Skis have been rapidly evolving over the last few decades. Gone are the days of long, skinny, flat skis and riders with their legs together, sliding downhill sideways. Bigger sidecuts introduced in the early ’90s meant a ski could be set on edge to grip the mountain and take sharp turns at higher speeds. Then fat rocker skis came along to keep tips higher for gliding over deep powder. Advances in stronger, lighter cores allowed for camber skis to spring with more power through steep turns and atop hardpack. Nowadays, a single “all-mountain” ski can have a traditional camber in the center for packed snow speed and rocker in the tips and tails for incredible powder performance. We’ve gathered our picks for the best all-mountain skis below.
GLOSSARY
Après-Ski: A vitally important part of the resort day: drinking to catch up on stories and numb injured muscles post-skiing
Camber: The shape of the middle of the ski as seen from the side; it affects weight distribution along the edge for carving and adds a springiness for additional power and responsiveness
Carving: Clean, relatively frictionless turns from putting the ski up on edge and riding out an “S” shape
Effective Edge: The total length of the skis edge that makes contact with the snow; larger effective edge means more stability
Groomers: The courdoroy trails left behind by Snowcats dragging a rake to smooth out bumps and break up ice
Hardpack: Densely packed snow
Off-Piste: Piste means trail, so anywhere in the backcountry and not on official ski runs
Powder: Fresh snow, baby; best skied with a rocker tip in order to glide easily
Rocker (reverse camber): The shape of the ends of the ski as seen from the side; modern rocker keeps tip and tail relatively high for gliding over powder
Sidecut: The shape of a ski as viewed from the top; three numbers indicate the widest point at the tip and tail along with the narrowest point at the waist; the larger the difference between the widest and narrowest points, the sharper the turning.
Twin Tip: As opposed to directional skis, twin tip skis can be ridden backwards and forward for freestyle skiing
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Rossignol Experience 100
Best Fatass Tail: For the money, these are some of the best skis around. 70 percent camber underboot with 30 percent rockers gives power on-piste and stability off-piste, which is complemented by a fat tail for unrivaled finishes out of turns and air tips for floating over powder.
