Best of both worlds

By Alexander Klivecka April 6, 2009

My first time on alpine skis in two years was on a pair of these (my Black Diamond O1s ripped out of my tele skis, forcing me to alpine). I skied these (the 185, I am 6'2" and 180lbs) in 47 inches of pow (that's right, 47 inches) at snowbird on Saturday. Have NO DOUBT, these provide enough float for even the deepest of deep days. And amazingly, when you get them on the groomers they RIP. I suddenly remembered why I loved racing alpine. Medium radius and GS turns on a RAIL, no joke, as many G's as your legs can handle. For a fat ski I was amazed at the groomer performance. The sidecut and camber of these skis makes them more suited for an active and "poppy" skiing style. Smearing is not what they want to do. Handle very well at high speed, I straightlined a couple of chutes (something I almost never do on tele) and felt solid. Tight turns in the trees were great. Also skied these the day after the deepness when the snow was setting up and getting a little many, and they power through crud and variable conditions really well. Can't say enough good things. The graphics are kinda weird, but hey, if you care about the graphics on your skis you aren't skiing for the right reasons...

View Details: Icelantic Shaman Alpine Ski

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes | 0 No