Frontside
Yes, fat boards look hot and twintips are doubly cool, but inside the ropes is where the vast majority of us spend our days. No matter how you slice it, Frontside means carving—linking turns and lots of them. For increased turnability, you want smaller-radii skis—typically less than 20 metres—with lots of tip-to-tail curve in them. On corduroy, hardpack and the bumps, wide-waisted boards are wasted. For most of us, slim is in.

Frontside covers the largest segment of the ski population, so you’ll also find a range of pickings for intermediates and beginners, skis to progress with at home on runs near the chairlift. Skinnier and lighter skis tend toward lighter, smaller skiers—women’s skis typify the trend—with slightly wider skis for heavier types, particularly at the beginner and intermediate levels. Frontside boards have waists that range from the high 60s to low 80s.

Tons of R&D dollars go into this market. The good news is it’s bearing fruit. Recent technologies, like Rossignol’s Harmony system for women and Fischer’s brand-new Viron series, are making turning easier and more precise. In the 2009-10 season, the state of the carve is as shapely as ever. Those looking for hardcore high-performance detuned race skis, check out the High-Performance lineup on page 50.

Game improvement
Salomon’s X-Wing series has been double loaded with titanium for increased stability and strength in all snow conditions without weight gain.

Gripping new technologies
First-class grip plays a crucial role in carving up the slopes. Fischer says brand-new Dynamic Grip Control (DGC) technology masters slope hold by adapting automatically to terrain and snow. The secret to its optimal grip and glide is torsional stiffness in the ski’s central axis combined with elastomer inserts tricut into the shovel and tail.
This dynamic pairing ensures instant and continuous edge grip and control
from initiation to turn’s end. DGC is at the heart of the Viron series. The Viron
8.8 and 6.6 come with 68-mm waists, while the 4.4 and 2.2 come in 70 and
72 mm respectively.

X-Balance integrated Central Turntable (XBi CT) technology can be found in
Nordica’s best wood-core boards like the Dobermann and Hot Rod. A fully
integrated system, CT adds a reliable, one-handed, below-the-boot switch
for changing binding dimensions over Nordica’s smooth-flexing XBi system.

Getting better all the time
Sol suits intermediate to advanced female skiers who are looking to
improve their all-conditions skiing. Thickened from last year’s 74 to a 75
underfoot, it comes with all three features of Völkl’s Bio-Logic system
(see page 43)—stance, geometry and flex.

Shift on the fly
Atomic’s Doubledeck provides smoother gliding and improved turnability. It’s essentially a two-in-one ski comprised of a soft lower deck with a stabilizing upper. When combined
with the Vario Cut sidecut, the lower deck actually expands via a webbing
system through both the tip and tail. The greater the pressure on the ski, the
wider the ski becomes, and the shorter the radius. Thus you can pressure
the ski from GS to slalom turns—a difference of as much as six metres in
the radius—when you feel the need.

Making Contact
Dynastar’s Contact series comes with several upgrades from last season. Most notable is the new Contact Cross Ti. Stiffened and solidified with a titanium plate, the prime GS
ski cranks 15-metre-radius turns.

Specs and retail prices for all models click here.

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