A new ski for me!

[ashamedkrew]

I'll be a freshman at MSU and skiing Big Sky mostly, and I need a ski that can help me with that! I am a Minnesota kid so I will probably be found in the park more often than the average Big Sky skier, but of course I wanna get around and explore the mountain and ski some deep stuff. Any suggestions would be awesome!

I posted in Gear Talk and got some good results, but I wanna go straight to the source before buying anything.

 

[bibs_skibum]

one single ski for everything? I'd have to say on3p jeffery for a 1 ski big sky quiver. I demoed them for a half day up in the beartooths and really enjoyed them. k2 kung fujas would be another good option, but its soft as hell.

If you want something more park oriented but still able to ski mountain stuff maybe check out the on3p j-mo or moment pb&j.

I really think the skiing at big sky is so variable that you should start developing a quiver of (at least) 2 skis. Something for deep, something for park, something for in between

 

[.jon]

I was pretty much in the exact same situation as you last year. In fact I think you might know my roommate Dan haha. I'm from MN too and wanted a ski that could slay it all around the mountain. I ended up getting a pair of Nordica Zeros (the 2010 non-rockered version) and was super impressed by them. For a true twin, they manage to hold an edge much better than you'd expect. At 104 underfoot they're the perfect width for a daily driver in MT. I used them on everything from the A-Z chutes at Big Sky to spinning hot laps on Hyland's towrope. Look around and you'll probably be able to find them for under 400. They were on SAC for something ridiculous like 230 a while back. I eventually ended up busting mine and getting them warrantied but I wouldn't hesitate to buy another pair. One thing you should get familiar with is the turn radius you want. All park skis are pretty short, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll want a short turn radius on an all-mountain ski, although that is what I tend prefer. I'd say anything under a 25m turn radius is short. If you end up buying rockered skis don't be afraid to buy substantially longer sticks than you otherwise would. The rocker really does make them ski shorter.

My last words of advice would be to reconsider how much park you're actually gonna be skiing. I skied nothing but park in MN so naturally I thought I'd ski a fair amount of park in MT as well... But I think I only skied 2 days of park out of my 50 I got at Big Sky. You can always ski park over break back in MN, but you can't ski steeps in MN. That being said, look at some other skis that aren't as geared towards park. For a daily driver, I'd say something in the 100 to 110 range is perfect. Take a look skis like Atomic Accesses/Blogs, Armada TSTs, Nordica Zeros etc. I bet you'll be surprised how little time you end up spending lapping the park, especially once you realize it's a 13 minute chairlift ride between every lap and the park is just a fraction of the run.

I'm not usually one for long posts on NS, but I thought I'd try to help you out. If you've got any more questions PM me and I'd be happy to help

 

[ashamedkrew]

no freakin way you're dan's roommate? That is seriously nuts we went to the same high school and worked together at welch and he gave me a little campus tour last january and I was in your room and saw all your ski posters and stuff and I was like dang you hit the jackpot on a good skiing roommate haha. Thanks for all the help and I'll let ya know if i have any more questions!