Choosing the Right Skis: from KESE magazine

The geese are flying south and the trees are turning color. Do you know what that means? Yes, ski season is just around the corner. You've been preparing physically, your legs are strong as tree trunks, your thighs are hard as granite. But you still need to ask yourself, "Self, am I ready for the season? Do I have the right gear?"

Today's equipment choices can make it very difficult to choose the right skis. Sometimes you'll feel like you're using a screwdriver to drive a nail (do not attempt at home). Fortunately, there's hope. If you can understand a small amount of ski design vocabulary, you can narrow the field.
There's a lot of information to digest. Ski manufacturers do us a favor by dividing their models into a few categories to make it easier.

The major categories are Race, All Mountain, Carving, and Powder skis. Within these groups, one of the most important features to understand is sidecut. Sidecut is the difference in width when comparing tip to waist to tail of the ski. The sidecut determines the size of the ski's turning radius. In other words, if you tip a ski onto its side, the sidecut will cause it to travel in a predetermined arc. Understanding the importance of the turning radius is necessary when finding a ski to fit your skiing style. If short turns are your favorite, then you want more shape (sidecut) in the ski. If you like to go mach 2, less shape is for you.
For example, slalom skiers ride a ski with a turning radius around 16 meters. The numbers on a ski of this type would be around 112 mm in the tip, 64 mm in the waist (see below), and 97 mm in the tail (112/64/97). A giant slalom skier would choose a radius somewhere near 22 meters, which translates to a ski such as the following: 105/62/94.
A priority of mine is the waist of the ski-where the boot is mounted. Sizes commonly range (in millimeters) from the low 60's to the upper 90's-or even more! As a rule of thumb, carving skis usually have a waist in the mid 60's to 70 mm range, and will perform best on groomed runs. If you like to get off the beaten path as much as you like to cruise, try the versatile mid-fat group (all-mountain), which boasts waists from 70-80 mm giving you more off piste flotation while still having what it takes to cut up the groomers. But, if you're seriously going for the deep stuff, a fat ski (powder) is for you. Fat ski waists range from 85 mm's and up. These boards will give you a platform that an elephant could stand on! (Nothing personal intended). But be aware, what you gain in the powder you sacrifice on hard pack: fat skis don't have edge to edge quickness.
Shape does not change much as you move from more forgiving to higher performance skis. The one thing that does change, dramatically, is the flex pattern. Now, be honest. How many times have gone into a shop, pulled a ski off the rack and started pushing it in the middle? Uh huh. And did you actually have a clue as to what you were looking for while doing this "cool guy" ski exam. If
by chance you had little or no idea what you were doing bending that ski (other than trying to look "cool"), here's the idea. As the skis move from the beginner towards the expert realms, they become stiffer. As ability increases, two things happen: average speeds increase and the rider learns to bend, or arc, the ski. The ski must manage these powerful forces. If you remember your high school physics class, you'll recall that Newton (would have) said a stiffer ski can resist stronger forces: thus your stiff ski will be more stable at speed. It's like driving a stiffly sprung Porsche at 100mph and then trying to handle a soft VW at the same speed. You get the picture.

Going faster and harder aren't the only reasons that the flex of the ski changes. Balance awareness also increases with skill level. For beginners and intermediates, the center of mass has a tendency to move erratically as the skier leans forwards and back. If this were to occur on an expert ski, the skier would probably get tossed. To get a great visual on how this works, pay attention next time a world cup slalom race is on TV. Even the pros make the mistake of getting back on the skis now and then. When they do, the skiing ends and the wild bull rodeo ride begins. A softer ski will not rebound as aggressively. It will allow a skier time to recover his or her balance. The ski is thus "forgiving."

Another ingredient in this 'right boards' cocktail is the type of snow conditions you expect to ski. Softer skis do better in softer snow, and stiffer skis do better on ice. It's a question of which you prefer.

There are also skis specifically designed for women. These skis come in the same variety of styles as discussed above, but with a few differences. The boot may be mounted slightly forward compared to the male counterpart, compensating for the different centers of gravity produced by the differences in male and female anatomy. Another difference is that flex patterns have a tendency to be slightly softer since, in general, women tend to ski with a touch less testosterone and more finesse than men. Now, I am not saying that if you are female you HAVE to ski a women's ski. A lot of women thrive on 'normal' skis. It's just good to know that the option is out there.

Finally, what size ski to buy? The best tip I can give is go SHORT. The average male will be on a 178 cm to 188 cm, and for women, 160 cm to 170 cm is the common range.

Now that you may be developing an idea of what ski to look for, where do you acquire these tools? One option is a reputable ski shop. The easiest way to find one near the mountain you ski is to ask some of the instructors on the hill for a shop they would recommend. I say instructors because they live on their skis and know who the knowledgeable shop keepers are. Second, try one of the ski swaps. Two very good objectives are achieved here: you get the great deal and the proceeds are donated back to the community. Some advice about swaps though, you should know what type and size of ski you are looking for-and get there early.

To summarize: finding your skis requires the answers to a few question: where do you ski most and what size of turns do you like? Are you beginner, intermediate, or expert? No one can tell you which ski you will fall in love with. Every brand of ski is very good, but all feel a little different. The only way you will know if you have found your ski is to DEMO, DEMO, and DEMO. Did I mention that you should DEMO skis before buying them?

The author is a trainer for the North American Ski Training Center (NASTC). NASTC travels to elite resorts around the world to host all mountain ski camps for skiers in the upper intermediate to expert levels. He also works locally at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort as a staff trainer. Mike has been a member of the Western Region Demonstration Team since 1999. The demo team's job is to teach ski instructor's. Recently, he achieved his Level III Avalanche Awareness certification.