When does the mountain open?

… cuz my sweet new Völkls are on their way! I decided to go with the Supersport 5 stars — I tried these skis out last year (twice) and fell in love with them. They’re incredibly grippy and the softer flex on the front of the ski makes them perfect for all-mountain stuff without sacrificing the cruisiness.

The turn radius on the ones I tried (175cm) is most comfortable in GS, but you can easily clip them short once you get used to the ski’s grippiness and stiffer tails. These skis are really forgiving and have a *huge* sweet spot. Pretty much all I had to do when I skied them last winter them was roll the edges over and enjoy the ride. I have a horrible tendency to drop my hip into the hill when I’m on a nice cruising run, which in the past has meant instant washout as soon as I hit some hard pack on a steep, but these things will hold their grip no matter what awful, bad habits I come up with.

These skis are replacing my retro Völkl Carver Ultra 190cm skis. Those guys were fun, but they’re really only good for one thing: going super fast in groomed hard pack. So long, Carver Ultras.

I’m hoping to get out to the mountains very often this winter. I had an original goal to get out every weekend that I’m not on call. That might be too ambitious.