i counted 8 pairs of spks at my hill last weekend i was going fucking nuts.
salomon used to be typically foam core...and caught on to all the younger gen. bitching about wanting wood cores(myself included

) and now produce wood cores in the suspect, dumont, lord, Czar, rocker, Lord Lab, etc.
even on they carving skis..tornado, xwing, hurricane, all wood cores!!! they DEFINATLEY made a big push to focus on making it clear and known the that there products are 100% wood core...when u look at their skis...most of them have a clear part of the ski where u can see the wood, or have it printed on the ski itself..'wood core'....MARKETING!MARKETING!MARKETING!...its what makes or brakes a company.
and to mention they have had great response as far as i know with the wood core as well.
~~~~~he could have simply wanted a change in pace, however at his age he would most likley move becasue of $$ issues.(clearly)