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Spending the day on a mogul ski (K2 244)

vanhoskier

Angel Diva
Saturday I spent the day at my local mountain skiing on K2's 244, a mogul-specific ski with dimensions 97-66-82. The 244 has very retro graphics, but is a revitalization of the Cabrawler. The new version of the 244 has been in production for the past 3 or so years, and will be around for 2015. Bindings mounted were Look Pivot 14, mounted at boot center. BTW, these ended up being my favorite bindings I've ever used. Very, very secure but with very easy in and out at DIN 8.

Of course, I planned to take the K2's into the bumps, but first, I decided to ski around the mountain on them to see what was up.

I expected a squirrelly ski that would feel a bit weird in the turn, due to the lack of side cut (compared to modern skis) and its relatively short (163) length.

I was pleasantly surprised! The ski was much more stable than expected, and turned with ease, but it did require a lot of foot steering and working the ski along its entire length. As this isn't foreign to me, I had no problem adjusting. In fact, I noted that its dimensions were similar to my old 1998 Rossi 9.9's.

The 244 is very, very quick, and very snappy. It loved short radius turns all the way down the slope. Of course, this is what it is meant to do; but when directed, it would do longer, sweeping turns. I took it on the steepest pitches that day, and was encouraged by its spunkiness and by its smoothness. Great fun!

Then it was time for some bumps. Our dedicated bump run has some steep, narrow troughs and the bumps on the upper part have some flattened fronts. The nice round elongated bumps one sees in pictures are NOT what we have.

First time down, WOW, I was thrilled with the quickness of the K2's. But, yeah, that's what they are supposed to do. They snaked in and out with ease, giving me a nice fun pop out of each turn. I had to force myself to look ahead because these skis wanted to ski a narrow line fast! I decided to hit the kicker in the middle of the run and couldn't believe how much air I could get with no effort. On one run I hit it full speed and felt like I was being launched into the stratosphere. Wowee! It was great fun that was quickly becoming addictive.

The next day, I tried them in icy hard pack conditions. They were troopers, holding a decent edge and obeying my commands. However, they started to feel squirrelly on the steepest pitches on the mountain. Still, they could do the job with appropriate foot steering; obviously they just wouldn't be the weapon of choice here!

The great thing about these skis was they made my bump-skiing errors very clear to me....I could tell when I was taking a bad line, or not completing my turns, initiating a turn in the wrong place, or when I was not balanced. It sort of was like having someone whispering in my ear during each run, which was awesome.

The K2's stayed on my feet the whole day, even on a short run through the glades, where they were great.

This isn't exactly a ski that most people would consider skiing, but if anyone is interested in a mogul-specific ski and want to know if it will do other things besides, well, ski bumps...the K2 can do it, if one is prepared to work the ski.

Hart's F17 mogul ski has a much larger side cut than the K2, and is billed as a bump ski that can do double-duty as an all-mountain ski. I skied it in 2008, and remember it was a superb carver, but I'd love a chance to get back on it!
K2_244.jpg
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm interested! Is that the standard mount point for the bindings? It looks way far back.
 

vanhoskier

Angel Diva
It is the standard mount which is what is recommended for the K2's. It doesn't feel far back; I felt well-balanced.
 

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