Scott Santiago Mission Alpine Ski - 2007 BCS

I am an east coaster (i.e. normally rides on piste during the week, and loves off piste whenever I can get to someplace way up north with actual snow)

I have recently demoed lots of skis, and finally bought some of the scott missions (178 with marker griffon bindings) because the seemed to be the best fit for what I was looking for, something that was an all around great ski...

these do have a rather moderate turning radius so they hold a hard edge when you are carving, and don't try to turn too much at high speeds (unless you are being lazy)...

they even have a raised back tip (not full twin tip) and it is easy to stick anything you want to land switch. They do ski switch too, but you can feel they want to point forward which is ok by me because i like to see where i am going more often than not.

they are wide so they have great float when you can actually find pow around here, but not so wide that they feel hard to take from edge to edge.

now stiffness of the ski is something that i don't know how to quantify, they are not the stiffest skis out there, but they are by no where near as soft as a park ski. If they were stiffer they would hold a harder edge, but they would be less forgiving and would not float as much in the pow, and would not stick landings as easily.

All in all this is a great all around ski for someone who loves to ski every part of the mountain, and doesn't want to buy/carry around a carving ski, a powder ski, and a park ski.

This ski is wicked. pretty fast on the groomers and no problem at all getting it to bite. It excels even more in the pow. turns are effortless and the ski is very responsive. I must agree with an earlier post that it does ski slightly shorter than its actual length so don't be too scared to order a size up. I jumped to the 178 from a more narrow 165 (salomon scream hot) and had zero problems. It's a breeze in the steeps and it is pretty nimble through the trees despite the length and width. I mounted mine with the Salomon STH14 and couldn't be happier.

These skis are the best! They rip on the grom, and tear up the crude. The tail is stiffer than a Karma, and that gives you more control in the crude. The tips are wide, and on a pow' day, it should give you enough float. If you want an all-mountain ski, these are it! I put a Jester binding on them, and they feel bomb-proof!

These skis may be the best kept secrets out there! Big props for stability at speed and they hold an edge better than any ski I've ever owned. Wimps need not apply for the Missions, sit back or relax in these bad boys and they will punish you.

One popular gripe about them has been lack of performance on east coast hard pack and I didn't really have an issue with that at all. I'm a bigger skier 6'4" 240 and recommend these guys in a huge way to other big, aggressive skiers.