New Ski Equipment
Hits The Slopes

SUSAN PRICE

Special to The Jewish News

T

he upcoming season is the
most exciting in years for
downhillskiers because ski
design has fully developed
its first major change in several
years. "It's a neat time in skiing
because everybody's gonna enjoy
themselves a lot more with these new
sidecut skis," says Ron Morehead of
Pomeroy Sports in Aspen, "They are
going to allow the average weekend
skier to feel the edges and make a
carved turn like maybe only a few
people in the world can make a
carved turn on a regular ski."
So this is the year classic alpine
skiers will be trading in all their gear
for a whole new set of equipment.
The buzz among the hotshots at the
Vegas ski show is that the Volkl P30
race carve, a shaped carving ski, is
what the Big Boys will be skiing on
this year. Other top favorites are
from K2. The Merlin Five is the go-
fast, hard-pack choice, the Xplorer is
said to be good on powder and crud
but still carves well on groomed
snow. The Xplorer has the same side-
cut as last year's hot ski, the K2
Four, but is a pinky's width wider.
K2 also introduces 'Power, a new
line of skis for women comparable to
the K2 Four, and not as fat as the
Xplorer. The Xplorer will be the pick
for top women skiers who like deep
snow. Also for women and lighter-
weight skiers, the Volkl Snow Ranger
Lite is a side-cut ski with a real kick
to it — a versatile all-condition ski
with a predilection for powder.
These new, narrow-waisted sidecut
skis also require the new lifter plate
with the binding. Think of the lifter
plate as skiing in a pair of platform
shoes with the result being better
edging capability. In other words,
these skis and plates make traditional
downhill skiing more like snow-
boarding.
The bindings the best recreational
skiers are getting for these skis are
the Marker Logic CP 1, which has
the lifter plates built in. The Marker
CP 1 has the added plus of selective
control that allows the skier to dial

Susan Price is a writer with the Los
Angeles Times Syndicate.

•

Orchard Lake Road • West Bloomfield

for ice, packed, or powder condi-
tions by changing the flex of the ski
and biometric programmed upward
release. On the hill, they call it the
binding with the lifter and shifter.
Cross-country skiing is one of the
fastest-growing sports in America —
even in California where the Royal
Gorge Ski Resort is one of the top
cross-country skiing destinations in
the United States. The hottest new
Nordic skiing equipment is for an
emerging style called skate skiing.
Instead of the traditional technique
of sliding in parallel tracks, the skate
skier takes off using a stroke like an
ice-skater.

Multiple-
choice skis and
boots for all
levels.

Of course this requires an addi-
tional set of equipment besides the
classic track-skiing kind. Skate skiing
is limited to a groomed track. To
move into skate-skiing, a solid recre-
ational skate-skier will enjoy the
Fischer MRS Cap Skating skis. This
year Salomon has introduced a new
women's boot line — Salomon
Vitane. They're unique because they
have a specific women's cross-coun-
try last. The last is narrower in the
forefoot under the arch and in the
heel, the back of the boot is notched
down to accommodate the anatomy
of a woman's Achilles tendon, and a
self-molding foam called autofit adds
comfort in the ankle area.
At last, here's a boot for women
that is not a retread from an alpine
or hiking boot! An added benefit —
the Vitane is adaptable to classic and
skate cross-country styles.
And if you're hoping to look
through this year's most statusy
shades, they're Briko's Zar goggles —
Alberto Tomba wears them — and
new apres ski wrap B-Zone glasses
with the same Thrama lens technolo-
gy. Wearing these, you can look fast
on the mountain at any speed. ❑

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