winter - Explore Big Sky
winter - Explore Big Sky
winter - Explore Big Sky
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alPine Gear<br />
54 dec. 14 - 27, 2012<br />
explorebigsky.com<br />
explorebigsky.com<br />
here, the weekly editorial staff has chosen some of our favorite gear for 2013.<br />
<strong>Big</strong> <strong>Sky</strong> Weekly<br />
ripping powder at baldface lodge, nelson, b.C. Photo by niCk diaMond<br />
Mens: wagner Customs<br />
After 36 years of skiing, I was skeptical a small boutique custom ski shop in Colorado<br />
could create a ski that really was that much better.<br />
when I conducted my ski design phone interview with company founder Pete wagner, I<br />
told him I wanted boards that could handle everything from the deep bC powder to the<br />
steeps of big <strong>Sky</strong> – something solid on fast groomers, yet tough enough to endure collisions<br />
with Montana rocks.<br />
The end product had an early-rise design and stiff tail that was a custom match for me,<br />
with showstopper graphics. It blows any other ski I’ve ridden out of the water. The only<br />
problem with wagner skis: I’m not sure what to do with the balance of my ski quiver<br />
gathering dust in the garage. Congrats, Pete wagner. bravo! – Eric Ladd<br />
wagnerskis.com starting at $1,750<br />
womens: nordica la niña<br />
Like their namesake weather pattern, you can ski the Nordica La Niñas bigger than<br />
you think.<br />
Although these lively sticks are designed for pow, they handle chop and hard-pack<br />
surprisingly well. At 113 mm underfoot the La Niñas are fat; however, the high rise<br />
tip and tail combined with traditional camber underfoot makes them versatile for<br />
tight trees or super-G turns down Marx.<br />
Nordica’s “women’s i-CORE,” or “wi-CORE,” technology trims weight, so these<br />
boards are 25 percent lighter than traditional wood core skis. Even so, the sandwich<br />
sidewall construction is burly – go ahead, whack some andesite. This ski rips. Available<br />
in 169, 177 or 185 cm, at Chalet Sports in bozeman. – Emily Stifler<br />
nordica.com $749
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