before purchasing
My goal for the two days of skiing in McCall - is to try out the Moment line of skis (they have been on my radar for a while) and then just try 3-4 (or more) mid-90ish style skis until I found something I love or got a better idea of what I love or don't love in a ski (I have a pretty strong idea based on my style of skiing). Have fun since I have never demoed skis before. I live in a pretty remote area so I don't get the opportunity to ever test ride. No expectations of my personal demo day.
Situation - the performance rental shop on the mountain had lots of skis but not always in my size. They were selling their demos since it was the end of the season which ended up me trying some skis that were never on my radar but were fun to try out. Due to this, I only got to try the Moment Sierras which was my top one of the line going in but a bit bummed they didn't have the Hot Mess at all and the Bellas were either way too short or way too long. I tried to ski each ski for a couple of hours. I even skied a few runs on my Black Crows Daemon Birdie just to compare (still a fun ski).
#1 - Moment Sierras, 172 in length, 122-99-115, turning radius 21.5
This ski I took out at the beginning of the day until about 11 am and again at 3 pm. My initial reaction was just a steady, stable, fun ski no matter what I skied. It carved really well on soft and firm groomers. I could make a variety of turns - gs turns, tight turns, quick turns in the bumps. If I need to check my speed, I could slash my tails and slow down. I just didn't want to give up this ski I was having so much fun.
#2 - Black Crows Mirus Cor, 173.2 in length, 131-87-122, turning radius 13
I took this ski out about late mid-day to mid afternoon. My initial reaction was a quick shorter turn, steady ski with a bit of flair. Super unique ski. It really loved carving on the groomers. It really only made tight quick turns but was still super stable as things got a bit slushier. It was super fun and unique and playful. It would be a fun ski for groomers and hitting little features.
#3 Elan Ripstick 96, 164 in length, 133-94-108, turning radius 18
I took this ski out mid-day. My initial reaction was so-so ski. Nothing made me excited about the ski. I felt like I overpowered the ski. Way too easy to initiate turns. The tips got a bit more bounced around in more chunked-up snow. I think this ski would be fun for someone who is looking for a ski that is easy to turn and trying to advance as a skier. For me, it was just an average ski with nothing special about it. Kind of skis okay in everything so for an intermediate skier who likes a ski who turns easily this is a ski to look at.
#4 Black Crows Justis, 171.3 in length, 136-100-121, turning radius 20
This is the only ski I only did two runs on them in the late afternoon. Initial reaction a burly, heavy ski that only likes to do big GS turns. I had a feeling this ski was going to be too much but I thought what the heck let's try it. I learned I could still drive a big ski but not something I enjoy. It really needs someone who enjoys driving a big ski all day and likes making big GS turns fast.
Lesson learned - I can ski all types of ski confidently even if I don't like them. Skis that are just over 170 in length are not too long for me. Elan's might have been too short. That I loved the Moment Sierras. The next day I went and rented them all day and had no desire to try anything else all day. I was just having too much fun playing with them in the changing conditions throughout the day.
Verdict: At the end of the full day on the Moment Sierras, I ended up buying the demo setup. So now I have a dedicated resort ski which I haven't had in 20 years. All my others have backcountry touring bindings and until recently I have been thinking about having two setups and not abusing my backcountry stuff on the resort.. Now I wish it wasn't the end of the season because all I want to do is play and push this ski and try it out on some fresh snow.
