AT Racer

Weird title for my second ever post, but that's what popped into my head. But not in context of Rando Steve or any of those other lycra-wearing, uphill-downhill racing dudes. Read on...

My wife and I just got back from a day of early season skiing at Okemo in Vermont. The conditions were great for the week before Christmas. Having just started with New England Telemark, and as founder of Park City Telemark, we normally both drop a knee. Sometimes I snowboard in the morning first. I basically need a challenge most days, and those two ways down the mountain offer plenty.

But this trip I took a couple of alpine skis. My justification basically came down to the upcoming trip out West. I will be on the road for the whole month of January, hitting up: Colorado, Tahoe, Utah, and Montana in that order. With at least one mandatory telemark day in there, and unknown conditions all together, I'll be lugging my two pairs of tele skis. So that leaves one or two more chanced to alpine in New England.

So I brought a pair of alpine skis and a pair of alpine touring (or AT) skis. The alpine skis were my K2 Fugatives from last year. The AT skis were the K2 Shuksan (full disclaimer: I used to be the K2 Ambassador for Park City and The Canyons, both alpine and telemark/AT).

I took the Shuksan's out first and never went back to the car. I simply forget

1. How much fun it can be to lock down your heels and
2. What an incredible ski K2 has made in the Shuk.

I can't remember the specifics dimensions and I'm too lazy to go look them up in one of my old catalogs. They are about 78 or 80mm in the waist. And they have one, or more likely two sheets of Titanal inside. That's basically Titanium if I remember correctly. That means they hold an edge like a race ski. But they are still wicked light, especially with a pair of Freerides binders mounted up.

Speaking of race skis, I'm an ex-racer (or "Racer-X" as Edi Thys made popular in SKI Magazine). I like to "tip, grip, and rip" or "lay 'em over" or "get 'em up on edge." I've always liked a mid-fat for going fast and carving out West, most recently in Park City. Mid-fats are great because they give you enough width to basically prevent "boot out" unless it gets really mushy.

Problem is, most mid-fats now have TOO MUCH sidecut. K2 deepened the sidecut on the Recon and basically ruined the ski if you ask me (I'm no longer a K2 Ambassador, so I guess I can say that). I mean, I know some people can't angulate but still basically want to roller-blade down the hill. IMHO that's what slalom skis are for.

K2 left the sidecut on the Shuksan a few millimeters smaller (as they measure sidecut, rather than turn radius / meters as most other companies do). They did this to make the ski more forgiving in the backcountry and off-piste at the resort. That keeps it from hooking up in heavier snow and breakable crust. If you've ever experienced this phenominon (sp?) you know what I mean.

But the law of unintended consequences plays out in my favor. I can get a ski up on a high edge, and I don't want all that extra "cheater" sidecut as a result. Skiing the Shuksan on the groomers is like skiing a true GS race ski, maybe even a Super G ski. Mach speeds, huge arcs, laid over or otherwise very angulated. Today was the most fun I've had in a long time. Never mind I had to wait for several minutes at the bottom of every run for wife to make it down on her tele's. Maybe she'll take my suggestion next time about being on the same gear!

Though I'm clearly a backcountry type now-a-days, these skis take me back to my racing days. To bad these skis can't come out West with me!