Ski

The likeable ski makers from the USA are expanding their powder ski range with the Mordecai. With a center width of 114 mm and tip and tail rocker, many doors are open on the mountain. If you then jump over your own shadow and make your powder day a little more playful than usual, the Mordecai can turn a powder-turning freerider into a "neo backcountry freestyler".

Three years ago, we already dedicated an entry in this section to powder boards - this season, the innovative ski manufacturer from North Lake Tahoe has once again upgraded its flagship product. Reason enough to once again showcase what is perhaps the best powder ski in the world, to scrutinize the personal selection criteria when buying new powder skis and to finally state that you don't actually need sidecut in powder.

After Line launched a real all-rounder on the market with the Sick Day, this season sees the launch of a "slimmed-down" version in the truest sense of the word, the Sick Day Tourist. A lightweight, medium-width touring ski. I was able to see how the ski performs in practice over a longer period of time!

Skiing usually also means that you have skis with you. Depending on how you get to the desired starting point, you have to pack the skis in, on or behind the car.

Which snow fan and sliding timber enthusiast hasn't asked themselves what should happen to all these precious pieces and how they can be put to good use for posterity?

Part 1 of the ISPO Report 2016: You could almost copy the text of last year's ISPO article, because the biggest trend in ski models is still: 15% lighter. Sometimes even 20%, but mostly with the same shapes. Balsa or paulownia wood in combination with carbon or particularly light fiberglass, depending on the price range, promise the same performance with noticeably less weight on the foot. Weight is now being saved on all wider ski models, not just the uphill-oriented ones.

What skier doesn't dream of owning a ski that they have built and designed themselves? From the base to the length, waist, stiffness and design - everything is tailored to your own wishes. DREAMY! A small Bavarian company is now turning this dream into reality: at Build2Ride in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, you can build your own (winter) sports equipment as part of a two-day workshop with a little bit of manual skill. Of course, we didn't want to miss out on this and paid the guys in Garmisch a visit.

In recent years, more and more manufacturers have presented wide touring skis that are also designed to deliver great downhill performance in powder. Thanks to modern materials such as carbon, these skis are also very light. Dynafit is also launching a real freetourer on the market with the Chugach. We were able to take a closer look at the ski in the local mountains and in the ski touring Eldorado of Norway.

Who doesn't remember this experience? With neon-colored action paint on my face, I see a huge hill of snow in front of me. To my right is another hill and to my left a whole bunch of these hills. It's the early 90s somewhere in the Pitztal at the end of a great day's skiing and I'm sinking into a sea of head-high mounds of snow. Which way should I go, right past left past right, or just over it - damn, these hills are just too big. Later, my father explained to me that this descent was a mogul slope and that this was the supreme discipline of skiing.

In 1990, Kneissl launched the new Big Foot sports equipment on the market, whereby the novelty relates more to the shape than the type. This was a milestone for the Kneissl company, founded in 1861, the world population and the die-hard short skier. Despite its unique snow glider, the company unfortunately did not manage to stay on the market and practically disappeared from the scene (insolvent). Only the Big Foot still shows continuity and performance.

The story of the GPO (short for Giant Pacific Octopus) began in the fall of 2012, when Drew Tabke designed a ski with which he would later win the Freeride World Tour. And although the GPO has proven big mountain qualities, it is still an all-round freeride ski for (almost) everyone.

What you shouldn't actually do in a test report I'll do anyway: by simply quoting the manufacturer to introduce the test: "Whitedot's flagship powder ski is a versatile and reliable friend in the mountains." Apart from the fact that I expect a little more from friends in terms of interpersonal values, a thick (128 mm center width), reliable (even in rough and demanding conditions), profound (especially there it shows its strengths) and fun (in all respects) friendship has developed over time.