Conditions: firm in the morning, softening throughout the day, to too soft off groom (boot sinking), to fun corny, slushy groomers by late day
Me as a skier: 118lbs, 5'5'', an aggressive skier who likes to go fast on groomers, prefers to challenge myself on the off groomers, loves tree skiing, open steep bowls, tries to follow my husband (former freestyle mogul racer) in the bumps so I play in the bumps and really loves the challenge of getting down them. I like making a variety of turns and I like a ski that is not too stiff and burly but not too soft and easy to overpower and is fun when speeding on the groomers but also fun to change up the turns on the ungroomed runs. I spend most of my days' backcountry skiing mellow glades, trees, big open bowls, couloirs in all types of conditions. So resort skiing always feels more relaxing and just fun to play. Past skis I have own dynafit mystic in 159 (hated), rossingol maunga in 158 (fun when I got back into skiing then outgrew), atomic century in 165 (loved until I outgrew and they are too soft), atomic millennium in 169 (great powder ski), and black crows daemon birdie in 165 (current all-mountain backcountry ski set up and really enjoy this ski). All past skis were bought without trying them out before purchasing
My goal for the two days of skiing in McCall - is to try out the Moment line of skis (they have been on my radar for a while) and then just try 3-4 (or more) mid-90ish style skis until I found something I love or got a better idea of what I love or don't love in a ski (I have a pretty strong idea based on my style of skiing). Have fun since I have never demoed skis before. I live in a pretty remote area so I don't get the opportunity to ever test ride. No expectations of my personal demo day.
Situation - the performance rental shop on the mountain had lots of skis but not always in my size. They were selling their demos since it was the end of the season which ended up me trying some skis that were never on my radar but were fun to try out. Due to this, I only got to try the Moment Sierras which was my top one of the line going in but a bit bummed they didn't have the Hot Mess at all and the Bellas were either way too short or way too long. I tried to ski each ski for a couple of hours. I even skied a few runs on my Black Crows Daemon Birdie just to compare (still a fun ski).
#1 - Moment Sierras, 172 in length, 122-99-115, turning radius 21.5
This ski I took out at the beginning of the day until about 11 am and again at 3 pm. My initial reaction was just a steady, stable, fun ski no matter what I skied. It carved really well on soft and firm groomers. I could make a variety of turns - gs turns, tight turns, quick turns in the bumps. If I need to check my speed, I could slash my tails and slow down. I just didn't want to give up this ski I was having so much fun.
#2 - Black Crows Mirus Cor, 173.2 in length, 131-87-122, turning radius 13
I took this ski out about late mid-day to mid afternoon. My initial reaction was a quick shorter turn, steady ski with a bit of flair. Super unique ski. It really loved carving on the groomers. It really only made tight quick turns but was still super stable as things got a bit slushier. It was super fun and unique and playful. It would be a fun ski for groomers and hitting little features.
#3 Elan Ripstick 96, 164 in length, 133-94-108, turning radius 18
I took this ski out mid-day. My initial reaction was so-so ski. Nothing made me excited about the ski. I felt like I overpowered the ski. Way too easy to initiate turns. The tips got a bit more bounced around in more chunked-up snow. I think this ski would be fun for someone who is looking for a ski that is easy to turn and trying to advance as a skier. For me, it was just an average ski with nothing special about it. Kind of skis okay in everything so for an intermediate skier who likes a ski who turns easily this is a ski to look at.
#4 Black Crows Justis, 171.3 in length, 136-100-121, turning radius 20
This is the only ski I only did two runs on them in the late afternoon. Initial reaction a burly, heavy ski that only likes to do big GS turns. I had a feeling this ski was going to be too much but I thought what the heck let's try it. I learned I could still drive a big ski but not something I enjoy. It really needs someone who enjoys driving a big ski all day and likes making big GS turns fast.
Lesson learned - I can ski all types of ski confidently even if I don't like them. Skis that are just over 170 in length are not too long for me. Elan's might have been too short. That I loved the Moment Sierras. The next day I went and rented them all day and had no desire to try anything else all day. I was just having too much fun playing with them in the changing conditions throughout the day.
Verdict: At the end of the full day on the Moment Sierras, I ended up buying the demo setup. So now I have a dedicated resort ski which I haven't had in 20 years. All my others have backcountry touring bindings and until recently I have been thinking about having two setups and not abusing my backcountry stuff on the resort.. Now I wish it wasn't the end of the season because all I want to do is play and push this ski and try it out on some fresh snow.
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